My February Japan Today article highlights the many historical sites to visit in Matsue, capital of Shimane Prefecture. Matsue is a 400 year old castle town, but also has some interesting history related to the end of the nineteenth century. Plenty to see and do! (Archived article, originally published in Japan Today.)
The Chiba Prefecture city of Sakura, about an hour east of Tokyo, got its start as a castle/garrison town guarding access to Edo (pre-modern day Tokyo). Although the castle itself was torn down in the 1870s (along with most of Japan's castles) by decree of the Meiji government, the town's roots as a castle town … Continue reading The Samurai Street of Sakura
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