So, after much delay I am back at work on the blog. My apologies for those who have been waiting with such eager anticipation for so long.

We pick up the story in late December. Christmas was a bit different this year. As is turns out, aside from a few lovely "illuminations" (very Japanese Christmas light displays) Christmas isn't a very big deal here, it isn't even a public holiday. So, I like everybody else, had to work on Christmas day. It turned out to be a pretty good day though, complete with a Christmas steak dinner at Nagoya's "Outback Steakhouse" (an excellent steak at that, dare I say, perhaps better than turkey) follow by some kareoke, always a good way to end a night.

For me, Christmas vacation began the next day, as my days off coincided with the start of our post-Christmas winter break. I had already purchased a bus ticket to Nagano prefecture (prefecture is the Japanese equivalent to province or state) departing later that week, so I had a few days to kill. A friend of my roommate was staying with us and wanted to do so touristy stuff, so we headed out to a spot that had been recommended to me to take some pictures and be tourists for the day. The destination was a place called Inuyama Castle, claim to fame: the oldest original castle in Japan (about 300 years old I think). Needless to say, this one was a bit more out of the way and rustic looking than the more well-known and well-travelled Nagoya Castle which you may remember from my previous journal entry.

From the train station we had to hike a fair distance up a mountain/hill on the edge of town; as this castle was meant for defensive puroses, it was positioned at the highest point in the area. After paying our Y500 admission fee we were offered a free English tour which we were happy to accept. Our guide was a rather small Japanese man who spoke pretty good English (picture included). He took us on the grand tour, pointing out (1) the lucky tree in front of the castle which was said to protect it (and had recently sacrificed it's life while protecting the castle from a lighting strike), (2) the many artifacts throughout the building (including some samurai gear, pottery, paintings and pictures), and (3) the impressive view from the top.  

Having started with the commercialized and reconstructed Nagoya Castle, this was a much more authentic experience (not that it's Nagoya's fault that the original was bombed to pieces during the war and they had to rebuild it). Have a look at the photos and you'll see what I mean.