“Well, we won’t have the car for three hours. Are we just going to hang out at Yellow Hat or something?”
That was how our Saturday planning started. We were finally getting a drive recorder installed in our car, something we’d wanted to do for years. It’s nothing fancy, but in a country like Japan where almost all responsibility for all accidents fall on the driver unless you have evidence it’s a good thing to have.
“The shop’s near the station, so how about hanging out in Inuyama.”
And that’s how our nice afternoon date came to be.
Inuyama Castle Town
We rode into Inuyama Yuen Station and walked to the castle area. If it’s your first time in Inuyama, I highly recommend checking out the castle. There are only 12 original castles remaining and it’s one of them. We’re local and have seen the castle numerous times, so we went straight to the castle town. It’s mostly one street that’s lined with shops selling photo worthy food and cute items.
We stopped by the Cocotomo shop nearest the castle for rice sandwiches and drinks.
We walked around a bit and Dude dropped by his dermatologist in Inuyama since it was nearby. I entertained myself by going to the Dondenkan for the first time.
Dondenkan
Yes. I’ve lived in this area for 8 years and I’ve set foot inside. I wasn’t planning on going in, but there’s a public restroom right outside it and I just happened to notice that entry is only 100 yen. So I went in.
They have some nice tatami sitting areas and small displays when you first enter, but the real display is through the doors further back.
These huge things are stored here!
These parade floats are called “yama” (山車) in this area. I see them regularly when I do enbu during the spring Inuyama Matsuri with the Keido Eishin Kai iaido group, but I’ve never seen them in storage before! You can only see four of them here; the others are in storage around the neighborhood.
The route continues upstairs where they have more displays.
They have a diorama of the yama going around the Inuyama castle town and some smaller models of the yama, including my favorite boat-shaped one that’s stored elsewhere. They also had information about the mechanical karakuri ningyo dolls that are placed at the top of the yama.
Kimono Shopping
I still had a little time before Dude rejoined me, so I went to my favorite place in Inuyama for used kimono and found a few items.
They sell a range of items from antiques, kimono, and handmade items. I lucked out and found a sheer summer kimono, a summer obijime, and some cute fabric for making stuff, all for a total of just 1900 yen. It’s starting to cool off and it’s no longer usumono weather, but good summer kimono are so hard to find that I usually buy them no matter the season. Plus this one is polyester and can even be worn in the rain.
Dessert
Dude met up with me and we had some dessert at 1st Terrace
This shop is on the corner right across the street from Inuyama Castle and it’s always packed. I think the rainy forecast from the previous night kept people away because we were able to go right in.
I always see these hunger-inducing images outside this shop and always wanted to go in, but the crowds kept me away. There are a TON of places with amazing desserts being sold further down the street. I come several times throughout the year and I still haven’t tried everything in the Inuyama Castle Town. But today was the day we tried this place at last.
It was pretty fantastic. I got the matcha daifuku waffle and Dude go the banana waffle.
We also sat out on the terrace because the weather was great. They have terraces on 3 different levels as well as indoor seating.
Mission Complete
We left after stuffing ourselves and picked up our car! Everything went very smoothly and our new drive recorder works great.
