#hasetsu castle

[yurioniceblr]

Ninjas?!

[claarz000]

Why I went to Karatsu pt.2

(and why I really enjoyed walking around Karatsu)

Of course, I had to visit the places that were featured in the anime. It was delightful and nostalgic walking around Karatsu.

- Karatsu Station is Hasetsu Station.

- The shopping arcade is where Yurio got his tiger print shirt

- The road where Yuri jogs

- Karatsu Castle is Hasetsu Castle - where Yuri also exercises and where he spends some time with Viktor

Ahhhhhh I miss Yuri on Ice.

(May 2018)

[geekstee]

“We call everything on the ice ‘love’.”- Katsuki Yuri

[Made by me- Free to use, please do not remove watermark]

[yuri-on-ice-aesthetics]

[tsunamijenn]

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 29.1

Day 24: Anime vs. Real Life

Karatsu Castle:

Moving on to the other side of the bridge.

From the right side..

...and from the left side.

For those that are still unaware, Ice Castle Hasetsu does not exist in Karatsu. There is actually no rink in Karatsu. Instead, the building below the castle is Waseda Junior & Senior High School.

See?

But I digress. Let’s get a closer look at the Karatsu Castle grounds.

Now can I just take a moment to say that yes, I get he’s a professional athlete, so he’s already in superb shape. But after walking these stairs? Damn, Yuuri. Running up steps in general sucks. But duuuuude. These steps are all over the place.

There are gaps, they’re at slightly different heights. There were multiple times I almost face planted because I stopped looking down...and I was slowly walking! I’d kill myself if I tried to run up these steps. So my most sincere kudos to best boi for doing his exercises without tripping and dying.

Aaaand look who I found!

Did I totally take my selfie with the castle on the wrong side and the wrong hand in the shot?? You betcha I did!!!

┬┴┬┴┤( ͡° ͜ ʖ ͡°) ├┬┴┬┴

┬┴┬┴┤ ͜ʖ ͡°) ├┬┴┬┴

┬┴┬┴┤ ͡°) ├┬┴┬┴

┬┴┬┴┤├┬┴┬┴

Please forgive me for that super fail...

...

...

INTO THE CASTLE WE GO!!

And once you get near the top, you see some familiar faces.

And!

AND!!

AND!!!

TWINSIES!!

*cough* ehem

Moving all the way to the top

Unfortunately, unlike the artwork, the roof extends out past the red railing, so I was not able to get a picture of the shachihoko, even with my selfie stick.

So I cheated and took a picture of the ones on the lower roofs.

Then, when you finally make your way downstairs, you see some more familiar faces, and a whole corner where you can blow even MORE money!

bank account cries

ALSO!

I MADE FRIENDS!!!

There were 3 other girls (one from Sweden, one from Portugal, and one from Switzerland...all in Yokohama for school) that were also there for YOI adventures. It was the second trip for 2 of them, and the first trip for the 3rd. We banded together.

Apparently they saw me first, but weren’t sure if they should talk to me. Then I saw them around the corner at the top of Karatsu Castle, but I wasn’t sure if I should approach them. So I continued to walk around the top level. And they hadn’t moved, so I ran into them. So I forced myself to be a social human being and say hello. It was a very, VERY wise decision.

We bonded over YOI. They spoke Japanese. I was saved from many awkward situations where I would’ve been otherwise lost with my essentially non-existent Japanese speaking skills.

<-Previous Post - My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 29 - Day 24: Anime vs. Real Life - Maizurubashi Bridge

Next Post -> My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 29.2 - Day 24: New friend adventures!

Master List of posts

[sheltered-by-viktuuri]

Yuri on ice pilgramge (Day 2, Part 1)

The weather on the second day was as beautiful as the first, I allocated all the yoi check points on this day. I’m going to split the post into part 1 and 2, dedicated to the Karatsu Castle and the Karatsu Shrine respectively. 

Please check out my Day 1 post here! Day 2 part 1 under the cut :)

First thing first, the castle! It was easy enough to find the stairs leading up to the ninja house. Let me tell you Katsuki Yuuri is a powerhouse - these steps may not look a lot but they are actually quite bumpy, the height of each step is slightly different. A good training for stamina really! 

While climbing these steps with my family, I was playing “Prism” in my head - remember when Yuuri thought to himself in episode 4, now that he has Victor everything is changed? :’)

What - I wasn’t crying! Imagine seeing Victor at the top of the steps waiting for you.... It’d be like seeing God. We reached the top and it was of course absolutely gorgeous and magical. I tried standing where Yuuri stood and the panoramic view of the town was so serene... My sister sneaked a photo of me. Who am I to deserve standing where Yuuri stood :’o

Was blessed by this view :’) The sky was so blue. Since it was February there were no blossoms yet, but just imagine the castle standing quietly above a blooming sea of pink... 

For the Saga on Ice event, they put this up underneath the castle:

There was a souvenir shop on the first floor, and I raided what’s left from the Saga on Ice event last summer - charms, notepads, files etc. She also packed a lot of small paper gift bags inside my lot because she thought I’m distributing the 20 charms I got with my friends - she’s so precious but wrong there... @emimikomi93 and I are hogging everything.

A corner of the store:

(Where even did the two letter Js come from... I don’t even know, but that’s a Yurio soft drink at the back)

The shopkeeper said, “oh? You like Yuri?” I think at this point is was rather obvious, so I just nodded enthusiastically. She’s already so used to fan girls and gave me an understanding and kind smile. She then said, then you must go up to the castle to take picture with Victor and Yuuri. She means this:

I’m telling you, tipsy Yuuri looks so pure and happy my heart aches for him.

I’ve been to a few Japanese castles, and have not really been able to connect with any of their exhibits, which are no doubt very educational and informative and totally wasted on me. But this time, at Karatsu castle, I have perused all the captions and explanations, I want to learn everything about the town where Yuuri grew up. It’s serene and peaceful and I really do think it enhanced my understanding of the dime-a-dozen, 24 year old (now 25 I think!) Japanese figure skater who is also the GPF silver medalist - his humility and quiet thoughtfulness which is so often part of his characterization in fics. 

When we left the castle, I saw this and was overcome by joy. Everything is too much at this point.

To think that in my lifetime I have beheld Kubo sensei’s drawing with my eyes - this is surreal and more than I’ve ever dreamed of.

See my Day 1 summary here. Day 2, part 2 to come

[sunshinepupps]

They have the Karatsu (Hasetsu) castle to public. Fancy a trip anyone??? Source : sagaonice2017 (twitter)

[miyayuki5]

YOI x Saga, new collaboration. Celebrate the reopening of Karatsu Castle!

Victuri at the castle... this time in clothes. :’D

Oh look, Chihoko is also there. XD