Japan Dec 2011 Day 11: Kumamoto Castle 熊本城

The  highlight of today is a visit to Kumamoto castle 熊本城. Although only part of the castle is original, it is still a very impressive castle worthy of a spot as one of the top 3 castles in Japan.
The visit is made even more enjoyable by staff dressed as palace guards, shogun and whatnots. Everyone wanted to take pictures of them and with them, me included hahaha

I stuck my head into one of those ready-made costume models

We ended our tour at the Honmaru Goten 本丸御殿 where the living quarters, kitchens, dining areas used to be. We had lunch at level 2, a set that replicates some of the royal dishes that used to be served. Reservations are required, by phone (Japanese only... I used my very broken Japanese again). JPY3000 per person. Do turn up if reservation is made because they actually prepare your meal, set your table with your name and have a shelf with your name for your shoes. Ask for level 2 as it is much nicer.

They spelt my name wrongly

Since we had the car, we decided to check out Tsujun Bridge 通潤橋 which sprouts water from the centre every Sunday according to the website and it was Sunday. However, to our disappointment, there was no water T-T Chris had driven 1.5 x 2 hours for nothing. I didn't even bother to take a picture haha i was just quite pissed hahaha

Dinner was a not that great yakitori at our hotel (JR Kyushu Kumamoto) restaurant. We noticed that there is a New Otani across the road that we my try the next time or perhaps the KKR.