春の武士 [Haru No Bushi] - part 9

I had another day off work, so Samurai asked me to visit the place where he got his nickname -- Odawara castle. Odawara is along the Pacific ocean, nestled between Yokohama and Mount Fuji. It's an easy day trip from Tokyo.

Why the nickname Samurai? At Odawara castle, visitors can pose in full Samurai amour for a small fee. He did that, sharing the photo on Facebook, hence the nickname, "Samurai".

I was lucky because on this day, Odawara city was holding a 祭り[mat-su-ri] = festival. Many 神輿[mi-ko-shi] = small, portable shrines, were being paraded through the streets. It was very neat to watch.^_^

Large float with smaller mikoshi:

The large float, filled with lanterns:

Close up of a mikoshi carrier:

People pulling the large float:

Mikoshi carriers lifting up the shrine (which is very heavy!!):

 The large float passes by...(inside, were musicians playing 太鼓[tai-ko = a large drum] and flutes):

As mentioned, there were many different mikoshi. I enjoyed watching the various groups come up to the station, receive prayers and then run across the grounds. 

Mikoshi team #2:

Team #3:

JR (Japan Rail) staff wear "happi coats" -- traditional festival clothes:

We then left the station to walk to the castle. I was surprised to see people in rowboats in the castle's moat:

I've been to see many castles in Japan, but Odawara surprised me -- it's really beautiful! I love the white and grey colors. I got a photo....

My friend and I climbed through the castle all the way to the top, which commanded amazing views of the ocean.

View #1:

cutenekko love ocean views!

The ocean = pure happiness. ^_^

The inside of the castle is really great for history buffs. There are English translations for all the exhibits. Visitors can read the history of the castle, the battles, and see various artifacts from the time. It's very well presented and the route through the museum snakes up 4 floors! I highly recommend visiting. ^_^ (sorry no photographs were allowed inside the castle)

My friend also took a funny photo of me at the exit of the castle. Can you find me? (laugh)

After descending, we wondered around the castle grounds where they had festival food stalls set up. I bought this sweet, called 今川焼き[i-ma-ga-wa-yaki]...

It's made of pancake dough with sweet red beans inside. Hot, fresh and yummy! ^_^/

Leaving the castle grounds, you can see the red bridge, which crosses the moat. We had bought some popcorn and enjoyed feeding the fish here. ^_^

While heading back to the station, we heard the single, steady beat of a drum. Investigating what it was, we were surprised to see a parade coming down the street.

Monks with the drum and other banners...

Following them, was a large group of men supporting a big mikoshi...

Close up of the guys carrying the larger mikoshi:

Finally, while heading back to the station, my friend suddenly stopped in the middle of the street. He asked: "Hey cutenekko, have you ever eaten たい焼き[tai-ya-li = baked fish shaped snack]?" I hadn't, so Samurai rushed back to order two. What is taiyaki? Here is a photo:

The inside looks like this:

You can get various flavors -- custard cream, chocolate, sweet red beans. The photo above was Samurai's (sweet red beans). I ordered chocolate. ^_^ It was really yummy! I nibbled on my snack happily while walking back to Odawara station.

I hope you enjoyed all the photos from the festival. I will be sure to visit this seaside town again! ^_^

Odawara is a beautiful seaside town with a historical castle and many small shrines. It's easy to explore on foot and is a nice day trip from Tokyo, and apparently, a popular date spot! (laugh) Information is HERE.

Odawara castle info is HERE. Access: JR Odakyu line.

The snacks eaten on this trip, Taiyaki & Imagawayaki are on wikipedia. Visit the pages HERE (taiyaki) & HERE (imagawayaki) to read more.