![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/IMG_1671.jpg\" "\\"IMG_1671\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nPart of the trip was through Shizuoka prefecture and I tried to take a picture of the hills. There’s tea in them that hills. Instead of fields of rice paddies, there are fields with tea\u00a0<\/p>\n Some of the stops were quick and I was expecting Hamamatsu to be the same, but there were lots of people getting off and it was a long stop.<\/p>\n And there goes the train.<\/p>\n Hamamatsu looked inviting.<\/p>\n I dropped off my bags at the hotel and started walking towards Hamamatsu castle. I saw a temple and the gate was closed.<\/p>\n It was a rainy day and there was almost no one on the streets. It was a lot different than the streets of Tokyo.<\/p>\n Here’s a temple I saw on the street. It looks like a shrine from someone’s house.<\/p>\n Holding the camera under the umbrella is going to make for a lot of crappy pictures today.<\/p>\n But there were larger temples on the way.<\/p>\n I finally made it to Hamamatsu Castle Park.<\/p>\n I couldn’t figure out where I was and the signs led me to believe I was supposed to go up these stairs.<\/p>\n Fortunately, the stairs lead to the tower of the castle.<\/p>\n I found out that the tower was rebuilt in the 1950’s and is the only part of the castle left other than the walls.<\/p>\n But there was a nice view from the top of the tower. Here’s the view back towards Hamamatsu station. I also saw a lot of jet fighters from the self-defense station in town.<\/p>\n Here’s another crappy picture of the statue of Tokugawa Ieyasu who was at this castle.<\/p>\n Then I went looking for some lunch, but there weren’t many stores to be found. In fact, all I saw were several Lawson convenience stores. I finally found a store and at 1PM it was pretty empty. I was also told that they were out of the daily special and only had the tonkatsu. Turns out the tonkatsu was pretty good.<\/p>\n I started back towards the station and the Hamamatsu City Museum of Musical Instrument. But I did see some large temples. This one, I think, is Shofukuji Temple.<\/p>\n Whatever it is, it’s new and big.<\/p>\n Across the street is Saint Christophers, which was odd looking enough that I took a picture.<\/p>\n I also saw Shinzoji Temple, which looked pretty large from the street. I had to go way around the neighborhood to find the entrance.<\/p>\n Next door was an even larger shrine, Gosha Shrine.<\/p>\n It was a huge temple.<\/p>\n I finally found my way to the Hamamatsu City Museum of Musical Instrument and it was pretty cool. I listened to the museum recording and there were EIGHTY stations. The pictures are especially shitty because, well, they’re shitty. The first display was of a gamelan.<\/p>\n There were also a lot of Korean instruments.<\/p>\n Of course there were traditional Japanese instruments as well.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n When I got downstairs there were lots of western and African instruments and there was a demonstration of a giraffe piano (a type of upright).<\/p>\n It was in a hall full of pianos, clavichords, harpsichords, and other unique keyboards. There were also cutaways that showed how the keyboards worked.<\/p>\n The other half of the floor had lots of percussive instruments as well as string instruments and wind instruments.<\/p>\n I mean seriously, this is a European instrument from the 1800’s that is no longer played.<\/p>\n Or this valve trombone thingy?<\/p>\n This was amongst all the other trombone-like things.<\/p>\n Tucked away upstairs were the electronic instruments.<\/p>\n And hidden behind those was a large room of Japanese-made pianos, and then a play room with lots of instruments to try out (including a banjo!).<\/p>\n The third thing I wanted to try was the famous Hamamatsu eel. I went to a small shop where I was the only customer and the prices of the fresh unagi varied by size.<\/p>\n I had a medium one. The unagi had a fresh flavor and not just the cooked and flavored taste I’m used to. It was tasty.<\/p>\n So there’s Hamamatsu. I’m blaming the blurriness on the rain. Just pretend I did it on purpose with Instagram like I was a hipster.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My last night in Tokyo was pretty loud. I figured I could put up with it for one last night. I got up and had to make it to Tokyo Station to catch the Shinkansen for Hamamatsu. Man, was it crowded. I had to push my way onto the first train. Part of the trip was through Shizuoka prefecture and I tried to take a picture of the hills. There’s tea in them that hills. Instead of fields of rice paddies, there are fields with tea\u00a0 Some of the stops were quick and I was expecting Hamamatsu to be the same, but there were lots of people getting off and … Continue reading Japan Day 29<\/span> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n