Hikone - a castle town in Shiga Prefecture a short distance northeast of Kyoto |
West gate exit from Hikone Station for Hikone Castle |
Map of Hikone |
The first glimpse of Hikone Castle from the JR Station |
The square in front of JR Hikone Station |
In front of JR Hikone Station |
Statue of Ii Naomasa, Hikone |
Ii Naomasa (1561-1602), a general of Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu |
Ii Naomasa (井伊 直政) - one of the four guardians of the Tokugawa |
Statue of Ii Naomasa, Hikone |
Il Naomasa outfitted his troops in blood red armor earning them the name "Red Devils" |
Statue of Ii Naomasa, Hikone |
Statue of Ii Naomasa, Hikone |
Statue of Ii Naomasa, Hikone |
The square in front of Hikone Station |
Statue of Ii Naomasa, Hikone |
Model of Hikone Castle in front of the JR Station |
Clock Tower, JR Hikone Staiton |
Old-style stele on the back of a turtle, Hikone |
The main street of Hikone's modern town center, Sawacho |
Sawacho, Hikone's Main Street |
Stone carving shop along Sawacho, Hikone |
A little large for my carry-on bag |
Hikone's Samuri Kitty mascot |
Welcome to Hikone with the Samuri Kitty mascot |
Hikone, Shiga Prefecture |
Building in Hikone flying the Japanese and American flags |
Statue, Hikone |
Guardian figure, Hikone |
Perhaps one of the Four Heavenly Kings |
Japanese Shakyamuni Buddha, Hikone |
Statue of Ii Naosuke (1815-1860), Daimyo of Hikone |
Ii Naosuke rose to besome Chief Minister of the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1858 and helped open Japan to the outside world |
In 1858, Ii Naosuke signed the 2nd Treaty of Amity and Commerce with the USA, an unequal treaty heavily in the favor of the USA |
Ii Naosuke was assassinated outside Edo Castle in 1860 by Mito loyalists |
Monument to the Life of a Cherry Blossom, 1964, commemorating novelist Seiichi Funabashi's story about Tairo Naosuki Ii |
Japanese postbox with a bronze sculpture of the keep of Hikone Castle |
Japanese postbox with a bronze sculpture of the keep of Hikone Castle |
Japanese license plate - Hikone |
Southwest of Hikone Castle is a nice street, Honmachi |
Hikone, Japan |
Honmachi, Hikone |
Honmachi, Hikone |
Honmachi, Hikone |
Honmachi, Hikone |
Honmachi, Hikone |
Honmachi, Hikone |
Japanese woman with a puppet of Hikone's mascot |
Hikone, Japan |
Honmachi, Hikone |
Honmachi, Hikone |
Honmachi, Hikone |
Honmachi, Hikone |
A statue with a tradition Japanese tile roof, Hikone |
Hikone, Japan |
Autumn colors, Hikone |
Temple roof with a blue sky, Hikone |
Temple roof, Hikone - 宗安寺 |
Temple gate off Honmachi, southwest Hikone |
Temple roof, Hikone - 宗安寺 |
2-3-7 Honmachi, Hikone, Shiga Prefecture 522-0064, Japan |
Statue in the temple on Honmachi Street, Hikone |
Sun shining through a statue, Hikone |
Honmachi - Hikone |
Honmachi - Hikone |
Honmachi - Hikone |
Statue - wandering monk, Hikone |
Statue - wandering monk, Hikone |
Temple bell tower, Hikone |
Honmachi Street, Hikone |
Honmachi Street, Hikone |
Honmachi Street, Hikone |
Autumn colors, Hikone |
Japan Self-defense Forces, Hikone |
Motor Psycho Japanese Kustom Kulture |
Samurai Jeans - Made in Osaka, Japan |
Headed back to the JR Station, Hikone |
Special Rapid Service - Hikone to Kyoto |