weekend craze!
This weekend was a lot of fun. I did a lot and spent a lot of money! The two things I love doing most in the world.
Saturday: I went with Liz, Eric, Marie, and Myself to Osaka for a top secret Dave's-birthday-present-shopping-mission. We all felt horrible because this involved us all going to Osaka and leaving Dave behind. We made up a pretty legitimate excuse saying that we three girls were going Lingerie shopping :) However we all know that this would not work in actuality seeing as Japanese girls couldn't dream up the sizes I need. They pad everything here!! Anyway, back to Saturday. Well it was a lot of fun going around Den Den town and finding Dave's two games. Then we went to Shakies, an all you can eat Pizza buffet, this time calling up Dave and telling him to come meet us. After dinner Dave, Eric, and Liz went for some karaoke, but I was tired and had too many plans for Sunday to afford the energy or money, so I returned home alone.
Sunday: I had been planning a day trip to Hemeji for a few weeks with Liz, Jackie, and I. We said we would meet downstairs at 10am to leave so that we would have plenty of time to get there. Liz came at 9am to tell me she wasn't going, which was probably good because I was still asleep when she came in! I went down and found poor Jackie who has had only two hours of sleep ready and raring to go. So we leave a little before ten and miraculously manage to catch the bus we need. Then we take that to Hirakata and catch the train to Kyobashi. But at Kyobashi we got a call from Dave, who has already been to Hemeji, saying that Stephanie had overslept but she really really wanted to come. So we waited for a long while for her to catch up with us and set off again. The ride on the various trains to Hemeji is two-and-a-half hours, if you don't have to stop for some reason. So by the time we arrived it was nearing one o'clock.
We were not sure what time the castle would close down so we decided to do it first and eat later. By the time we reached the castle it was spitting flakes of snow. It was very cold, but perfect picture taking weather. No glare from an overly bright sun, and no rain to ruin a camera. It was perfect. Once we got to the castle we discovered that they offered free English tours which is just spiffy if I do say so myself. Our excellent English speaking, Japanese tour guide took us around the entire castle. Now let me tell you about the castle itself!
It was amazing! It is one of the biggest castles in Japan I believe and every single inch of it was built to repel invaders. From the way the stones were cut to the length and height of the steps. Starting at the first gate he told us that the path through to the main building was actually like a maze so without a guide it was really hard to follow. At one point there was a dead end, a dead end cliff! It is crazy! They had walls jutting out so that it looks like there is no road beyond but a dead end, but if you go the other way there is a cliff. In every wall there are these strange holes. The holes are shaped like triangles, rectangles, and circles. The Triangles and circles were for muskets and the square and rectangle ones were for archers to shoot at invaders. Also there were little open slits that could be used to pour hot liquids down on climbers.
The pathways often had shallow stairs ascending and in the buildings there were of course staircases, but all of these were designed to foil attackers. The pathways were spaced oddly, the long steps varying in height and distance so that it would be almost impossible to run there without tripping. Inside the main building the staircases were very vertical. I was in a skirt that day and was afraid of falling and dying with each step and I had a railing to cling to. I can't imagine how a lady in Kimono or a warrior in armor would feel ascending, or descending, with no railing even. : Shiver: Also in the long corridor building where all the maids for the princess slept and lived the doors varied in sizes. The first two or three were very large so as to lead the enemy in believing they could charge rashly but beyond there the doorways get tiny so that they have to go through one at a time. Some of the ladies rooms also have secret doors in the walls to pass from one to the other in an emergency.
I think one of the neatest parts of the whole construction is the hidden floor; yes I typed it right, the hidden floor. How can you hide an entire story you ask me? Well it is possible. When looking at the castle it seems as if there are only four floors, but in actuality there are five. Because an enemy who is casing a castle before attacking counts the number of armed men by how many floors the building has. So this way they do not expect so many men and are unprepared. Smart eh?
If by some miracle of attacking chances, and I doubt there would be one that the enemy made it to the tower itself there were plenty of places for the noncombatants to hide. What looked like simple little doors in the wall about the size of a small window actually hid rooms that could hold up to ten people! You could never tell from the outside or the inside that they are there. It is ingenious! So pretty much attackers are just screwed period. I think the most ironic part of this seemingly impenetrable fort is the fact that it was never tested. No army has ever tried to shove its way into the castle. Perhaps for good reason, but no matter how you look at it, what a waste! I think they should allow middle schoolers and such to come and have water wars there. It would be the best game of balloon fighting the world has ever seen!
Monday: I am including Monday into my weekend because it seemed more like a Saturday. This was the day we celebrated Dave's birthday, though he actually has no birthday because he is a leap year baby. But anyway Marie in all her wisdom reserved El Mustachio’s, a Mexican restaurant in Makino, for twenty people. Then we spent the whole day positioning ourselves so that we could ultimately all surprise Dave there. It was a lot of fun. We ate a lot, and drank even more! Then after everyone was full we split off. Dave, Marie and those who still had some money went to Karaoke. Nicole, Maggie, Patrick, and I went to the Park to hang out. Patrick ended up buying a huge bottle of Tequila and split it between Nicole, he, and me. I had my first shots of Tequila, which didn't truly start hitting until we went backwards down these massive concrete slides. Then it took me for a loop. So I came back to Seminar House on a Monday night snockered and praying not to have a hangover. I downed about three bottles of water and some aspirin then went to bed. I fortunately had little besides a headache the next morning and was able to go through a lovely Tuesday of classes no problem. So as you can see my gentle readers, this weekend was full of fun and play. Well why else am I in Japan?!
