Himeji

Day 9

Our day trip to Himeji started with us catching….the HELLO KITTY SHINKANSEN!!! A feat of engineering marvel, this fast service train has a hello kitty livery as well as a modified car to sell Hello Kitty goods (including Pink Curry, which must be good as it was endorsed by the local politician). The seats in car 2 are decorated with Hello Kitty head rests and the whole train has more Hello Kitty theming than you would think is possible! I do wonder if the commuters of the UK would enjoy being crushed on rush hour trains if they were bombarded with an apron wearing cat whilst waiting at a red signal…

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After the cute train ride we arrived at Himeji. The castle was visible from the station (which was a fair walk away). Grand in stature, the road leading to it from the station did have the feeling of some form of palace roadway. The inside of the castle itself was bare, aside from a shrine on the very top floor. Upon investigation, it transpires the castle had been completely stripped down and rebuilt in the 80’s. As a result, you can see the contrast between the original materials and the restoration efforts (typically in areas which suffers the most footfall from the visitors). 

It is well worth the visit to the castle, and climbing the floors. The emptiness of it actually does add an interesting atmosphere and you can playfully imagine what it must have been like to be a lowly tea servant, having to run up and down the steep stairs. The view from the top floor is also pretty lush as you can see over the surrounding lands..

Lunch time came and we wandered around the outside of the castle looking for food. There were the usual culprits of carbs + soy + anything else, but after a small walk we encountered a bakery. Now, on looking at the menu they served nothing but burgers, which gave us the feeling that we were “cheating on the local cuisine” type of guilt that you would get with travelling. However, we amazed at how good they were! Katy went for the Avocado burger (Or whole avocado in bun) whilst Martin went for a cheeseburger. Both burgers were incredible and seasoned to perfection! A welcome departure from the noodle lifestyle for a lunch.

Post Lunch we realised we had about 8 minutes to get to the Gardens of the castle before they closed. After a classic full stomach, didn’t plan this properly, type run we arrived with seconds to spare as they were closing the entrance. The extra 50 yen (like, 40p) was worth it. The themed gardens were wonderful to walk around and everything felt so at peace! This really was a world apart from the hustle and bustle of Osaka!

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On finishing the walk it was time for us to head back to Osaka for Friday Night antics (Read our blog on Osaka, and our night life here)