Voyage Junkie

A few days after the earthquake catastrophe, our friend Nik (featured on this blog in many previous posts) came to visit.  He escaped the rolling blackouts and possible heightened radiation of Yokohama by visiting first Osaka and then Gifu.  The next few posts will be dedicated to our many travels, but first, here are just a few Engrish signs we happened upon. On 3/17 we headed to Inuyama.  On the way to the train, we saw "Bakery Cannon."  Nik and Matt decided to go in and get lots of bread-centered brunch food.  It was unbelievable food, very French in style.  Matt had a small baguette with salami, then a foccacia pizza, then a melon pan.  Nik had a bacon and cheese croissant sandwich and a apple fritter-esque croissant-based pastry.  The name did indeed reference cannons, and purposely: the baker's name is Taihou , which can mean cannon in Japanese. In a few blocks from Bakery Cannon, we happened upon SPIC salon.  I may...

On 3/17, Matt, Nik and I journeyed to Inuyama (dog mountain).  The castle there is one of twelve castles still in its original state, aka not destroyed by WWII bombings or the Japanese themselves.  It was built in 1537 by Oda Yojirou Nobuyasu, an uncle of Gifu's own warlord, Oda Nobunaga.  It changed hands many times over the centuries, and was crucial in the fight against Tokugawa Ieyasu, who if you'll remember was from Okazaki, and won the fight to unify Japan.  In 1871, during the Meiji period, the government took control of the castle.  Most of the surrounding buildings were torn down, so the gate and watch towers are newer recreations completed in 1965.  However, the central building is original, and the oldest standing castle in Japan.  The authenticity of the building can't be reproduced; I had such a different feeling when exploring this castle as compared to any castle previous.  It is scary, awe-inspiring, and flawed in ways the others a...