himeji

One of only castles that has remained mostly intact is Himeji Castle.  It has survived many sieges and natural disasters.  Though the city of Himeji was bombed extensively in WWII, the castle was mostly unharmed.

The overnight rain the evening before made the temperatures drop to 65 degrees, but the sun was out and it was dry and breezy.  The train to Himeji took us the same way toward Kobe, but this time we went further along the coast with part of the train ride absolutely glamorous, sliding along the coast of the Harima-nada Sea and impressive Onaruto Bridge. 

We had a bit of a rough start with confusion about what time we were meeting Katie’s friend who was joining us, and we were feeling rushed.  Katie and I also wanted to get back in time for the Royal Wedding, but no one else thought that was important haha!

The location of this apartment is not as convenient as the others.  The closest train line doesn’t go to as many places, so usually we end up walking 15-20 minutes to catch a train.  But finally we were on our train running about an hour after the time we wanted to leave–no problem.  I vaguely overheard the train announcement and something didn’t seem right.  I asked Katie if we were on the right train.  Nope.  We were so rushed and Katie had taken the train this direction so many times that we were going the wrong direction.  Oh well.  Jump off, take the next train back.  Soon we were in Osaka Station getting us on the Limited Express Train to Himeji.  Phew!  

Everyone used the ride to relax and regroup, so by the time we got there it was an easy mile walk to the main attraction, Himeji Castle.

The city looks quite modern, with clean tall buildings and statues lining the main street, which leads directly to the castle.  There were lots of tourists here, including many Americans.  The city has a half million residents with the castle bringing 2-3 million tourists each year.

You can’t help but stop and snap pictures the minute you step onto the grounds, with the white of the castle virtually glowing against the bright sky. 

An older man came up to us and introduced himself as Mata.  In broken English, he asked if he could take our picture in front of the castle.  We laughed and said sure, and asked him to take one with our camera also.  He thanked us profusely, shook hands all the way around, and asked where we were from. 

We started up the hill to the ticket window.  The ticket for the castle was 1000 yen, but for 1040 yen you could see the castle and garden.  We didn’t know anything about the garden, but for 40 cents we figured it would be worth it!

There are 83 buildings in the complex, which served as a fortress really, starting as early as 1333.  First you enter into some of the smaller buildings and corridors, and you have to take your shoes off, which really surprised me!  Katie and Mike were here in December and it was cold!  They give you like a white Publix bag and you carry your shoes with you.  Almost as soon as you enter, you have to climb the smooth polished wood steps to get up and around the various levels.  And they weren’t stairs, they were more like ladders or something in between–you definitely needed the handrails.  The wood was slippery in socks, but no one had any trouble.

The first rooms were where servants and women slept.  No closets space here, just room after barren room.  Most had a pretty view into the courtyard.  Even at 65 degrees, the rooms were chilly and breezy and I imagined how cold it would have been to live there in winter all those years ago.

Along the walls of the hallways were small squares open to the outside, maybe 12×12″, with little trap doors where the soldiers could shoot arrows from.  The castle has been white all along, since the builders covered it in white plaster to help resist fire. 

You got to put your shoes on to walk around the courtyard and see some of the smaller buildings.  They made an announcement on the PA system in Japanese then English–due to high volume, they would limit entrance into the castle, sorry for the inconvenience.  I thought about my trip to the pyramid near Mexico City last year–that is what they should have done rather than let us all get two-thirds of the way up and be stuck with hundreds of people!

At the entrance to the castle it was shoes off again.  The castle is six floors high and the largest castle in Japan.  Each floor was stark, with large open areas and small square lanterns.  Some rooms were quite dark.  There were rungs for hanging spears along one wall.  The fourth floor included an area were soldiers could climb up to a higher window and drop stones on approaching enemies.  Up and up we went, on the steep stair/ladders.  The views were beautiful and it really didn’t feel crowded until the top, most narrow floor.  

The stair/ladders down were just as tricky with the added concern that you could bonk your head on a low hanging beam.  Todd graciously carried my shoes for me so I could use both rails on the nearly straight down decent.  No problem though and soon we were back outside taking more pictures and admiring the view with our shoes on haha!

Like any good castle, there was a wide moat.  You could even take a boat ride wearing grass hats. 

The garden was divided into sections (e.g., Pond with Hill, Seedlings, Tea House).  One area had a lovely foot bridge with huge koi fish.  

We began the walk back towards the train station.  Everyone was hungry and we didn’t want a repeat of Kobe where we gave up and ate at 7-11 haha!  The decision was made to eat at the Tomato Cafe, which we had seen on the way in.  Priscila noted that she’s eaten more Italian food here than anything else, but it’s something everyone can agree on and you can usually find easily enough.  This was a cute restaurant with small size portions that were just right.  The only bummer was it had a smoking section, something most of us are not used to anymore!

We got back in time to see the guests arriving at the wedding on our YouTube livestream.  (I was surprised to see it was not on our cable channels here.)  The kids were meeting friends afterwards for Katie’s Sayonara Party, so everyone was pretty happy and not too tired.  If you watched the wedding, you know why we were so excited!  If you didn’t watch it and you are rolling your eyes now like Todd, it was excellent and romantic and Princess Meghan looked amazing!  And after waking up to another school shooting in the US, the wedding was a positive, loving event for the world to share.  It’s all about love <3

Photo:  Himeji Castle, Himejii, Japan