We arrived in Osaka on the afternoon of March 27th. This is where our official tour began. We actually didn't spend much time in Osaka at all. As soon as we got off the bullet train, Takeo, our guide, met us and we got right back on a train headed for Himeji.
Himeji is located about an hour west of Osaka on the Sanyo coast of the Inland Sea. Himeji would serve as our home base for the next few days. Takeo, our guide, grew up in Himeji and while he had lived in the States (his english was perfect), he returned to his family home in Himeji. He does private tours and his knowledge of the area was amazing. After arriving in Himeji, we checked into our hotel, Himeji Castle Hotel, and rested for a bit. The hotel was another nice one. We had two rooms, one western in style and one traditional. Basically, they were both in one suite. I opted to stay on the futon as I'm used to it.
That night Takeo took us to dinner at Wata-wata, which is a Japanese izakiya. We have one in Mito, so I was familiar with the menu and concept. This was my parents' "introductory course" to Japanese cuisine according to Takeo! We enjoyed lots of little bits and bites and beer!! It was a good way to ease into Japanese food.
The next day we visited Himeji Castle. Built on a high bluff, the castle is the best known of the 12 remaining feudal castles. The building is better known as Shirasagi-jo, or "white egret castle", because of it's resemblance to a bird in flight. It is, also, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Himeji-jo is the ultimate samurai castle, built for defense against the vast western lands. This castle often fills in for the Imperial Palace in movies and TV shows. If you've seen a castle in a movie about Japan, chances are it is Himeji that you saw. Originally built as a fort in 1333, the castle and moats were completed by the 1600's. There were 3 moats surrounding the castle, and remnants can still be seen. From 1749 to the Meiji Restoration of 1867, Sakai Tadasumi and his descendants lived on the grounds.
The castle employed many new innovative defense mechanisms, that ended up never being tested~ the castle was never attacked. The main tower was not a residence, but rather a weapons store and a place of last resort should the enemy breach the walls. It was built to look like there were only 5 stories, but in actuality there are 6 stories and a basement.
The castle and grounds were absolutely beautiful. Again, the cherry blossoms were out and certainly added to the atmosphere. The contrast with the flowers and the white washed castle walls was amazing. I have, also, been to Osaka Castle, and I have to say that Himeji is hands-down more beautiful. The tour with Takeo was very informative, he had a lot of little anecdotes to add to the history of the castle. We learned so much more than if we were on our own. There was a lot of climbing inside the main tower. And it was a little hard going- we were wearing ill-fitting slippers (I was actually barefoot) and the floors and stairs were really slippery.
After the castle, we had lunch at an udon shop nearby. It was OK- I don't really like noodles. Which I realize is weird because I eat pasta all the time. I guess it's just the broth and crap they put with the noodles that I don't like. We walked around Himeji a bit and Mom & I did a little shopping.
That night we went to Ie Shima, which is an island in the Inland Sea, for dinner. We reached the island by boat taxi and the trip took about 45 minutes. Once we arrived, our host for the evening picked us up. Kaz was a great host. He took us all around the island to show us the various shrines. They were great. Set up on top of the hillsides, they overlooked the water. At one, Kaz told me a great story about an old magnolia tree. I've included pictures but I wanted to share the story. The tree looks as if it's dead, it's trunk is split. But it is actually flowering. It's branches are supported by a younger tree, and in turn those branches are supported by an even younger tree. Kaz said that this is how life should be. The young supporting the older. I thought it was a really beautiful metaphor.
After zipping down the narrowest roads I've ever been on- seriously, this place gave Ireland a run for it's money on the narrow road situation- we went to another shrine. While we were there, a gentleman greeted us. It turned out to be Kaz's father. And he is the keeper of the island's matsuri float. Every town has a festival to celebrate the god that is worshiped at the local shrine. Usually there is a float carried all over town during the festival. The god is carried on this float to visit the town. Anyway, Kaz's father showed us their float. They keep it in a glass-enclosed room so that everyone can see it all year long. But we got to go into the room and see it up close! It was fantastic. They had just replaced the rope on the float, for the low cost of 1 million yen!! It was quite the treat to be able to see it so up close.
Kaz took us back to his family's ryokan, where we would be having dinner. I thought dinner was amazing, but I think Dad was not happy!! Being that we were on a fishing island, we had a lot of fish. Which Dad likes, but most of it was soooo fresh it wasn't cooked!! We had shrimp, baby octopus, squid, a HUGE platter of sashimi, sea cucumbers, and so many other things!! I loved it! Takeo was with us and recommended some great sake with the meal- one was a sparkling sake that I'm dying to find here in Mito!! There was one dish that Dad liked; otherwise I think he left the table hungry.
Back at the hotel, Mom, Dad & I played a couple of fierce rounds of UNO before going to bed.
Another great day on the trip.
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