Odawara Castle and more - July 18, 2020

Anyone who knows me, knows I love castles. I was really excited to see my first Japanese castle and I was not disappointed. It had a moat and everything! We walked across one of the accessory bridges (Manabibashi Bridge) to enter the castle grounds.

From the Manabibashi Bridge we could see Umadashimondobashi Bridge and Umadashimon Gate.

This is another view of the moat taken from inside the castle.

This is Akeganemon Gate

Along the roof of the gate are Shachihoko. Shachihoko protect Japanese castles from fire. It is said, if the castle catches on fire, water will spray from their mouths.

The woodwork inside Akeganemon gate is really beautiful.

These are the original foundation stones for Akeganemon Gate. They are made of Anzangan rock mined from the rim of Hakone crater. The sign next to them says it is easier to dig a hole in the stone than to break the stone from the holes.

I thought this area of the castle grounds was pretty.

Just outside the castle grounds lotus flowers were blooming and I ducked out to take a few pictures during a break in the rain.

There was a really cool picnic area under a Wisteria trellis next to the lotus flowers.

Back inside the castle grounds, we crossed the Tokiwagibashi Bridge. The bridge overlooks an Iris garden.

This is Tokiwagiman gate. It was rebuilt in 1971.

Once through the gate we passed a small enclosure with monkey in it. Honestly, they were kind of stinky and sad looking so I did not take a picture of them. The main attraction was now in front of us. The castle was originally built in the 15th century and demolished in 1870. It was rebuilt during 1960-2016.

The inside the castle is a very modern museum with not a lot of English signage. There is a really nice 360 degree lookout at the top. You can see the Manazuru Peninsula.

After exploring the castle and a quick ice cream break we explored the grounds some more. The lillies were blooming.

There is a shrine on the grounds called Hotoku Ninomiyajinja Shrine. We entered by the back way and it was incredibly picturesque.

The shrine had a fish pond.

These were some of the statues at the shrine.

From the shrine we continued to explore. This is my favorite view on the castle grounds.

This is the entrance to Umadashimon Gate from the castle grounds.

As we left the grounds by going out Umadashimon Gate (which is actually the main entrance) we got a nice view looking back.

We then decided to walk to the beach. It would be our first time on a Japanese beach. This one was really rocky.

But it had some cool artwork.

It was time to start the trek home. I enjoyed today, but hope we will get a chance to see a castle with its original interior during our remaining time here.