Himeji Castle

Today we rode the JR train 90 minutes to Himeji Castle. Visiting it - seeing it - is an experience like non-other.  It's stunning!  And a great place to learn the history of Japan. 

Otemon Gate - front gate to castle

The castle is named for its looks - like a white heron bird ready for flight.  One of the oldest surviving structures from medieval Japan, the 16th-century castle is one of the grandest of Japan's 12 remaining feudal castles. 

Named the White Heron Castle because it looks like a white heron ready for flight

When the feudal system was abolished in 1871, the castle was auctioned for 23 yen.  The buyer's intention was to demolish the castle, to take advantage of the sizeable piece of land, but the cost of demolition was too high.  Thank goodness!

The vast fortress and the city beyond

The round roof tiles have crests (kamon) from each of the 8 families that lived here over the last 400 years - a "stamp" showing the remodel they made. 

The castle is a masterpiece of construction in wood.  Inside the castle is very plain  They route you up 6 floors of steep stairs - no shoes allowed. 

The dolphin-like shachigawara motifs on the roof protect the castle from fire. 

Shachi is the imainary ocean fish with a tiger's head and thorns on the back

One of Himeji's most important defensive elements, and perhaps its most famous, is the confusing maze of paths leading to the main keep. The gates, baileys, and outer walls of the complex are organized so as to cause an approaching force to travel in a spiral pattern around the castle on their way into the keep, facing many dead ends.

You walk the maze-like paths to get to the main keep

One of the many gates in the fortress

A defensive mechanism, the small 84 gates made it difficult to move many men through at one time.

On our way back to Kyoto, we stopped in Osaka for sushi at Harukumo Sushi - because Mark Wiens (the Rick Steves of food travel) said to. At 1:30pm the line, though not too long, took 45 minutes. I'd love to describe for you in detail how amazing the experience of eating raw fish in Japan is, but I looked at the cases of raw fish and watched them make it - and drank a huge beer - while my non-descriptive food mates gorged themselves. "It was good. It was great," is hugely expressive for Chris. He and Greg were pretty excited throughout the whole thing. So, I'd say it's a 2 thumbs up. Chris particularly liked how they made the sushi by putting wasabi inside the roll. 

The line to Harukumo Sushi was so long they split it.  That is us waiting all the way down at the end of the shopping arcade. 

Chris and Greg had a great time choosing something to try and handing the order to the chef

Eel, shrimp, and yellowtail 

Jeremy likes sea urchin

Riding the train after eating raw fish (or not eating raw fish) and drinking a huge beer is a lot more challenging. Do you have the tickets? I think so. I hope so. 

Walking home from the train station along the Kamo River