A man’s book store is his castle

Article posted on Wednesday, July, 13th, 2011 at 9:51 pm

The trip through Matsumoto city was lightning fast. There was just no other way. I had until early that evening to get myself to Narita airport. And, the fact that I was unfamiliar with the transport options between me and my destination, as well as having both limited time and money, meant that I was more than a little anxious.

Getting to Matsumoto castle well before the gates opened was hardly the brightest of ideas either. The hours of waiting didn’t accomplish much. Well, I guess it did allow me to track down this cool, little book store a short walk south of the castle.

The man at the doorway must have been the owner. He had not long opened-up shop and was stacking the front shelves. Sir, I salute you and would like to take this opportunity to bestow upon your store the title “Best book store I’ve never entered”… Hey, I had to run!

The view at the top

Article posted on Tuesday, July, 5th, 2011 at 9:47 pm

How disappointing that Japan’s truly interesting castles get tourists. I mean, except for providing them with actual purpose, crowds are just about the worst thing if you want to immerse yourself in the aura & mystique of a centuries-old castle.

You can try to get there early if you like, but it’s not long after the security guards push open the front gates that the bus-loads of sightseers start surging through. They arrive with the determination and speed of a flash-flood, and are just about as welcome.

Once the swell of people arrive at your heels, you are swept through the narrow corridors and up the steep stairs as though you are surfing in a queue. The conga-line does make a stop though, right at the top.

We have now arrived at the upper-most level of Matsumoto castle. And, what I’ve just described was what I experienced last Summer on my trip to Nagano Pref. An amazing place to visit, but the view at the top wasn’t what I was expecting.

I’d really love for you to leave a comment. Perhaps you’ve had similar experiences.

Pining for Matsumoto

Article posted on Friday, March, 11th, 2011 at 9:09 am

It turned out to be a fantastic day last Summer for my visit to Matsumoto castle. We’d arrived the previous afternoon, and the weather was horrendous. The sky was dark and the rain was pouring down. Waking the next day after a much needed sleep, it was quite a relief to see that things had fined up.

Below is another photo that has been given the once over by JapanDave. What had been a rather dull and flat image, has really come to life. There’s now such a great texture & vividness to it.

The five National treasures of Matsumoto Castle

Article posted on Thursday, January, 27th, 2011 at 8:39 pm

When it comes to Japanese castles & National Treasures, the list is rather short at just five. The four castles of Matsumoto, Himeji, Inuyama & Hikone get the honour due to their beautifully preserved main towers (天守 – Tenshu). The final castle on the list is that of Nijō, which has actually been without its main tower since 1750. It’s the magnificence of the Ni-no-maru Palace that has earned it not only national-treasure status but also UNESCO World Heritage listing.

For now at least, let’s just take a look at Matsumoto Castle, I think you’ll find there is something a little odd about this national treasure business. What most of us would believe is one building is actually five national treasures all rolled into one. Wow!

Taiko gate revisited

Article posted on Tuesday, January, 4th, 2011 at 12:22 pm

The title of this post includes the word revisited because it wasn’t so long ago that I talked about Matsumoto Castle‘s Taiko Gate and its unique features. And yet, here we are again. This time though, we can get a glimpse of the outer-most of the twin gates, the Ni-no Mon (二の門) .

I took this photo from my trip back in August 2010, but I’m sure there’s something about this photo that looks out of the ordinary. Yes, its pixels have been given the once over by Mr LaSpina of Japan Dave. Thanks Dave!

Edit: Just added the Show Me Japan badge over there on the right. Go ahead, click on it.

Swanning about

Article posted on Sunday, November, 28th, 2010 at 8:30 am

David from JapanDave, who we’ve met before, was kind enough to offer me his sensational image tweaking skills. When I saw the results, I almost fell over, such was the impact of the changes. So, what do you think? I’d also like to know your thoughts on altering images in general, if you have any… Love it or hate it?

The image was taken during my Summer-vacation trip to Nagano. It is, of course, Matsumoto castle‘s main tower & a strategically placed swan.

Click on the image to see the original photo (the image is actually different, but all will make sense after you see it.)

Some links: (recent post) Matsumoto’s Taiko Masugata gate, The JapanDave site, The JapanDave Facebook fan page & (why not?) The Japanese Castle Explorer Facebook fan page

Daimyo’s pool cleaner

Article posted on Wednesday, November, 10th, 2010 at 7:04 pm

I was toying with the idea of a caption contest, sans prizes, of course, for this photo. It’s not that I doubt the humour of the Japanese Castle Explorer blog readership, It’s just that there aren’t so many of you inclined to posting a comment (which doesn’t really bother me) let alone trying your wit on in a public forum.

Anyway, here’s the picture (Matsumoto Castle). So, what have you got guys? A title, a comment from the guy? Please share in the comments section. I’ve written some below the picture, and you can even comment to say they suck if you want.

• “Looks like another dead’n. When will those ninjas ever learn?”
• “If I don’t get the chlorine level just right, the lord will have my head?”
• “Please, please, please let that be just a chocolate bar.”
• “Enter the lord’s service they said. Give your life in service of the lord they said. Die with honour they said.”

Stamp rally – #1 Matsumoto Castle

Article posted on Sunday, September, 5th, 2010 at 3:03 pm

Back in June 2007, the Nihon Jōkaku Kyōkai (Japan Castle Foundation) launched a stamp rally to promote their list of the top 100 Japanese castles. The deal being that you make your way around the various islands that make up the nation of Japan to collect the 100 stamps.

For a guy who is all about Japanese castles, I’ve been pretty slow on the uptake. What can I say, it just hasn’t made much of an impression on me. #stamp_humour

Well, I’m now here to say that I have seen the errors of my way and that I am on-board in a big way, that I have gotten with the program.

Finally, let me present to you, #1 of 100 – Matsumoto Castle.

(Matsumoto castle profile)

August 2010 Trip

Article posted on Friday, August, 27th, 2010 at 9:31 pm

Well, the Summer holidays are coming to an end. As much as I’d like them to last for ever, pretty sure that’s an impossibility. Perhaps for many of you it was business as usual, but luckily for me, I was able to sneak in a little traveling. Well, a lot of traveling actually. And just to give this post some focus, I won’t talk about the three weeks I spent back in Australia.

First stop was Odawara castle. As soon as I’d landed in Haneda airport I was on the phone to @Genshin, a fellow twitterer. And before I go any further, I need to thank him profusely for making the trip possible. We racked up many k’s in the @Genshin family car, and I repaid him by breaking the car’s antenna. Doh!

Roadtrip!
I now realise that I was a little too ambitious in the planning stage. And the plan was to head North from Odawara & see everything there was to see in Nagano Pref in under 2 days. Suffice to say, we didn’t quite see everything. We did see a lot & just to give you a small taste I recommend the following link: Views of Japan for some of @Genshin’s photographs.

The route we took, took us to:

• Odawara Castle (as mentioned)
• Kōfu Castle
• Tsutsujigasaki Yakata (video)
• Takashima Castle
• Matsumoto Castle
• Route inn (for any Aussies in the audience)
• Matsushiro Castle
• Ueda Castle

Suffice to say, the above destinations & some places in between will feature heavily in posts over the following months. Stay tuned!