Castles, dungeons, and dragons

This weekend I went to Osaka to visit some friends. They taught me how to play Dungeons and Dragons, and we had a lovely time playing until 3am. I was a headbutting half-elf monk orphan. Anyways, this is the hair dryer that my friends let me use in the morning. It's so tiny, yet it still works really well.


I also went to the Himeji Castle, north of Kobe. The Himeji Castle is one of the twelve castles in Japan remaining from the feudal era. The moat, defensive walls, living corridors, and storage buildings were all built in 1346. The main structure was built in 1600. I was really impressed with the castle. It was beautiful and really well kept. I went all the way to the top. Inside there were diaries, guns, calligraphy, and armor on display.



Everyone had to put their shoes in a plastic bag and put on slippers before entering the main building.

And of course, there were no scribbles allowed.

The windows were built extra high in many of the rooms. If the castle were to be attacked, the guns and ammunition were kept on the floor, and the people shot through the windows up on the platforms.

These are gun racks.

Outside the moat, there's a beautiful park with multiple gardens in it. I partook in the tea ceremony in the tea house in the middle of the park.