Japan Day 5, Part 4: Nijo-jo Castle

On my fifth day in Kyoto I managed to make it back to the part of town near my hostel and the train station in time to go on a tour of the castle, Nijo-jo. 

It was surprisingly green inside the gates. There was a bamboo grove...

...shrines and graves surrounded by trees and shrubs, and gardens fit for a temple. 

The buildings inside the walls looked like temples as well. More effort was placed on ornamentation than defense.

The inner wall's gate was almost gaudily ornate.

I liked the old wooden buildings in the center of the courtyard.

The gardens were beautiful. I saw a heron on a stone slab bridge. 

In case you couldn't tell by all the pictures I took of them, I really liked those stone slab bridges.

There was one place where the outer walls were accessible, and there was a nice view of the inner buildings from their heights.

It was really only when exiting the castle that it looked like a fortress. The moat and walls certainly looked like they would strongly discourage taking the place by force.

The outer gate was a lot more concerned with being sturdy than the inner one, though even it had  a touch of elegance. 

I was not surprised to learn that the inner buildings had burned down twice, though I would not have predicted that neither case was from war. Once was from lightning and once was from a city-wide fire. Japanese castles are definitely more stylish than European ones, but I know which I'd prefer to be in if attacked by enemies with siege engines and fire arrows.