Kumamoto Castle Chosen "Top Japanese Castle"

Above, the Mt. Aso blizzard I saw instead of Kumamoto Castle.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Six years ago, I went to Kumamoto in Kyushu as it is the "gateway" city for Mount Aso Volcano National Park.  Mount Aso, as kaiju fans know, was one of the prime locations used for Rodan in 1956.

I spent most of one day traveling from Tokyo to Kumamoto, first by shikansen and then by commuter train.  I got to my ryokan (Japanese inn) late in the afternoon.  After all that riding, I was too tired to wander around.  The next day was spent at Mt. Aso.

Now I see an article posted by the Asahi Shimbun about Kumamoto Castle.

It states in part:

KUMAMOTO—Kumamoto Castle was chosen as the top Japanese castle in a recent survey conducted by the popular travel information website TripAdvisor. 

The survey was titled, “Itteyokatta Nihon no Shiro 2013” (Japanese castles favored by visitors, 2013 version). The latest ranking was based on travelers’ comments and evaluations given during a one-year period starting in May 2012. 

Some visitors said they liked the stone walls of Kumamoto Castle, calling them beautiful. Others said they liked the samurai warriors, whom they could pose for pictures with, in the castle’s compound.

Too bad I had to leave Kumamoto the morning after my visit to Mt. Aso instead of visiting Kumamoto Castle. I was set on heading to Nagasaki, Sasebo and Fukuoka to visit locations and landmarks used in Japanese kaiju movies.

Instead of seeing Kumamoto Castle, I experienced a Kyushu blizzard instead.

Oh, well.

To read more on Kumamoto Castle, go here.