Monday, June 29, 1998

We checked out of the Kurashiki Kokusai Hotel for the last time this morning. Before returning to Tokyo, we had to see Okayama Prefecture's most famous site: Okayama Castle and Gardens.

We started with a guided tour of the gardens. They were absolutely perfect. The groundskeepers obviously work very hard to keep the grass trimmed and each bush and tree the exact right shape and size.

There were also several small buildings on the grounds. There was a large, old house with a thatch roof. I was most impresses by a small hut that covered part of the stream. Actually, the hut itself was not impressive. What made this hut so cool were the rocks placed in the stream. Under the hut were several large stones brought to Okayama from Kyoto. On either side of the stream were benches. The guide told us that this hut was built for the lord of the castle and visiting lords to sit and watch the water. Imagine our leaders having a special place to take other leaders to just sit and watch water.

Unfortunately, we were not given the chance to sit and watch the water. We continued on to the castle itself. Set on the hill (duh) the castle was rather imposing. The entrance/gateways were much like I'd read about. They sloped inward and downward so that an attacking force was at the mercy of the defenders in the gatehouse.

Once through the gate, the guide told us that Okayama castle was originally built in 1597, but was destroyed during the Second World War. The Japanese government decided to rebuild it in the 1960s. Just outside the main building was an original guard tower. This tower was the only part of the original castle to survive World War II.

We are lucky that the design for the six story building survived the war. Inside the castle was filled with museum pieces: weapons, suits of armor, and artifacts of daily life in and around the castle. One area displayed the kinds of toys that Japanese traditionally played with. I, of course, had to buy one of the toys in the gift shop.

After this great visit, it was time to return to Okayama Station to catch the shinkansen back to to Tokyo. Because we had extra time, we were allowed to wander around downtown Okayama City. Stephen and I had a mission to find an ATM that accepted PLUS or CIRRUS. After a lengthy search, we found such a machine in a department store right next to the station. I was very excited (and confused) when, after several minutes, yen came shooting out of the ATM. I am still unsure just how many dollars I actually got. I guess I didn't care - I was no longer broke.

The train ride back to Tokyo was long and had only one interesting aspect. The group chose the train ride as the time to present Harumi with a group gift of appreciation. Harumi was very gracious as she accepted several small and medium gifts.

Back in Tokyo, Stephen, Erin and I tried to find the same cheap restaurant that the Makis took us to more than a week earlier. We did not find it.

Oh well.

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