Kochijo

Kochijo, or Kochi Castle (as it is known in the guide book), is a very lovely castle located in Kochi City. It's about half a mile from the train station, surrounded by a very beautiful park filled with trees. There is a courtyard (sort of) where you can have a picnic under the cherry blossoms (check - done) and many many stairs to walk up, just in case you have a mind to attack the castle. You won't by the time you get to the top. Especially if you encounter the three rooms of sitting samurai. First the least-skilled and least-experienced noobs - after they die, you work your way up to the emperor's sitting room, where two more samurai are waiting in the closet to kill you if you look too scary. No kidding. You can die, just like that.

Kochi Castle is also one of the only castles in Japan in which you can go all the way up to the top. Let us take a look-see, ne?

Said tower from below

From said tower

It actually is quite cool, because as I said before, most of the castles in Japan (if not all the rest except this one) do not let you walk out and enjoy the absolute terror induced by your completely irrational fear of heights as Kochi Castle does.

Kochi ken is really quite beautiful from up here. It is a wonderful-looking city from far away and the mountains that hem it in are picturesque in the extreme.

Let's continue. I'm getting woozy.

Cool shot

Picturesque. Yes, I am complimenting my own photography.
Pretty soon, I'll start leaving comments on the comment forum
gushing over my fabulous writing style.

Back to the courtyard and such.

In the castle grounds is a little park where you can have a picnic.
Many different groups were already set up, some complete with indoor furniture and tarpaulins,
their coolers already opened, the sake bottles floating around, and the alcohol loosening tongues
and morals within the pretty grounds.

Ha ha! Just kidding about the morals.

But probably not when they got home...