Katsuren Castle

As part of Rodney's time off following our getaway, we marked another item off our bucket list....
Katsuren Castle.

The ruins date back to the early 14th century and are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

 

 

This is a place best explored in tennis shoes! Walking up the hill from the visitors' center can be a bit tricky in flip-flops!

 

After walking up the hill to the grounds, there are still stairs to climb to the lower level of the castle.

Miitwugaa Well ~ The well for couples.
As the story goes, if a couple kisses by the well, they'll be together forever. But, if one of them should leave the other, the one who leaves will die!

And look~ more stairs!
These lead to the middle level of the castle.

The top level can only be reached by "climbing" these "stairs"!!

But, if you carefully maneuver the walkway, you get some great views!! 

From the top looking down to the second level where the palace stood and the lower level beyond.

Going back down is really the trickiest part!!

The outer wall

 

It's fascinating how they used the natural landscape as part of their defense!

 

This patch of clover brought back memories......
My grandpa could walk by a patch of clover, reach down and, lickety split, find a four leaf clover!!

This is how the Japanese dress to tour....

But, they always carry their umbrellas, which turned out to be a good thing this day!!

If you're thirsty, you can get a drink from the vending machine by the visitors' center decorated just for Katsuren Castle!!