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There are two main things to see in Kumamoto. The first is
Kumamoto Castle.
As with most castles in Japan, Kumamoto's
is a concrete reconstruction of the original but is nevertheless worth seeing.
The castle walls (which are original) were said to be so steep that not even
a mouse could get up to the castle. Likewise you will find the entranceways
to be very easily defendable and the castle is arrayed in a variety of
anti-intruder measures. I enjoyed this castle greatly and think that anyone
interested in seeing the castle technology of the past will find this
interesting. The area around the castle also contains a large number of museums
dealing with Kumamoto's and Japan's past.
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The second site,
Suizenji Park is much
smaller than I expected. The garden is centered on a single pond, with a series
of hills representing the mountains of Japan on the far side (Mount Fuji is
easy to spot), two temples on the left, a tea house on the entranceway side,
and a bunch of souvenir stands on the right. Despite the small size I found
the garden to be quite beautiful. The most convenient point of access to
Kumamoto is the Bus Terminal, which is adjacent to the castle. If you come
by train then you can take the trolley cars system to the castle or garden.
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And speaking of the bus terminal, I had an interesting experience there. I was
leaving on a 7am train so I decided to stay up all night rather than pay for a
room. While waiting in the bus terminal I met several interesting people
including a 70 year old former Yakuza member and this interesting old man at
the left. He had very interesting stories about college in pre-war Japan and
about the war itself.
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