Iga Ninja Museum

Ninja were a type of warriors during Japan's feudal periods, specialized in gathering information about the enemy and conducting various acts of espionage and sabotage. 



The Iga School of ninjutsu, which is based in Iga Ueno, was one of Japan's leading ninja schools, along with the Koka School in neighboring Shiga Prefecture.

The small but well done Iga Ninja Museum delivers a　comprehensive ninja experience: it consists of a ninja residence, two exhibition halls and a stage which hosts ninja shows.  

The shows are held in Japanese only, but they are still highly entertaining for non-Japanese speakers as most of the action speaks for itself.
 

Fort Goryokaku

Fort Goryokaku is a large, star shaped, Western style citadel, which was built in the last years of the Edo Period, in order to defend Hakodate against the imperialist threat posed by the Western powers.

  

A few years later, the fort became the site of a civil war between an army of the shogunate and the superior troops of the newly established Meiji government.

After the fort had lost its military importance, it was open to the public as a park. Over a thousand cherry trees were planted along its moats, making it one of Hokkaido's must-see cherry blossom spots. The peak of the blooming season usually takes place around early May.

If you wish to take a look at a bird's view of the huge fortress, visit the observation deck of the nearby Goryokaku Tower, which is 107m tall.

Mount Nokogiri

It is literally "saw mountain" in Japanese, which is a low mountain (Elevation:329.5m / 1,081 ft) on the Boso Peninsula in Chiba Prefecture. It falls steeply into Tokyo Bay on its western side, where it is pierced by two road tunnels and a rail tunnel, carrying the Uchibo Line south from Futtsu to Tateyama.

The western side of the mountain is the site of magnificent Nihon temple complex, which is the home
of two Daibutsu sculptures, a huge seated carving of Yakushi Nyorai that at 31.05 metres (101.9 ft) tall is the largest pre-modern, stone-carved Daibutsu in the country,and the Hundred-shaku Kannon, a tall relief image of Kannon carved into one of the quarry walls as well as 1500 hand-carved sculptures, which combined with the panoramic view of the Boso Hills and Tokyo Bay, make Mount Nokogiri a popular tourism destination.

 

The temple is easily accessible by road and by a cable car, the Mt Nokogiri Ropeway, which operates from Hamakanaya Station on the JR Uchibo Line to a lookout deck near the top of the temple site.

Nijo castle

The castle consists of the Ninomaru Palace, the ruins of the Honmaru Palace, various supporting buildings and several gardens. It is one of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto which have been designated by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site.

It was the residencial palace of the Tokugawa shoguns in Kyoto, who had been ruling Japan for over 260 years from 1603 to 1868. The wide moat, massive stone walls, and heavy elaborate gates are still impressive.

Inside the palace are several masterpieces of Japanese art, most notably the painted screens of the main chamber. In this room the shoguns met the daimyo (high-ranking warlord-administrators) who sought an audience. The screens were painted by artists of the Kano school and use rich colors and large amounts of gilt to depict flowers, trees, birds and tigers. Another well-known feature in the palace is the famous "nightingale floors," which were designed to squeak when steped on and thus alert guards to any intruders.

Access: A short walk from City Bus Stop Nijo-jo-mae (from JR Kyoto Station/Hankyu Railway Karasuma Station), or Nijo-jo-mae Station on the Tozai Subway Line
Hours: 8:45-16:00 closing at 17:00
Closed: 12/26-1/4 and Tuesdays (Jul. Aug. Dec. Jan.) (If the Tuesday is a holiday, the castle closes the following day.)

Hitachi Seaside Park

During holiday-studded week, which is called Golden Week holidays in Japanese, I went to the park at work to see beautiful blooming flowers.

Hitachi Seaside Park covers an area of 190 hectares, the park mainly features blooming flowers around the year. The park has become known for its baby blue-eyes flowers, with the blooming of 4.5 million of blue flowers in the spring.

In addition to the annual "Nemophila Harmony", the park features a million daffodils, 170 varieties of tulips, and many other flowers. The park includes cycling trails and a small amusement park with a Ferris wheel.

This park is definitely recommended especially for families with kids.

The nearest railway station is Katsuta Station on the JR Joban Line.

Hitachi Seaside Park