The view from Inuyama-Jyo.

So I mentioned back in January that we spent four days in the town of Inuyama for our program orientation, but neglected to write any more about it. However, it was actually one of the most interesting places I visited in the Nagoya area. Inuyama castle is the oldest original castle in Japan - somewhere on the order of 400 years old. Only a handful of Japan's castles remain unburned or unbombed - many of the others have been rebuilt but it's just not the same.


The stairs are incredibly steep so that invading ninjas couldn't sprint upstairs with weapons in hand. Each stair is over a foot deep, so holding the handrails was a must.


It was fascinating to wander around the various levels of the castle, but the best part was the view from the top - you can see out over the Kiso river into Gifu prefecture.


I was able to visit Inuyama-jyo again during the Inuyama festival in April (see here) and snapped this shot of the castle amid cherry blossoms:


Inuyama is only forty minutes out of Nagoya - not a spot to see on your very first visit to Japan, but if you're living or working in Aichi, or if you're sightseeing in Kyoto and get bored (is that possible?), I'd definitely encourage you to go tour the castle of "Dog Mountain".