Another full day with the parents! We started off at the Nagoya JR Towers, which is the worlds largest train station by square footage and is celebrating their 10th anniversary this year.
Kerri and Mom enjoy the pretty flowers in honor of the station's anniversary.
Mom and Dad are on the train to see some traditional Japanese cultural stuff today!
I ride trains all of the time, but I wanted to get in on the picture action!!
Mom and Kerri at the approach to the Atsuta Shrine.
Mom watches as Dad cleans himself as a Shinto ritual and prepares to approach the shrine.
Dad and Mom threw their yen and pray to the Shinto spirits.
Mom is probably praying for better food for the rest of the week, and Dad is probably praying to not bump his head on the low doorways!
Some times if they are really nice to me, I let them take breaks in the subway station. I try not to push them to the brink!
Let's go check out the Nagoya Castle!
Nagoya's unofficial symbol is the golden dolphins perched on top of the roof of the castle!
P.S. Can you guess who is playing peek-a-boo in the pic below?
Not to the castle yet. This is one of the original turrets guarding the castle. 
The castle and most of the grounds were destroyed during WWII, but we got to go in this turret built in 1612!
Dad and Mom on the castle grounds. Cherry blossoms make a beautiful backdrop!
The rebuilt Nagoya Castle!
The building is 9 amazing stories of glory and history! See the golden dolphins?!
This is the actual size of the golden dolphins on the roof! They are HUGE!!
The records indicate that the dolphins were removed and melted down three times in the past 400 years due to wars and economic crisis when there was a need for precious metals! But many years later once the city could afford to rebuild, they would put them back up!
There were deer in the moat around the castle!
We were so excited about it you would have never guessed that we see deer quite often in America or that we were just at the zoo yesterday to see way more exotic animals!
Even without water this moat is crazy deep, and I'm pretty sure no one is getting in to attack the castle!
View of the cherry blossoms and Nagoya.
Dad and Kerri
Leaving the castle grounds. Another turret is on the corner of the grounds.
View of the castle from outside the gates!
Dad and Kerri enjoy a beer at the foreigner bar.
(Mom just enjoyed her Western-style food for dinner! Maybe all of that praying to the Shinto spirits actually worked...)
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