Over the weekend I got up to a number of shenanigans. One such example is my visit to Nagoya Castle which just so happened to be my very first visit to this city. I was told that it’s the 3rd largest city in Japan and by the crowds encountered, yah, it definitely felt like it.

Actually, the crowds at the castle were quite tame, wait times for anything that we wanted to see were either non-existent or minimal at worst. The crowds that we did encounter is when we left the castle grounds and headed to some of the main shopping and entertainment districts. But for a Saturday, nothing less would be expected.

Anyways, back to the castle. I quite enjoyed my time here although the castle itself is in need of some repairs and thus entry into the castle is forbidden at this time. Actually, there were parts of the castle grounds that we couldn’t visit as well since they were also under construction.

However, I always appreciate the fact that I am standing on soil that has such a strong history and I always love to imagine what life would have been like for those that that lived, worked and/or fought in these areas.

One of the best things was that the fall colours (momiji) was still in abundance as many of the trees hadn’t lost their leaves yet. So, I was really able to enjoy the nice colours with the castle in background.

There were a few random activities taking place around the grounds that included a Ninja show which we didn’t watch, but that’s okay. Ninjas are invisible anyways so it would have been a pretty boring show. n_n

There was also some random dude dressed as a Samurai standing about with an umbrella who somehow attracted a long line of lady fans waiting to meet him, get stuff signed and chat him up. I guess he was no random guy to those people but it was interesting to see how giddy his fans were as soon as they got their turn meet him. I unashamedly stood around for a few minutes watching these people interact with him which was oddly fun.

Naturally, I didn’t take pictures of that cause it didn’t seem like my place to do so. So, here’s more momiji for you.

I am going to say I didn't do a lot of research into the city of Okazaki so I could be pleasantly surprised in all the awesome things this city had to offer. I mean, that's sorta true but honestly I just expected it to be a normal Japanese city with 'normal' things.

Low and behold, this city has one of the my favorite things to see when travelling around the country, castles.

So, where should I find myself on my second full day, at the castle, looking down at the city, standing in footsteps of history itself.

Like most the castles in Japan, the inside of this one has been modernized to resemble a museum of sorts. The various floors showcase old historic relics like maps, armor, weapons, pieces of old buildings and a ton of various other items. Sadly, most of those areas are off limits to photos so I can't show anything other than the outside of the building and views from the top.

If you ever find yourself in Japan, definitely visit a castle or two. You might find yourself enjoying the experience quite a bit!