We arrived yesterday in Kumamoto, by Japanese Rail. There were 3 Sumo wrestlers on our train, complete with robes, flip-flops, and hair done in an updo (we didn’t know if they were wearing thongs underneath, and frankly, that is a sight I don’t look forward to seeing). It was cold, and I would call that being underdressed, but they have some extra padding to keep them warm.
Kumamoto is a castle town and I love castles, since I visited the first real castle in the Bouillion region of Belgium. I guess you can’t really count Jumer’s Castle Lodge in Peoria, IL. It is dark and damp like a castle, but after all, it is a hotel. And it IS in Peoria. The problem is that we are here on holiday, and the rest of Japan is on holiday as well. So many of the sights are closed. And that means the castle, too, which we didn’t discover till this morning. We walked through the grounds and discovered a Ginza like area of Kumamoto, filled with cheesy stores, stands, and Pachinko parlors, the Japanese equivalent of pinball or slot machines. Since our Japanese is not good (mine is nil), and their English is not good, we rely on the Japanese plastic food to keep us from eating gross things like creepy seafood or horsemeat. What we saw today hardly looked very inviting.
Kumamoto is a castle town and I love castles, since I visited the first real castle in the Bouillion region of Belgium. I guess you can’t really count Jumer’s Castle Lodge in Peoria, IL. It is dark and damp like a castle, but after all, it is a hotel. And it IS in Peoria. The problem is that we are here on holiday, and the rest of Japan is on holiday as well. So many of the sights are closed. And that means the castle, too, which we didn’t discover till this morning. We walked through the grounds and discovered a Ginza like area of Kumamoto, filled with cheesy stores, stands, and Pachinko parlors, the Japanese equivalent of pinball or slot machines. Since our Japanese is not good (mine is nil), and their English is not good, we rely on the Japanese plastic food to keep us from eating gross things like creepy seafood or horsemeat. What we saw today hardly looked very inviting.
Hi Sue:
I just caught up with the blog. Loved the robes. We are now in Savannah for a month & enjoying very much. What an adventure you are having! Belated happy birthday.
Barb
Posted by: Barbara Weiss | 03/08/2010 at 10:25 AM