Obijo Castle

Waking up to sunshine on the other morning led us to plan a day at the beach. I put on my swimsuit, we packed a beach bag and Luke put his surfboard on top of the car. As soon as the engine started, so did the rain. We made a quick trip to the convenience store (a chain called Lawson Station that I am absolutely fascinated with, even though it is the Japanese equivalent of 7-11) to grab some snacks and reconsider our options, then it was back to Luke’s to unload the surfboard. Other beach accessories still in tow, we headed out to see where the weather might take us.

As is turns out, Obijo Castle is a good rainy day spot. Good, that is, if you have an umbrella, which we did, and are not wearing your beach clothes (read: short skirt and t-shirt over swimsuit), which I was – oh well. We forged ahead despite my scantiness.

Obijo Castle is the restored feudal estate of the _________family (still looking for the brochure we got, then Luke will have to translate). The main attraction is the mansion. This sprawling residence is literally covered in tatami mats and features several bathrooms, a large kitchen and sauna. Also includes plenty of samurai armor storage space. Surrounding grounds are incomparable.

In addition to the main house, there are several outbuildings you can visit, one of which houses a museum filled with kimonos, calligraphy and samurai relics. We sought refuge from the downpour in both the museum and in a smaller, but no less grand, home down the way from the mansion. The garden here is most impressive, but it was kind of flooded due to the rain. You can sort of get the jist from the pictures (see the Obijo Castle album).

Surrounding the entire property are massive, mossy stone walls. This stronghold, it is safe to assume, was built to protect the family from the warring samurai in the next fortress over.

After getting rainsoaked at the castle, we started our journey back to Miyakonojo, stopping for lunch along the way at a small restaurant in the country. I think we were the first foreigners to stop in there in a while, maybe ever, as they were all smiles, sort of beaming with wonder that we thought to stop in.