After leaving Mojiko, we headed over to Kokura station to see Kokura Castle. Inside the castle was mostly a museum dedicated to the history of the castle, the Kokura area and Japanese history in general. There wasn't a lot of English around, but there was enough to see and do to keep interested. I feel this would have been more fun with kids because there were a lot of interactive activities and photo opportunities. We got there after 4:30 and they closed at 6:00 so we had just enough time to see the castle. There are also gardens here that you can view for an extra charge, but we didn't have time to see them.
Scale model of the castle and surrounding areas showing what the area might have looked like many years ago.
View from the top floor of the castle.
Outside the castle there is a small temple area where you can see some interesting sights too. After seeing the castle, we walked around the area. There was some shopping and market areas, but we were so exhausted by this point we didn't really have the strength to look around too much. Finally we found our bus at 10:30 back to the airport from Kokura station and got our plane home. All in all it was a pleasant trip and much better timing than Tokyo, which felt like a lot of rushing and waiting and constant battle to figure out how to take the subway. If you get the chance to take one of these weekend trips, the prices are not bad (for Japan) and it's especially nice if you don't need to work on Monday mornings.
Expect one more post about my culinary experience. I hope to have that up in the next day or two! That might be the longest post of all! I love Japanese food!
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