Today the castle houses a museum documenting the history and development of the castle which might have sounded like a handy wet weather venue, but I already knew English explanations of the contents were few and far between, and, in any case, I'm not overly keen on reconstructions, regardless of how accurately they've been done.
With the photographic evidence gathered we headed across a bridge that took us to the south gate of Korakuen, paused to considering whether to use that entrance, and then heading for the main entrance, which turned out to be much further around than we'd thought.
The regular admission charge is ¥400, but Madam had picked up a leaflet at the tourist information place that delivered a twenty per cent discount, which, coincidentally, was the reduction offered to groups. I'm not sure that a duo counts as a group within the meaning of the act, but there you go.
We'd only just made our way inside and were paused considering the right direction to head in when we were approached by a woman who was obviously canvassing for candidates for something or other. I suspected a tea ceremony, and was attempting to politely decline when she turned to Madam.
I suspect that if it had been a tea ceremony she would have declined as well, but as it turned out a group of enthusiasts were demonstrating a traditional game involving a fan and a target, and Madam was inclined to give it a go.
The object of the exercise was to project the open fan in such a manner that it knocked over the little target on top of the stand. They'd tried to get me involved as well, but my experience with tatami mats in Unazuki suggested there'd be issues with the appropriate seated posture, so I politely declined, using dodgy knees as an excuse.