Last Thursday, we had a field trip as part of our "Headstart" class. Headstart is a week long Japanese Language and Culture class that is designed to get one familiar to some of the peculiarities of living in Japan. It was a lot of fun, informative, and as part of it, we took a trip to the Odawara Castle, about an hour from our camp.

Odawara Castle dates back to about 1500 AD, and was the last castle conquered in the unification of Japan in 1868. In 1870, it was ordered destroyed as a final slap to the feudal system that had been overthrown to unify the country. Around 1960, however, it was rebuilt as a monument to history and a tourist attraction.

My first impression seeing pictures of it (and other castles like it) was that it didn't seem too sturdy. Upon seeing it first hand, I changed my mind...it is in a defendable location, had multiple levels and approaches, sturdy walls and gates, and is perched on top of a pretty steep hill. You'd really have to work pretty hard to take it.

Still, I think that most of them (especially those painted white) look like wedding cakes...

Another good thing about the trip was the small zoo that they have at the base of the castle.

For some good info about this and other castles in Japan, please see the following links...

http://www.0465.net/kanko/e.html
http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~QM9T-KNDU/Ninomiya.htm

View from across the moat to the first walls

Corgi Dog on the bridge across the moat

Second layer of walls and gate

Inner Gate

How the exterior walls were made. Basically it was a bamboo latticework covered by successive layers of mud and straw, finally coated with whitewash.

Map of the castle area

Zoo pictures
Raccoon

Snow Monkeys (Japanese Macaques)

Kindergarteners (we weren't the only ones on a field trip)

Class Picture

Odawara Castle