The seige of Kumamoto Castle

This was a very good day.
… no, scratch that, this was an average day. Because on average, I'm having some very good days lately.
Actually, on third thought, this actually was a very good day. Because any day that starts with a trip to a 99 year old kabuki theater that's been marked a national treasure? Oh yeah. Bricks are flying and red colored sugar water splatters all over the kids.
Yachiyoza is this little place in a shopping district that was popular like.... 30+ years ago. Now, not so much... Seriously, locals don't even go here, and it's a crying shame. (Aside: Do you have a famous place within an hour's drive that you've never been to?) Somewhere in the 70s the roof collapsed from disrepair, kids were calling it haunted. It was almost torn down. I'll look for a wiki or something to link when I'm actually on as opposed to writing in open office writer. There, link entered. Here's the view from the best seats in the house.
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We went around downtown for a bit and hit Kumamoto castle too. Massive rocks piled a dozen meters high forming the foundation; winding, yet still rather wide stairs leading up through turreting.. it felt like I was a mob in a turret defense game, but thankfully whoever was playing had neglected their upkeep and there were no guards in the towers. The castle itself has long since been converted into a museum, but there are several facilities on the premise that are being or have been restored through donations and sponsoring. We toured through the Honmaru Goten Palace. It's extravagant. Lavish rooms continue all the way around, and let's not forget the only underground passageways in a building of it's kind. Oh yeah, hidden rooms too!
Hrothgar interjects: “Ninja are sneakysneaky types, someone said they work behind closed and locked doors, good thing trusty axe is better than a string of keys!”
And back to Yachiyoza, we had a great guide, she was knowledgeable and very clear in her speech. She must have had some english experience too, it sounded like she was making some on the fly conveniences for us. We went all over the building, saw much of the seating, the stage, the under stage, dressing rooms... just amazing... We even got several pictures taken of us at key locations.