No Regrets!

An early start this morning to head out of town for a day trip to Himeji Castle. We picked a good day for this. Sun is shining, and it’s absolutely perfect outside.

The shinkansen got us to Himeji pretty quickly. I hadn’t realized Himeji was a city of decent size. It’s built around the famous historical castle at its center, visible from the station and only a 20-minute walk away. Even from a distance, the castle is white and fancy, perched on a hill overlooking the city.

We were there pretty early, but the place was already getting busy with tourists and school groups. As we were taking selfies, a staff member hopped over and volunteered to take some photos of us. He knew just the right spot and got some really great shots! I wish people on staff at scenic locations did this more often.

Construction of the current Himeji Castle finished in 1609, and it has been authentically and impressively preserved. The highlight is the main keep, gleaming white and open inside for us to explore. We took off our shoes, placed them into plastic bags to carry with us, and wound our way around the inside and up the stairs. Everyone’s socks seem to have polished the wood floors nicely, to the point that some of the stairs are a little slippery.

Beautiful place with nice grounds to walk around. Dave kept flashing back to Assassin’s Creed the whole time.

Our combo ticket gave us access to Koko-en Garden next door, so we did that next. It was on this walk that Dave’s shoe started squeaking with each step, pissing him off to no end. Together, we squeaked our way through the finely manicured gardens, making them a little less peaceful for everyone.

I stopped at the ceremonial tea house for a serving of matcha tea and mochi. We sat on the straw floormats and were gracefully served by a bowing woman in traditional clothing. It was probably the worst matcha I have ever had.

Before leaving Himeji, we grabbed lunch at an udon noodle soup place called Menme (but confusingly called Memme on TripAdvisor and Apple Maps). The udon bowl was pretty good, but if this is the top-rated TripAdvisor restaurant in Himeji, it says a lot about Himeji.

We returned to Osaka to visit Osaka Castle, a massive stonewalled fortress with a wide moat in the middle of the city. It’s the size of the stones that are most impressive. I can’t even imagine the manpower that was needed to move those stones into place in the 16th century. The main tower of the castle is restored and beautiful, but we didn’t go inside. The grounds around the tower are now a public space with food stalls, street performers, and a Japanese woman frantically chasing after her little dog, who had escaped with its leash and was delighting the crowd.

We crashed at the hotel for a badly needed nap. Not even the sweet dance beats could keep me awake.

Took a taxi across town for a nice dinner at Teppanyaki Ousaka, a restaurant sitting at the top floor of a hotel and offering a sweeping view of the Osaka skyline. Hundreds and hundreds of commercial and residential high-rises here. Indeed, outside of the Greater Tokyo Area, Osaka is Japan’s second-largest city. The excitement-per-capita ratio for Osaka must be one of the lowest in the world.

The restaurant was in a very Japanese hotel in a very non-touristy part of town. I could feel the slight edginess of the staff when they talked to us. While the chef-in-training served us, a member of the wait staff hovered behind us to tell us what we were eating and how to eat it. When they ran out of things to say, they would continue hovering and try to make smalltalk. It was a little unnerving. The beef cutlet sandwich, their specialty, was exceptional. Dave and I recoiled in horror as the American tourists sitting on the other side of the counter ordered their Wagyu well-done.

We pondered a visit to Osaka’s red light district but decided instead to turn in early. We have an early train to Hiroshima in the morning. Dave and I, both big history buffs, are really looking forward to the Hiroshima visit.

But Dave and I are also sensing that this trip is drawing to a close. We’re starting to get jitters about going home. That’s a sucky feeling.