Okayama ~ the NOT-Miyavi stuff
So we arrived in Okayama the day after the show in Nagoya, which gave us lots of time to chill out. We wandered aimlessly around looking for food but finding...nothing...and ended up eating at this Tonkatsu restaurant in the Train Station. It was...pretty much the best thing I've ever put in my mouth.
We headed back to the hotel, and chilled out before I passed out pretty early.
When we got up, it was show day, but we had the whole morning/afternoon to kill before the show, so we decided to be culturally relevant and go see Okayama Castle. But before that, grab food. We ended up grabbing food at Mcdonalds, because hey, it's cheap and we're poor Touring Komiyavi. McDick's was so full that we couldn't actually sit down inside, so instead we went outside and sat on these benches in the square out front of the station. There were lots of pigeons.
And they didn't seem very shy.
So Maura started throwing them pieces of french fry. And then I curiously tried to feed one from my hand. Which worked. So then I curiously tried to get one on my knee....which also worked.
And then it kind of turned into Maura feeding like three pigeons in her lap while I laughed hysterically and took many photos. VERY amusing. Then we hopped in a cab and headed to Okayama Castle. Lots of photos to be taken there. It was really amazing to see first hand the amazing stone walls, especially the ones built with naturally shaped stones without using any kind of mortar or cementing agent. Unfortunately most of the original buildings and the original wall was destroyed between the late 1800s when the castle came into the government's control and they could not maintain the buildings and had them demolished, and an air raid in 1945 that destroyed the rest, except for the "Moon-Viewing Tower" which still stands in the complex today. The rest of the buildings have been painstakingly restored with reinforced concrete in 1966, except for the buildings in the middle level--these are instead outlined with polished marble strips, and labeled with a plaque that says what they were originally used for. It almost feels like a graveyard for the buildings themselves and was really amazing.
It is really amazing to be able to go to these places, where the feeling of centuries still lingers in the air. Almost as if for just a moment you can catch a glimpse of times before.
We paid 300 yen (about 3.50) admission, and went on a self-guided tour of the Castle's interior, which contains things like period toys, a recreated "Lord's chamber" where you can be dressed in period-accurate costume, and several complete suits of Samurai armor, as well as weapons, hand-written letters and scrolls from famous authors, poets and statesmen, and even pieces of the original buildings that survive today. It's huge, but not, and as Maura and I walked around it was amazing to realize that these people were so very very small so long ago. Ignoring our height, a Japanese breast plate would BARELY fit around my size 4 torso, let alone with any kind of padding underneath.
Perspective.
It makes me want to go see the other Castles in the country, not to mention the shrines and temples and other culturally and historically relevant places in Japan.
Then of course we went back to the hotel, and chilled out before heading to the venue.
After the show, which was of course fantastic, we hung around waiting for demachi. Mayumi came over and she'd made necklaces for me and Maura! I seriously love that woman, she's really cute and hilarious, and her English is really good. She's older, and teaches English in Kobe, which is where I met her the first time. I can't wait to see her in Osaka!
Aaah I don't want tour to ever end! So many things to do and to see and people to meet and and and...Need More Miyavi!
We headed back to the hotel, and chilled out before I passed out pretty early.
When we got up, it was show day, but we had the whole morning/afternoon to kill before the show, so we decided to be culturally relevant and go see Okayama Castle. But before that, grab food. We ended up grabbing food at Mcdonalds, because hey, it's cheap and we're poor Touring Komiyavi. McDick's was so full that we couldn't actually sit down inside, so instead we went outside and sat on these benches in the square out front of the station. There were lots of pigeons.
And they didn't seem very shy.
So Maura started throwing them pieces of french fry. And then I curiously tried to feed one from my hand. Which worked. So then I curiously tried to get one on my knee....which also worked.
And then it kind of turned into Maura feeding like three pigeons in her lap while I laughed hysterically and took many photos. VERY amusing. Then we hopped in a cab and headed to Okayama Castle. Lots of photos to be taken there. It was really amazing to see first hand the amazing stone walls, especially the ones built with naturally shaped stones without using any kind of mortar or cementing agent. Unfortunately most of the original buildings and the original wall was destroyed between the late 1800s when the castle came into the government's control and they could not maintain the buildings and had them demolished, and an air raid in 1945 that destroyed the rest, except for the "Moon-Viewing Tower" which still stands in the complex today. The rest of the buildings have been painstakingly restored with reinforced concrete in 1966, except for the buildings in the middle level--these are instead outlined with polished marble strips, and labeled with a plaque that says what they were originally used for. It almost feels like a graveyard for the buildings themselves and was really amazing.
It is really amazing to be able to go to these places, where the feeling of centuries still lingers in the air. Almost as if for just a moment you can catch a glimpse of times before.
We paid 300 yen (about 3.50) admission, and went on a self-guided tour of the Castle's interior, which contains things like period toys, a recreated "Lord's chamber" where you can be dressed in period-accurate costume, and several complete suits of Samurai armor, as well as weapons, hand-written letters and scrolls from famous authors, poets and statesmen, and even pieces of the original buildings that survive today. It's huge, but not, and as Maura and I walked around it was amazing to realize that these people were so very very small so long ago. Ignoring our height, a Japanese breast plate would BARELY fit around my size 4 torso, let alone with any kind of padding underneath.
Perspective.
It makes me want to go see the other Castles in the country, not to mention the shrines and temples and other culturally and historically relevant places in Japan.
Then of course we went back to the hotel, and chilled out before heading to the venue.
After the show, which was of course fantastic, we hung around waiting for demachi. Mayumi came over and she'd made necklaces for me and Maura! I seriously love that woman, she's really cute and hilarious, and her English is really good. She's older, and teaches English in Kobe, which is where I met her the first time. I can't wait to see her in Osaka!
Aaah I don't want tour to ever end! So many things to do and to see and people to meet and and and...Need More Miyavi!