Himeji Castle

  • January 5, 2023

Yesterday we took a day trip to Himeji, about an hour west of Kyoto via bullet train.

This was our first time riding a Hikari series train, which is slightly slower than the Nozomi we usually ride, and the (first class) cabin felt a little more modern.

The seats even had a heating option! Once again there were very few people in the reserved-class car, probably because the comfort level of normal seats is already very high.

We went to Himeji to visit the very famous castle, considered the best and most beautiful in Japan! It’s known as the ‘white heron castle’ so it was very appropriate that a white heron flew in and posed for the above photo!

Visitors can enter and climb the main keep to the very top and there’s a lot of historical info to read on the way. There are apparently 198 (steep!) steps between the six floors and the handrails are very important since the wood is slippery and you’re only wearing socks since shoes are prohibited.

That’s a view of Himeji city from the second highest floor. As with European castles the location was chosen to be easily defendable and the garrison (the main keep was mainly a fort) would have been able to see for miles in every direction.

There are other buildings to visit, including the residence of a princess built up on the battlements, and everything is presented very well and kept in immaculate condition. About every fifty years the castle undergoes extensive restoration, and we were both amazed to read that in the 1950’s it was entirely dismantled and rebuilt to repair the wooden internal structure. At that time they found inscriptions on some of the wooden beams made by the original builders over 350 years prior!

I’ve been to many castles over the years and Himeji was one of the best. The train trip was fun, the weather great and the castle both impressive and very pretty. It was a great day trip 🙂

Kiyomizu

  • January 4, 2023

Yesterday we visited Kiyomizu Temple, one of the best-known temples in Japan and a very popular tourist destination. Even though we’d been to Kyoto thrice before, we’d never visited this place, which is a comment on how much there is to see in and around Kyoto.

The temple is hundreds of years old, and the famous verandah pictured above was built in 1633 and is all wood with no nails! Tradition states that if you jump off and fall the 15 meters and survive, your wish will come true. People used to actually do this, but it’s been prohibited for over 150 years now!

That’s a view from the verandah down into a courtyard below where water from a mountain stream flows into a small pond. Legend says that drinking this water also grants wishes. The lines were long when we got down there and we didn’t partake, but my wish would have been to find an S.H. Figuarts Zoffy figure in stock somewhere before we leave Japan 🙂

That’s a second verandah. The temple complex is large and spread across a mountainside overlooking Kyoto and has wonderful views. In spring with cherry blossoms in view this place would be beautiful!

Afterwards we lazily strolled the nearby shopping street with the endless crowds of Japanese who were visiting for hatsumode (visiting a shrine at new years to pray for good fortune). The shops sell all sorts of traditional souvenirs such as crackers and sweets and little ornaments, and it’s fun looking at it all. The above pic was taken outside one store, and is a cute reminder of the pandemic. Mask compliance here is incredibly high, and the few times we’ve seen anyone unmasked they are usually foreign tourists.

The afternoons activity was shopping, not to mention gatcha machine browsing and video gaming (more on that in a bit). We saw this display of companion robots (called Lovots) in an electronics store and they were adorable. At only $5000 plus $100/month for service they are designed to replace pets and are incredibly responsive. Text me if you want a video!

Today we’re going on a day trip. Check back tomorrow to see where!

Bamboo

  • January 3, 2023

Yesterday, bright and early, we visited the famous bamboo grove at Arashiyama. Twenty minutes (by train) west of Kyoto, this is a spot famous worldwide for the beauty of its bamboo.

The bamboo lines a path towards temples, and is much shorter than you may expect, with only a few photo-worthy stretches.

We went early since it becomes mobbed with tourists during the day, and photo ops become impossible. The drawback was that it was very cold – too cold for the clothing we have with us – and even the fog on my glasses stated to freeze!

As you can see the bamboo was extremely pretty! It was massively tall and I was puzzled by the lack of any immature sprouts. How often does this die and how does it renew itself? There was no information about this.

A beautiful location worth the visit. There’s lots of shops and eateries nearby, and even a monkey park, but we were there before any of it opened so did not visit.

Afterwards we did our laundry at a tiny laundromat before partaking in more shopping at a giant mall. While there we couldn’t resist this fukubukuro:

There was no hint as to the contents, but it was big and (only?) ¥3600 and sold from a shop that sold many curious and interesting/weird items so we took the gamble. And inside was…

Meat! Specifically a large meat-patterned pillow and towel, chopsticks, a sponge and an electric grill (which wouldn’t work in the US)!! What will we do with any of this?!? I’m sure I’ll think of something 🙂