McDonalds and Nagoya Castle

Today after breakfast we relaxed while my Dad went to the last part of his conference.  We rested in the hotel room and then explored the train station and department store.  My Dad came back just in time for lunch.  While we all really enjoyed the different foods over the last few days, we were kind of missing American food.  So we decided to go to McDonalds!!  My Dad had eaten a BigMac in 14 different countries, so Japan made number 15!!  That's crazy!!

Niamh and I enjoying a hamburger and fries!!

Nagoya Castle

After lunch, we took a taxi to Nagoya Castle. During the Edo Period, Nagoya Castle was the center of one of the most important castle towns in Japan (Nagoya).  It was built between 1521–1528, but the castle we visited was not the original one.  This is because it burned down in 1945 after the United States bombed Nagoya.  But they rebuilt it and it is a beautiful place.  There was a giant stone wall and a moat, which are there to protect it from invaders.  You can see some of the walls in the picture.  If you look close, there is a golden object on the very top.  This is a dolphin and they had a replica that Niamh and I got to stand next to.

Niamh and I with the Golden Dolphin

Even though it is December, it is very warm here - 55 degrees!  The leaves still had their fall colors, it was very pretty.
















This was a picture of Kiyomasa's Stone Pulling Statue.  After we walked around the grounds a bit, it was time for a Samurai show!  Samurai are great warriors, and were the military nobility of medieval Japan.  There are still people who live the Samurai way today!

Me next to a Samurai Costume

A Modern Samurai!!!!

Finally we went into a traditional Japanese house on the grounds of the Nagoya Castle.  We had to take our shoes off, and they gave us slipper to put on.  The prettiest things were the silk paintings in each of the rooms, we took a panoramic picture of one of the biggest ones.

We took a taxi back to the hotel, and are resting before our last dinner in Nagoya - we will go out for Tempura!

Silk Paintings in a traditional Japanese House