and i really felt the pull. But 2 weeks off and $10k or so airfare for a family of five... ugh.


>I definitely think that sounds right up my alley! My GF is
>very about visiting the gardens and the shrines, so Kobori
>Enshu for sure

Nice!

>We're planning on visiting Osaka, any reason why you'd give it
>a miss?

Well Osaka is... a big city. I guess I don't really know what a foreign tourist would want to see; the castle isn't great compared to some others (Himeji for example), and I don't recall much else touristy or charming about it. Maybe the plum bossom grove (ume bairin) outside the castle, if timing works for you?

I was there for college (Osaka Pref. but halfway between Osaka and Kyoto) and spent a lot more time in Kyoto, both for tourism and social stuff - it was a much more comfortable place for me. But I'm not really an urban guy. Most of my best travel times, both in college and in the later 90s on JET, were out in the sticks. Did a ton of hitchhiking, and my JET posting was way up north in Iwate prefecture. Loved it.


>>Or a more off the beaten path,
>>there’s an all original castle I think called Takahashira.
>>Still doable as a day trip in the Kansas region but would
>>involve slower trains and far fewer people.

Looked this up to refresh the memory yesterday - it's Matsuyama Bichuu Castle, aka Takahashi Castle (so I was close, but I remembered it's not the usual 'hashi' in 'Takahashi,' so... points, I guess). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitch%C5%AB_Matsuyama_Castle