Ko-bori is a technique of swimming upright in a suit of armor whilst firing arrows at your attackers. A technique that was mastered here in Kumamoto at its castle, given the size of its moat I can see why this would have been a useful skill to master.
The castle was built between 1601 and 1607 and was burnt to the ground during whats known as the Satsuma Rebellion in 1877. After a 53 day siege the castle finally fell and the rebel Samurais defending the castle were defeated. It was during this siege that eating raw horse meat became popular, basashi as its know is still popular today but luckily we managed to avoid this local speciality, well I think we did as I'm never sure exactly what I'm ordering in restaurants.
Highlights: A modern rebuild of a magnificent Japanese castle
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