Matsumoto Castle

We took the train from Shibu Onsen to Matsumoto for a couple days. 

The kids seize the opportunity for a quick power nap.  

View from the train.

Super fun trees along the train station.

The ONLY time I've felt uneasy in Japan, was when we first arrived in Matsumoto and exited the train station to find a crowd gathered holding signs and listening to a man speaking. Then they marched past our hotel. I wish we knew what that was about. 

Our hotel is a combination of Japanese and Western style. There's still a tiny entry room in which to remove shoes before stepping inside and slippers for guests to wear instead. At check-in the kids were each given a special bag with white Japanese slippers of their own and an animal shaped sponge for their bath. 

The hotel key card must be inserted in a slot inside the room in order for the electricity to operate- smart! You must leave the key at the front desk when leaving the hotel for any reason- weird! This was the case at our ryokan as well. They serve "midnight noodles", free ramen beginning at 930pm. The free breakfast included honeybee larvae which Journey liked, but Asher did not. We've eaten a lot of weird things this trip, but this was definitely weirdest so far. 

While walking thru town we came across this little flea market.

And this super cool bookstore.

And then we caught our first glimpse of our destination, Matsumoto Castle!

We were greeted by real ninjas who taught the kids the ready stance.

Matsumoto Castle was built in 1506, it is the oldest existing castle in Japan!

No shoes are allowed inside the castle. They provide a bag for your shoes and slippers for your feet while you are inside. They don't have any small enough for the kids though, so they wore their socks.

A couple floors are now used as a museum displaying armor, weapons and other items used at the castle over the years.

This display showed how they made bullets. 

The castle is six stories tall, but from the outside appears to only have five floors 

thanks to the hidden third floor where they stored supplies.

There are many narrow, steep staircases.

Coins from different time periods.

Looking out over the red bridge. 

The top (sixth) floor. 

It's amazing to see your child place their hands on something that is 500 years old!

The view from the top! The lines show where the walls used to be, further protection for the castle.

More huge doors guarding the castle. 

A nice gentleman gave the kids bread to feed the enormous fish in the moat. He complemented their Japanese, which made me a proud mama, even if they only know the basics. Men often give them little individually wrapped candies and the women like to speak to them and touch their hands in a sweet way.

On our way back to the hotel, the kids paid respect to the Yohashira Shrine.

Bow, bow, clap, clap, bow, ring bell. 

The next day we took the train back thru the winter wonderland to Tokyo.