Saturday: I went with Liz, Eric, Marie, and Myself to Osaka for a top secret Dave's-birthday-present-shopping-mission. We all felt horrible because this involved us all going to Osaka and leaving Dave behind. We made up a pretty legitimate excuse saying that we three girls were going Lingerie shopping :) However we all know that this would not work in actuality seeing as Japanese girls couldn't dream up the sizes I need. They pad everything here!! Anyway, back to Saturday. Well it was a lot of fun going around Den Den town and finding Dave's two games. Then we went to Shakies, an all you can eat Pizza buffet, this time calling up Dave and telling him to come meet us. After dinner Dave, Eric, and Liz went for some karaoke, but I was tired and had too many plans for Sunday to afford the energy or money, so I returned home alone.
Sunday: I had been planning a day trip to Hemeji for a few weeks with Liz, Jackie, and I. We said we would meet downstairs at 10am to leave so that we would have plenty of time to get there. Liz came at 9am to tell me she wasn't going, which was probably good because I was still asleep when she came in! I went down and found poor Jackie who has had only two hours of sleep ready and raring to go. So we leave a little before ten and miraculously manage to catch the bus we need. Then we take that to Hirakata and catch the train to Kyobashi. But at Kyobashi we got a call from Dave, who has already been to Hemeji, saying that Stephanie had overslept but she really really wanted to come. So we waited for a long while for her to catch up with us and set off again. The ride on the various trains to Hemeji is two-and-a-half hours, if you don't have to stop for some reason. So by the time we arrived it was nearing one o'clock.
We were not sure what time the castle would close down so we decided to do it first and eat later. By the time we reached the castle it was spitting flakes of snow. It was very cold, but perfect picture taking weather. No glare from an overly bright sun, and no rain to ruin a camera. It was perfect. Once we got to the castle we discovered that they offered free English tours which is just spiffy if I do say so myself. Our excellent English speaking, Japanese tour guide took us around the entire castle. Now let me tell you about the castle itself!
It was amazing! It is one of the biggest castles in Japan I believe and every single inch of it was built to repel invaders. From the way the stones were cut to the length and height of the steps. Starting at the first gate he told us that the path through to the main building was actually like a maze so without a guide it was really hard to follow. At one point there was a dead end, a dead end cliff! It is crazy! They had walls jutting out so that it looks like there is no road beyond but a dead end, but if you go the other way there is a cliff. In every wall there are these strange holes. The holes are shaped like triangles, rectangles, and circles. The Triangles and circles were for muskets and the square and rectangle ones were for archers to shoot at invaders. Also there were little open slits that could be used to pour hot liquids down on climbers.
The pathways often had shallow stairs ascending and in the buildings there were of course staircases, but all of these were designed to foil attackers. The pathways were spaced oddly, the long steps varying in height and distance so that it would be almost impossible to run there without tripping. Inside the main building the staircases were very vertical. I was in a skirt that day and was afraid of falling and dying with each step and I had a railing to cling to. I can't imagine how a lady in Kimono or a warrior in armor would feel ascending, or descending, with no railing even. : Shiver: Also in the long corridor building where all the maids for the princess slept and lived the doors varied in sizes. The first two or three were very large so as to lead the enemy in believing they could charge rashly but beyond there the doorways get tiny so that they have to go through one at a time. Some of the ladies rooms also have secret doors in the walls to pass from one to the other in an emergency.
I think one of the neatest parts of the whole construction is the hidden floor; yes I typed it right, the hidden floor. How can you hide an entire story you ask me? Well it is possible. When looking at the castle it seems as if there are only four floors, but in actuality there are five. Because an enemy who is casing a castle before attacking counts the number of armed men by how many floors the building has. So this way they do not expect so many men and are unprepared. Smart eh?
If by some miracle of attacking chances, and I doubt there would be one that the enemy made it to the tower itself there were plenty of places for the noncombatants to hide. What looked like simple little doors in the wall about the size of a small window actually hid rooms that could hold up to ten people! You could never tell from the outside or the inside that they are there. It is ingenious! So pretty much attackers are just screwed period. I think the most ironic part of this seemingly impenetrable fort is the fact that it was never tested. No army has ever tried to shove its way into the castle. Perhaps for good reason, but no matter how you look at it, what a waste! I think they should allow middle schoolers and such to come and have water wars there. It would be the best game of balloon fighting the world has ever seen!
Monday: I am including Monday into my weekend because it seemed more like a Saturday. This was the day we celebrated Dave's birthday, though he actually has no birthday because he is a leap year baby. But anyway Marie in all her wisdom reserved El Mustachio’s, a Mexican restaurant in Makino, for twenty people. Then we spent the whole day positioning ourselves so that we could ultimately all surprise Dave there. It was a lot of fun. We ate a lot, and drank even more! Then after everyone was full we split off. Dave, Marie and those who still had some money went to Karaoke. Nicole, Maggie, Patrick, and I went to the Park to hang out. Patrick ended up buying a huge bottle of Tequila and split it between Nicole, he, and me. I had my first shots of Tequila, which didn't truly start hitting until we went backwards down these massive concrete slides. Then it took me for a loop. So I came back to Seminar House on a Monday night snockered and praying not to have a hangover. I downed about three bottles of water and some aspirin then went to bed. I fortunately had little besides a headache the next morning and was able to go through a lovely Tuesday of classes no problem. So as you can see my gentle readers, this weekend was full of fun and play. Well why else am I in Japan?!