Nagoya

This past Saturday, I visited Nagoya -- the fourth largest city in Japan and the closest (1.5 hours by local train) to where I live. Nagoya is best known for its castle adorned with golden dolphins. Although the structure is a reproduction (the original was destroyed in the 1600s), it still was beautiful as was the surrounding gardens.

I also visited a crazy shopping district that had not only a second-hand kimono shop, but several that sold kosupure wear as well (elaborate and EXPENSIVE costumes designed to look like famous Japanese anime and manga characters and worn recreationally by citizens who want hide behind the mask of another so that they can have an outlet for personal expression). I also stumbled across a store that sold clothes by their weight. Unfortunately, I didn't buy anything the 1 gram = 100 yen brought a quite a crowd and I wasn't patient enough to stand in a never-ending line.