The furthest east I have gone in Japan is Sapporro. This will be the furthest west up to this point. A quick ride on the bullet train gets us to Himeji station
Exiting to the north, the boulevard leads you on a straight shot to Himeji Castle.
This 30x zoom is really great. It gets us up close to the castle without having even taken a step from the station.
There is a loop bus that can take you from the train to the castle ground and back. With a straight level street before you, a walk is not out of the question. Especially when the weather is as nice as it is tpdau
Hardly a cloud in the sky and warmer temps ar forcasted for the afternoon. The approach from the south presents us with a bridge over the moat
The castle exterior is a gleaming white. In the moat, one white carp amongst the black ones
The castle was renovated for a while and closed during that time. It reopened mid last year. Admission rose fom 300 yen to 1000yen..
The outer grounds are wide and expansive.
Inside the walls, the passageways become more narrow and steep. many changes in elevation will eventually get you to the first level of the castle
Along the defensive walls, cutouts allow for castle guards to have easy access to marauding invaders while keeping them safe behind the walls
While narrow and small, you would be provided protection from anything attackers can shoot at you. Hot liquids can be used to deliver scalding pain.
Finally at the entrance, you are required to remove your shoes and yo must carry them with you. They also provide slippers but most visitors opted to walk in their bare feet or socks
A diorama of the grounds helps to illustrate how the area is situated
Unlike Osaka Castle, the insides are barren of exhibits or displays. The craftsmanship of the wood and metal joinery are on display. Despite the warmth outside, it was very mild throughout the structure.
Without the distraction of things to look at, it was all just a climb to get to the very top level. One way up and one way down along some very steep stairs.
Finally make it to the top and it was very crowded. Everyone lingers as they reach the topmost level to take the 360 degree from the castle. We start off with a look to the west.
The next two pics look to the south. The first picture shows the JR station in the distance.
We make our way to the eastern side of the building
Lastly, the north facing windows
A word of warning, when making your way down, be wary of ninja who pop out of nowhere and seek ti eviscerate unsuspecting tourists who believe them to be costumed clad actors.
Some remodeling continues on some of the outlying buildings. these will top the gable ends once the structure is completed.
At a fork in the road when you entered, you can go right for the castle or you can go left.
If you go left, you can enter the ramparts and walk along the inside.
Once again, shoes off
The views out toward the city are just as breath taking with the moat in view as any view I had from the top
The natural wood is much lighter than those found in the castle. It gives these hallways a much brighter lighter feel.
This part winds its way back toward the castle. winding back and forth, straight runs are very short.
There are rooms with informational displays within. they may have been previously used as living quarters
With any tourist attraction, you have to have the requisite souvenir shop. Aside from the gifts and other rememberances, they served food to either stave off the cold or beat the heat..
You can do both here with a variety of soft cream to choose from a or a bowl of piping hot oden.
As I walked back to catch the train, I elected to walk along a shotengai that parallels the main boulevard. Shielded from the sun to help keep my skin from aging prematurely and prevent sunburn.
Just as I got to the station, I followed my nose to this fast food restaurant, Matsuya I believe. It was around noon and high time to get some food.
A convenient ticket machine. When you order from these machines, the staff dont really ask you many other questions afterwards. They take the ticket then bring back your food. I have had some embarassing moments when I could not understand what further info the wait staff needed from me at some sit down restaurants
The special they were touting on The signs outside was their cheese stuffed hamberg steak. the melted cheese gushed out as you press on the gravy soaked patty
I ordered the set and it came with what you see in the pictur including a salad. Overall it was very good and filling. I found it odd that the rice was a very soft almost mushy texture. Not what I usually expect to be served.
In going back to Osaka, I spied yet another location of the hotel chain
