Kitakyushu - Part 1

I headed back to Nagano after visiting with the Monkeys. It had been snowing there also.

Nagano looks a lot prettier covered in snow.

Or at the very least the bleak, vague sense of emptiness feels appropriate.

No. Prettier.

 The next morning it was time to catch a series of trains to make my way down to Kitakyushu on the Kyushu, the south island.

Looking at the tracks next to the train filled me with a vague sense of unease.
At least I could still see them, and they hadn't been completely buried I guess.

There was a lot more snow on the ride back.

Especially once the blizzard started.

It looked like this for ages, and then we spend all of 10 seconds going through a tunnel

and out the other side it looked like this.

A few hours later (6 or so) I was in Kitakyushu.

Next to the station is about 3 square blocks of shopping arcades.

Despite being warmer than the towns covered in snow, the wind coming off this river makes Kitakyushu feel way colder.

After a night's rest I decided to cross the river and see

The world famous, heritage listed, Castle... and Pickle Shop.

There's a tiger theme to the place.

and an enormous drum.

"See? Because of me, now they have a warning"

More tiger wall hangings.

Interactive exhibits.

Try riding in a Daimyo Palanquin.
Only one person at a time!

See the size of this bag?

Yeah. That ain't happening.

Apparently the castle is different to most other Japanese castles in that they used it to store
their leadership, rather than piles and piles of explosives.
Possibly why it is still in such good shape.

A replica of the boat oar that Musashi beat a guy to death with.

The castle's mascot.

 After that it was then off to have some lunch and decide what to see in the afternoon.

The gardens? The train museum? The TOTO toilet museum?

Decisions, decisions.

A series of statues of women with pasta instead of heads that I saw on the way back from the castle.