Castle in the Sky

   This weekend I visited a nearby city with a friend. Compared to other cities I've visited, it was a ghost town. It seemed less cared for, and the streets were emptier. The stores that were open had an old-timey air.

   We visited the castle -- most major cities seem to have one. The castle was at the top of a mountain on the edge of the city. When we arrived at the park at the base of the mountain, we walked past an unattended bicycle holding four bunnies in two baskets over the front wheel. The rabbits were panting in the heat, and their owner was nowhere in sight. I felt pretty bad for them. 

   We took the gondola up the mountain because we read that the hike to the top usually takes an hour, and it was in the nineties that day.  When we got off, we still had a bit of a hike to the castle.

   I've only been to two castles in Japan, but I'm pretty sure the insides of them are always mini-museums. They don't try to preserve the castles as they were so that you can see how powerful sociopaths lived back in the day. But we did get to see some cool weapons, including these ninja throwing stars. I was never really convinced those actually existed until I saw them on display in this castle. 

The top floor of the castle was ringed by a balcony, so that you could see in all directions. 

   You might notice all the crows hanging out on that metal contraption. Crows in Japan are ridiculously big. One time at school I heard what I thought was an angry old man shouting "baka! baka!" (idiot, idiot!) over and over, but when I looked out the window it was just a crow.

   We decided to hike down the mountain because the gondola ride was really expensive. I've been hiking in America a few times, but this was hiking on a whole new level. We asked around for the easiest trail, and its entrance didn't look too daunting. But all too soon, we encountered this:

   That's the trail. A craggy waterfall of rocks, some of which were loose, and all covered in plenty of dead leaves to trip on.  It was a lot of fun, but it probably would have been easier to climb up, since we could have just gone on all fours.

   As we descended, a few ojisans (old guys) casually strolled past us, going twice our speed. Then a family passed us by. The youngest daughter hopped, skipped, and jumped her way down, while her father half-heartedly warned, "That way's dangerous, walk on this side," and the mom and older daughter ignored the dad and followed the crazy little girl.

   It took us about an hour to get to the bottom. If we were Japanese I guess it only would have taken us half an hour. Later I read about it on Wikipedia. Apparently we walked down the trail that Kindergarteners take when they visit the castle on school trips.