The castle and its grounds are one of the most popular attractions in Nagoya.As well as the Castle there are gardens, a Noh theatre and a teahouse in the grounds.The Castle grounds also boast many cherry blossom trees which unfortunately werent flowering yet when I visited last Saturday.Come next week however the area will be abuzz with parties and patrons enjoying the blossoms.
By way of compensation a grove of plum trees had bloomed earlier and were getting lots of attention.
As to the Castle it was built between 1610-1614 by Tokugawa Ieyasu.The original Castle along with most of Nagoya was flattened by the American bombing raids of WW2.In 1959 a ferro-concrete replacement was completed.Of note are the two famous shachi-hoko (dolphin-like creatures) which are at either end of the Castles roof.
Inside there are various displays of armour and family treasures on show.You can either climb the stairs or take the elevator to the top floor of the Castle and get a panoramic view of Nagoya City.The Castle is a five minute walk from the nearest subway station Shiyakusho on the Meijo subway line.It costs 500 yen to enter the Castle and even at 9a.m on a Saturday morning one must queue up in orderly fashion to purchase a ticket from one of the machines at the entrance gates...
Monday, March 27, 2006
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