Akashi Castle

        

Akashi Castle is not too far from Himeji. We found out about its existence when we were on our way to Osaka and saw it from the train on one of the stops along our route. The castle was built in the 17th century. It was built so quickly that a law was passed stating that only one castle was allowed per clan. Then in the late 1800's the castle was demolished by the Meiji government. Today, the ruins left are of two yagura (towers/turrets) and surrounding walls. The castle is located in Akashi Park and has large open areas, gardens, and ponds to walk around. We saw many people in the park playing and making paintings of the autumn leaves with watercolors.

Near Akashi Park is Akashi Kaikyo Bridge. It is the world's longest suspension bridge and connects the Japanese mainland to Awaji Island. We walked underneath the bridge in the Maiko Marine Promenade. There's even a private guided tour to climb to the top of the 300-meter towers, although we didn't look into that option for this visit. After walking underneath the bridge we enjoyed a nice view of the sunset. The sunset slowly disappeared over the horizon like a beautiful painting.