Ninja's, Castles and Squid

Sorry for the delay in finishing my Japan trip. I wasn't even going to finish it till a few people asked me to. So here it is.

After our whirwind Kyoto-in-a-day trip, we had a few more sites to see before we headed to Hiroshima. Our first stop was Nijo Castle, also known as Ninja Castle. The great thing about this castle is the squeaky floorboards. Unless you walk on the very edges, the floorboards squeak - and are supposed to squeak so the Emperor/Ruler/Whatever could hear anyone coming.

I'm known for my awesome ninja skills. Here am I fighting with Stephen. I obviously won.

And yes, I'm wearing a skirt. The weather was so hot and so humid I wore that skirt for majority of the trip. Here's another gorgeous garden shot of Nijo Castle.


After Nijo, we headed to Osaka to visit Osaka Castle, and sample some tasty food (or so we thought). Osaka Castle - a lovely castle on the outside that has sadly been gutted on the inside.

The castle was gorgeous and we learned lots of neat things inside, but it's not the original interior. However, they did have a super cold drinking fountain that I sat at for about ten minutes.

After Osaka Castle we wanted to wander around downtown Osaka, sample some food and do a bit of shopping. Osaka is supposed to be known for their cuisine and we were so excited to sample some. When we first arrived in Osaka we stopped at a fun restaurant and had some yummy ramen, pot stickers and fried rice. It was very tasty and we were excited to see what fun things we could get for dinner. Boy were we let down! After the castle we wandered up and down this street/shopping area and we decided to get a little something to eat to tide us over till dinner. We saw these large skillets cooking up some tasty treats and we decided to buy 8 of them and just share. Here's what I HEARD as I talked to the lady:

Me: What's inside?

Lady: Tasty delicious food

Me: Yes, I'd like 8 of those.

Lady: Would you like BBQ sauce?

Me: Sure

Lady: Mayo?

Me: Um, no.

Lady: Bacon shavings?

Me: Okay (Pirate LOVES all things bacon and I enjoy the flavor as well, so it seemed harmless)

We get our treat, head to a table and I pop one in my mouth. They are about as big as a quarter but about an inch thick. I started chewing and immediately stopped. I was chewing but something was bouncing inside my mouth and not getting smaller. I spat it out to see giant tentacles in my hand. Delicious treat?! LIAR! Nope - giant squid fried into a ball.

So here's what the conversation really was, but I sure couldn't tell what was being said.

Me: What's inside?
Lady: Chewy squid
Me: Yes, I'd like 8 of those.
Lady: Would you like BBQ sauce?
Me: Sure
Lady: Mayo?
Me: Um, no.
Lady: Dried fish shavings?
Me: Okay (Pirate LOVES all thing bacon and I enjoy the flavor as well)

Yup, what we thought was bacon shavings, was actually dried fish shavings. We had just pissed away 1 yen each - no big deal, but very upsetting. So we headed to our restaurant a few hours later. I ordered chicken - trying to play it safe - and what I learned later is that Japan just mushes all their chicken together - tendoins, veins, everything. It was super chewy and hard. I didn't eat dinner that night and the rest of the group didn't fair as well either. We ended up hitting up a convenience store that night for dinner and eating treats and drinking Coke Zero.

We made it back to our hostel, backed up and prepared to leave for Hiroshima the next morning. On our way to Hiroshima we stopped at Himejii Castle - probably the most gorgeous castle we visited. The weather was beyond awful. 100% humidity (may be a slight exaggeration) and 75 degrees. My jeans were wet and sticking to my legs and my shirt had grown 5 sizes. This was the closest Stephen and I dared to get for this photo. It was too hot to let anything touch you.

After Himejii we boarded the train and headed to Hiroshima for a brief two day trip and then back to Tokyo for our flight home.