Odawara, Honshu (Japan)

After two days of rain, it was nice to have a clear day - just windy and cooler. Thor and I got started around 1200, took the Odakyu Line and arrived in the town of Odawara around 1330. As we left the train station, we saw the Odawara Castle on the skyline - we just walked along the street, keeping it in sight. We walked up hill until we were in the courtyard below this amazing building. It has multiple tiered rooves - classic design for this area (and China). Thought it was original, but we learned later that it was destroyed in the 1800s. It was only rebuilt in the 1960s, but it was reconstructed using original models (we saw them inside) - so it looks just like it did before. Some of the trees nearby were already flowering (plums?). We got tickets for the castle and a nearby museum. We walked up four floors and had a great view of the Sagami Bay - I can see why the builders chose this location. Mountains all around - including what looked like the base of Mount Fuji. Saw the canyon we took to get to Hakone a few days ago. Inside the castle, there were samurai swords, armor and artwork - along with some artifacts that were collected from the original building. We walked down the hill later and went into a little museum that told the story of the Lords who built the castle and controlled this entire area back in the 1500s - the Hojo clan. The ticket agent spoke English very well and gave us a personal tour of the museum (it's a good thing, since there were no translations...). He was very nice and gave us an outstanding background of Odawara. Walking around later, we visited the seashore and (once again) stumbled across various shrines. Some of the gardens are in bloom already, although it appears that the cherry blossoms are a big deal (missed them by about a week). At the train station, we saw huge groups of girls wearing beautiful kimonos - actually very formal looking Japanese gowns. Thor and I debated whether this was some sort of prom event (???). Uneventful ride back - dropped Thor off in Ebina to meet some friends. [Returned to the NAF Atsugi CBH] Still chilly after dark...