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Hikone Castle

Back in time to the 8th of December...

As I mentioned in my previous post, getting to Hikone Castle on my birthday was a major failure.

However, the following weekend we made it, and quite easily I may add.

First, we took a look at the museum housing the usual artifacts that Japanese castles have; samurai armour, scrolls, tea ceremony items, clothing. It was also in the museum where we were able to see Hikonyan, the cute character I had been waiting for.

We were squashed into a room with about fifty other people clamouring to see this mysterious mascot. When 'it' entered, there were squeals of joy, mostly from the young and elderly women. Some men looked quite interested as well. I wasn't able to get a good photo because people constantly had their cameras and phones right in front of me, so I had to find this one online.



While it was cute, I guess I was expecting a lot more (but of what, I don't really know). It posed for around five minutes, and then we were ushered out to let the next group in.

The castle itself was very beautiful, so I was impressed. There was also a film crew and around fifteen people dressed in kimono. I felt sorry for them, wrapped in their blankets. The wind was ice-cold, coming directly from Lake Biwa, and it never let up.


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Delicious green tea and a Japanese sweet.

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Lake Biwa, the biggest lake in Japan.

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Castle beams.

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Hikone Castle itself.

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