place to visite in Japan

I plan to visit Japan next summer.
Which places are well worth it?

amphipolis

Amphipolis
In regard to Japanese history, Kamakura (in Kanagawa
Prefecture, about 50 minutes by train south of Tokyo
is well worth a visit, as there are a number of
swordmakers in the vicinity, aswell as the historical
sights themselves . If you're in Osaka, a visit to
the Osaka-jo is well worth a visit . The castle
itself is a twentieth reconstruction but the
exhibitions regarding the city's medieval history, and
in particular the camapaigns of 1615, are excellent .
Kyoto is another obvious choice as history lurks
around most corners, and a trip to Fukuoka could
include visits to sights related to the Mongols'
attempted invasions of the latter thirteenth century .
I hope you have as good a time in Japan as I do .
Michael Lorimer .

Kyoto for one, I've been here almost 9 years and still haven't seen all
there is to see here, Kansai in general is great Osaka, Nara, its just
dripping history , Himeiji Castle in Hyogo ken, the best of the few
remaining original castles, Meiji mura in Gifu ken, its a collecction of
19th buildings in a beautiful park.

----- Original Message -----
From: amphipolis <xgl1972@...>
To: SAMURAI HISTORY <samuraihistory@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, May 04, 2002 5:24 PM
Subject: [samuraihistory] place to visite in Japan


> I plan to visit Japan next summer.
> Which places are well worth it?
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> amphipolis
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For me the two best places to visit is Mt. Hiei, site of the Enryaku-
ji monastery, and the Bishamon temple in Yamashina, Kyoto (a 20 or so
minute walk from Yamashina station).
Mt. Hiei is well worth it just to see not only how huge the whole
complex is, but to marvel at how in the world Nobunaga could have
ever gathered enough forces to surround and burn such a huge place.
As for Bishamon, for me it has a more authentic look and feel than
almost any other temples I've been to (and I've been to MANY) - it
served as rest stops for many Daimyo, including Hideyoshi and
Tokugawa. It is still quite isolated, and doesn't get much tourist
traffic, which makes it even better, and my grandmother-in-law lives
down a path a few minutes walk away from it, so I've been there quite
a few times. It is one of the temples I never get tired of walking
around it. The 5 or 600 yen entry fee is actually reasonable when
compared to the average.
Osaka castle is also well worth the trip for the museum inside - just
pretend that it isn't a cement reconstruction, and you'll be fine.
Daigo-ji in kyoto is also worth a trip to see the site of Hideyoshi's
final cherry blossom viewing ceremony, although according to one of
the monks, it what is there now was completed after hideyoshi's
death. It was in the process of being redone while he was alive.
If you were going to Kyushu, I'd recommend going to Omura castle in
Nagasaki, and to the remains of the castle in Saiki, Oita (I think is
tsuru-yama), and the associated temple there. The temple was
originally on the mountain where the castle remains now stand, but in
around 1604 or so the lord had the temple taken off the mountain and
relocated, because he wanted his castle up there. Soon after it was
finished, it was struck by lightning and burned to the ground. They
took it as a bad omen for moving the shrine, and never rebuilt the
castle. It is in a good location, you can see over the entire city.
There is even the remains of a WWII AA gun emplacement on the castle
grounds.

Hey can u tell me something about Boshin Wars...