Like many castles, it was built on a high location and surrounded by a moat. The architecture and style of the building was pleasantly different than something you might find in America or England.
We arrived at the sumo tournament just in time to watch the opening ring ceremony where two groups of sumo wrestlers formed circles around the ring.
Sumo matches generally last around five minutes but the first four minutes are spent posturing and psyching themselves up. Then when both sumo wrestlers have wiped their faces and touched both knuckles to the ground, the furious slapping, pushing, and shoving starts. The period in which they actually wrestle each other is brief but very intense. It is possible to win a match by forcing the other wrestler to the ground, out of the ring, or in one case into the first row of the audience.
After we saw the sumo tournament, we took a train to Kyoto. Once there, we stayed in a traditional Japanase style hotel. The floor was mostly made of tatami mats and the furniture is very low. Instead of a Western style bed they have futon mats on the floor. The doors were all sliding doors and you had to remove your shoes before you went in.
The next morning, we went on a peaceful nature hike just outside of the hotel. We saw lots of interesting plantlife and heard many birds. Along the way was a small wooded shrine.
After the nature trail, we spent a full day exploring Kyoto. We went to an area called Arashiyama, which is outside of the downtown area. We went to the Monkey Park at the top of a large, steep hill. The hike was slighly unpleasant but it was definitely worth it to see all those monkeys. It was snowing when we reached the park at the top, which was fitting since we saw snow monkeys. We were even allowed to stand inside of a caged building and feed the monkeys as they reached through the bars. The monkeys had a very solid grip and their claws were sharper than I expected.
The picture below proves my theory that monkeys are funny.
After more exploring in Arashiyama, we went to a taiko drumming lesson. Taiko drums are very big and you play them while standing. They are carved from a single tree and covered in cowhide. It was the only drum lesson I ever had where you were supposed to whack the drum as hard as you could. You have to hit the drum so forcefully that it tires you out.
Next we went to Nijo Castle. It was a large place but not heavily decorated on the inside. This building is unique because of the nightingale floors. The shogun was paranoid that somebody would sneak in at night and assasinate him so he purposefully had squeaky floors built.
Finally we took the train back to Tokyo and rested in our hotel room.
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