Utsunomiya Castle Park / Castle Ruins Park

Leaves are turning red or yellow at Utsunomiya Castle Park.
I went to the park to take some snapshots today.
No doubt, we are in the middle of autumn season.

My Hometown Matsue

My company gives a special five-day-holiday to every employee who have been working for 5, 15, 25, 35 or 45 years.
Since I had been working for 15 years this year, I was entitled to get the holiday.
So, I had a short trip to my hometown Matsue last week.

Memory of Matsue Castle

Like every city does so, my hometown Matsue city has changed a lot in several decades. How has it changed? It became easier to drive, having wider streets, tourist friendly signs and information offices, having lots of well-known franchised shops like McDonalds and Starbucks, and newly built attractions for tourists.

I’m happy and proud of seeing those changes but, at the same time, I feel sad that well known narrow streets disappeared, small parks I used to play were replaced with tall buildings’ site and large supermarkets drove away small mama-and-papa shops.

I took the first picture from a Matsue-Ohashi bridge viewing Mt. Daisen to the east. There must not have been such big electricity towers.

Second picture was taken at the front yard of Matsue Castle. There were play fields and tennis courts there thirty-five years ago. I used to play baseball with my classmates after school. That was great fun to me at that time. But now, ball games inside castle site are prohibited.

Castle tower viewing from an opening between cherry blossoms is a few exceptions of unchanged scenes in downtown of Matsue.

I realize that I can go back to my current home town but can NOT go back to the city I lived forty years ago.
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'Water City', Matsue

I was able to spend a wonderful autumn vacation in Shimane prefecture for the first time in 25 years. I met my family members, visited historic places and autumn festivals.
I've uploaded pictures I took in Matsue city during my trip, from Oct. 17 to Oct. 23.
In the picture follows, a construction workers' boat and a pleasure boat in which several travelers are on board are cruising slowly on the castle moat.

About an hour pleasure boat trip takes you around Matsue Castle. As you float along the canal, you can see beautiful sights of Matsue Castle, old Samurai Residence and pine tree streets. You will also travel under 16 famous bridges that span the castle moat.

Matsue Castle is nicknamed the "plover castle", it is one of the few remaining medieval castles remaining in their original wooden form, and not a modern reconstruction in concrete.

Most Japanese castles have been damaged or destroyed by war, earthquakes, or other causes. Since a large part of their construction was wooden, fire was a major hazard. Matsue castle was built after the last great war of feudal Japan, so it never saw a battle.

The construction of Matsue Castle began in 1607 and finished in 1611, under the local lord Horio Yoshiharu. In this year 2007, the local government celebrates four hundred year anniversary of the beginning of the construction of Matsue Castle. Next weekend, I'll upload pictures of Dou Gyoretsu drum festival commemorating the anniversary.

Scorching Summer in Utsunomiya, Japan

It is said that the Utsunomiya castle was burnt down in 1868 as a result of the war between the government forces at that time and the anti-government forces. Recently, a group of citizens were driving the reconstruction of the part of the castle and it was finished this year.

As I haven’t visited there so far, I decided to go to the newly reconstructed castle with Rina.

I had thought it would be crowded since most of Japanese companies and schools were in summer holidays this week. But luckily it was not.

I took pictures and enjoyed walking in a burning hot day. We stayed in the castle park for a couple of hours and, on our way back home, we ate cups of ice candy together.

I love this burning Japanese summer!

This hole is for shooting arrows.





I guess this hole is for gun shooting.







Yummy, ice candy. It's the "Summer delight!"