Japanese Castle Explorer

The relationship between the golden shachi of Nagoya castle and the silver ones of Aizu Wakamatsu are seen by some as akin to that of the Go....
28 Sep 2:34 pm from Japanese Castle Explorer

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Castle, in Japanese

One particular Chinese character that tends to catch my eye is 城. To anyone seeing this collection of squiggles for the first time, I trus....
25 Sep 9:03 pm from Japanese Castle Explorer

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Tsukushi clan Mansion

Literally just down the road from where I live in Tosu, Saga Prefecture, sit the ruins of the Tsukushi clan mansion. Just as it would imply,....
23 Sep 4:30 pm from Japanese Castle Explorer

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Kamon, kamon. Do the locomotion with me

Just a quick note to let everyone know about the latest (rolling) update. To most of the Western half of Japan, new domain (藩) & hera....
23 Sep 1:25 pm from Japanese Castle Explorer

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A journey of a thousand miles…

…begins with one step. This journey may well end up with me being completely out-of-shape and borderline obese. I was thinking how good it....
16 Sep 10:33 am from Japanese Castle Explorer

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Towering inferno

For those of you not here in Japan, the country is currently experiencing its annual heat-wave. This occurrence may be familiar to you as Su....
11 Sep 10:06 pm from Japanese Castle Explorer

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Stamp rally – #1 Matsumoto Castle

Back in June 2007, the Nihon Jōkaku Kyōkai (Japan Castle Foundation) launched a stamp rally to promote their list of the top 100 Japanese ....
5 Sep 3:03 pm from Japanese Castle Explorer

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Tsutsujigasaki Yakata

I guess it’s been about two months or so since there’s been a video. Let’s hope was worth the wait. In early August 2010, I found myse....
4 Sep 9:42 pm from Japanese Castle Explorer

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Drainspotting – Odawara Castle

The very first destination of my recent trip was the city of Odawara in Kanagawa Prefecture. Did I visit Odawara castle? Of course. On this....
31 Aug 3:19 pm from Japanese Castle Explorer

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The Latest and Greatest

Though still in its early stages, I am so glad that the main JCE site & its accompanying blog (THIS site of course), now share a common ....
30 Aug 3:35 pm from Japanese Castle Explorer

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Quick post – major update

Hi all, Please check out http://www.japanese-castle-explorer.com/ to see the latest overhaul of the site. The update is probably most cosmet....
29 Aug 10:43 pm from Japanese Castle Explorer

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Bilingual pun #1

舞鶴城 (Maizuru castle) – The dancing-crane castle. Several castles were known as Maizuru castle (Wikipedia lists nine). This one is al....
29 Aug 9:48 am from Japanese Castle Explorer

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August 2010 Trip

Well, the Summer holidays are coming to an end. As much as I’d like them to last for ever, pretty sure that’s an impossibility. Perhaps ....
27 Aug 9:31 pm from Japanese Castle Explorer

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Me again!

Well guys I’ve finally done it. I’ve gone and done the bare minimum to align this blog to the rest of the website. No doubt, it is a lit....
25 Aug 9:07 am from Japanese Castle Explorer

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Cosmetic Surgery – A lovely pair!

Look familiar? If so, you're probably thinking it's the Tsukimi Turret of Takamatsu castle. And, you'd be right. And... If it looks very fa....
21 Jul 9:51 pm from Japanese Castle Explorer

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Yoshinogari Settlement

Just added a new page to the Japanese Castle Explorer. I've gotta be honest, Yoshinogari has never really appealed to me. It is quite a ways....
19 Jul 10:25 am from Japanese Castle Explorer

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Fukuoka castle tower

Image credit: Yomiuri - http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/news/20100702-OYT1T00308.htm There have been so many castles built with massive st....
17 Jul 10:10 am from Japanese Castle Explorer

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Matsue Castle no longer to be an ICP?

Breaking news It appears the days of Matsue castle's main tower being listed as an Important Cultural Property are numbered. They are going ....
15 Jul 1:29 pm from Japanese Castle Explorer

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Jin’ya – A castle that isn’t a castle.

Jin'ya? Castle in Japanese - 城, represented a lot of things. It ranged from something massive and modern like Nagoya or Himeji castles rig....
14 Jul 5:47 pm from Japanese Castle Explorer

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WWII – Tachiarai Airfield museum

Well, between procrastination and not having a means to visit, I finally checked out the Tachiarai Peace Hall. You may well imagine it to be....
11 Jul 9:40 am from Japanese Castle Explorer

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Back to school

I was walking around the school between lessons looking for a teacher (I work at 8 schools in Kurume city) & came across a room filled w....
26 Jun 8:29 am from Japanese Castle Explorer

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Asahiyama Castle Ruins

Another video! I jumped in the car and drove down the road for about 10 minutes or so. Me and Taiga ended up at the Asahiyama Castle Ruins, ....
20 Jun 1:35 am from Japanese Castle Explorer

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JCE on Gaijinpot

Just a quick note guys. A story has been done about the JCE website and in particular the map and it appears on the Gaijinpot website. Here....
19 Jun 2:43 pm from Japanese Castle Explorer

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Travel bug

This is the very bus I took from Fukuoka to Kyoto. It wasn't as confortable as it looks. Choose your own adventure I have got to say tha....
18 Jun 10:21 pm from Japanese Castle Explorer

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Shogun 2: Totally Awesome

Apologies for what is a massive ego posting plain and simple. First, a bit of backstory. There was a game released for the PC about 10 years....
13 Jun 12:18 pm from Japanese Castle Explorer

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Apologies for what is a massive ego posting plain and simple.

Apologies for what is a massive ego posting plain and simple. First, a bit of backstory. There was a game released for the PC about 10 years....
13 Jun 12:13 pm from Japanese Castle Explorer

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All roads lead to Edo

Finally, another post. And, finally another video. Does this video actually answer any questions? I'm not really sure. It's just me driving ....
12 Jun 1:09 pm from Japanese Castle Explorer

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Rate my castle

Early this year I added a function that allowed people to rate the castles they'd visited. It's not a perfect system but it has allowed fo....
6 Jun 11:21 am from Japanese Castle Explorer

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Return of the king

Hurrah! Ye olde functionality hath returned! Perhaps I'm being a little over dramatic but after over a year on the back burner (and being co....
30 May 9:06 am from Japanese Castle Explorer

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Show and tell – Tsuba II

Earlier this year I introduced to you all my interest in Tsuba, the hand guards of Japanese swords (link). Well, here is another in my coll....
27 May 8:58 pm from Japanese Castle Explorer

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