4/3/14 Scaffolding, shopping and the sauna Show- gun

Tues 4 March 2014

Today is a beautiful sunny day.  It is still pretty cold though.  We love our new jackets.

We purchased a 1 day JR rail ticket ($20 each) and headed off towards Himeji.  We got some water views as we travelled along and got to see the Akashi Straits Suspension Bridge.  This is the longest suspension bridge in the world.  So have to tick that off the list of biggest, longest, highest things.

Thanks to Wikipedia for the image.  It was an impressive sight from the train.

 

It took about an hour and a half to reach Himeji.  Got ourselves some food at the supermarket adjoining the train station and walked about 1km along the main thoroughfare to reach the castle grounds.  This looks like a great city to spend time, lots of shops, restaurants and bars. 

We could see as soon as we left the station that the castle was totally hidden from view by scaffolding. They have spent a fortune renovating the castle and it will not be open to the public for another 12 months as it will take that long for them to remove the scaffold.  So we are a year early for this place.

 Himeji-jo is the most impressive feudal era fortress out of the 12 that survive in Japan and is on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. 

As we walked into the grounds there were sweeping walkways lined by cherry trees, all in bud but not yet in blossom – just a couple of weeks early they said.

We got a free English speaking guide who told us the history of the fortress and castle as we walked around it. 

 I'm sure it looks beautiful

 Princess Sen playing cards with a lady in waiting.

 This pathway is in many movies, Bond - You only live twice, The last Samurai just a couple. 

The extended piece on the corner of the building is a Stone drop.  Defensive opening where they would drop stones, boiling water or spear invaders scaling the walls.

 Our guide.

 

We then visited the very beautiful Japanese Gardens next door.

 Hahahaha.  Make sure you get your wicket.

 So beautiful and those trees about to blossom. So close.

Koi fish were enormous

Duck

Cherry blossom on bonsai trees.  So we did see some and a variety of colours.  Just hope we get the avenue of trees with the next week and a bit.  *fingers crossed*

 

 

We then took the train back to Kobe for a very brief walk around the harbor area.  It is very fresh and modern and a delight to wander around.  Be worth spending more time there in the future.

Great street art

Interesting buildings

 

 

Then back on the train for the ride back to ShinOsaka.  We blundered our way out from the trains and into a travel agent.  Luckily we got a lovely girl who spoke English and we booked our tickets on a bullet train between Kyoto and Tokyo on Sunday 9^th. The manager was bowing to everybody like Basil Fawlty on steroids, bobbing at the knee and folding forwards effusively.

We then walked back to the hotel via some of the back streets that were surprisingly alive with little restaurants and shops. Chris came back from the bath house and said there were some Japanese men there tonight. He seemed rather smug.