Castle with a View

Part of Matt's in-processing requires him to take a week long, all day orientation class called Head Start. It orientates the new arrivals to local customs, introduces the Japanese language and allows native speakers to take the group on a field trip to show them how to use the train system.

I joined Matt for part of the class. I wish I could have done it all, but the kids were alone in the hotel all day. That was a little scary to this momma.

Actually, I could have handled the kids being alone. C is old enough to watch them.

But, I gave up when ... it got to conjugating verbs. That is a task I despise in English. I certainly don't need it in Japanese.

 I, honestly, hated to give it up because I adored the senseis. They were both wise men with wonderful attitudes.

For the field trip we got to bring the whole family to tour Odawara Castle. Hoorah! Hubby and I are both lifelong students of the world. We love to learn about new places. Having the chance to take the whole family was such a blessing.

Let me tell you a bit about the lovely castle.

Odawara Castle was built in 1447.

Yes, I wrote that right. It was built almost 350 years before America became America!

Isn't that amazing?

It has been redone several times due to earthquakes, fire and war. It has always been rebuilt to the original plans. What an awesome testament to the quality of Japanese engineering!

We took a tour bus about two hours to get there. Which is interesting in itself because it is less than 30 miles away! 30 miles should not equal 2 hours. Alas, this is Japan and takes forever to go anywhere.

On the way down we made a pit stop for the bus to refuel. Everyone went inside because they heard there were vending machines.

Vending machines in Japan are unlike anything you have ever seen. The kids want to see them all.  They were not disappointed. They saw their first "Hot" vending machine. It cooks, actually it fries, food after you select it. There were french fries, chicken nuggets and onion rings and other things I couldn't identify. Awesomeness.

We were back the bus and to the castle in no time.

Sensei, our teacher, was a wonderful tour guide. He is passionate about Japan's history and loves to share. He liked that Matt asked him questions and was interested in Japan. Then, poor Sensei met ...yours truly. He said Matt was a 'brilliant man' for picking someone so supportive of his dream. I have to agree with that one ;)

Odawara Castle is still surrounded by a series of moats.  (Most were destroyed as the city built up around the castle.) The moats were used for protection and also as a way to get supplies into the grounds. It was an ingenious plan.

There is a section built to show how the castle was constructed. It gives us a glimpse inside the walls and allows for the youngest ones to see why the walls are thick & strong. We were fascinated.                     

 The weather was cold in the morning, and rainy of course since we are still in rainy season. We had our sweatshirts on and umbrellas up as we boarded the bus in Camp Zama. As we traveled the rain subsided and the temperature rose. We were thankful, except that we had to carry all the umbrellas and sweatshirts. (We rode the bus there and took trains home so the newbies who had not conquered the train could learn how.) 

The kids were intrigued by the massive doors and lock system. If you look close you can see the small door behind A's leg. That was a pass through for small supplies. Also, if you notice by their ankles you can see that the door doesn't come all the way to the ground. That gap allowed the guards to use their swords to cut the ankles of intruders without endangering the safety of the castle. Scary, huh?

 The grounds surrounding Odawara are beautiful. They are covered in large hydrangeas and iris fields. There is also a red bridge to cross over before entering the 'official land'. (Red is a symbol of power and strength in the Japanese culture. It is often found on bridges and Tori gates.)

In the picture on the let, I am in one of the flower gardens below as the family crosses over the bridge.

In front of the last 'doors' before you step inside the 'interior gardens' that surround Odawara Castle.

There is also an area where snow monkeys play. Snow monkeys, or  スノーモンキー, can be pretty mean if there is food around.

(This is why you will see the monkey behind the fence.)

There are tours where people are allowed to interact with them, but we are not sure we will be taking one of those.

Read: Momma doesn't like mean monkeys.

Now, you are with me.

It is such a beautiful place. Odawara is four stories tall. There is a museum on the main level that holds a nice collection of artifacts, armor and weapons. They do not allow photography inside :(

From the top level you can see both the Pacific Ocean, well  Sagami Bay,  and the mountains.

After enjoying the castle and learning more about the area, we were ready to eat. 

Who I am kidding, we are always ready to eat!

The group went to one of the many, many train stations and found several different options to choose from. We picked a noodle place. 

Where the man is standing on the left is the 'front'. There is a vending machine located there. You put your money in the vending machine and press your selection. (No pictures on the machine so I was extra thankful for Sensei and his reading skills.)  After you make your selection, a ticket prints out with what you want. You hand that to the cook. She prepares it for you and it is brought to your table. When you are done, you turn in your dishes to the window on the right. Cool setup. 

We all tried different items, but the favorite is the one on the top left. It is basically ramen noodles that are then grilled to make them have a little crisp. 

It is called "yakisoba". We recognize the Kangi (characters) for it now. 

It looks like this:  焼きそば  

See how the first character sort of looks like a man standing at a large ...piano, maybe?  

While the last character looks like "t" with a Christian fish at the feet?

That is how we know the place sells Yakisoba.  I know the kids will eat it and it is 'safe' to order. 

Yes, it a very simplified version of their language. What can I say? I'm not that great at speaking or reading Japanese. I have to find a way to make it make sense to me so I can order and thrive during our time here.

There has been water available at every place we have been, for n charge. Great, yes. The downside is the cups are tiny. T-i-n-y and you must get up to get and refill. It makes you drink less and interrupts conversation. But, it's free. That's my husband's favorite word ;)

Culture is Cool,

~ Aggie Amy