Odawara Castle

On our list of things to do before leaving Japan was to visit Odawara Castle. When planning this little trip we realized that we had not taken our kids on the Shinkansen (bullet train) yet. Mike and I had been on the Shinkansen a few times over the last couple of years but our kids had completely missed out on this experience. Since Odawara was not too far away the tickets for the Shinkansen were not that expensive. At Yokohama Station we stopped at the Kiosk to get some treats for the train. Once aboard the Shinkansen we found two rows of three seats and turned one of the rows around so that we were facing each other. It was fun watching the kids faces as they realized how fast the train sped by all the houses and buildings outside. Once we reached our destination it was just a short 1/2 mile walk to the castle. It was hot and humid outside so we tried to walk fast to avoid being out in the humidity too long. Once at the castle grounds we hiked up a huge staircase to the main area. Odawara Castle was just as big as I imagined. We were able to walk up to the main entrance and take a tour inside. The inside of the castle was just like most of the other castles we had been to in Japan. I think the kids favorite part of the the day was getting ice-cream from the vending machines at the castle. Ice-cream was certainly a great way to cool down in the humid weather. On the way back to the station we stopped at Dunkin Donuts to get a donut and some ice cold water. All I could think about was how much I wasn't going to miss this humidity once we moved away from Japan.