Business Hotel Sakigake Honkan Himeji

... an experience in itself. It really is something just to go in the many flavors of establishments and browse the goods and check out the culture and people around. Consumerism is huge in Japan, but they pull it off in a much more enjoyable fashion then back home. It is entertaining to go shopping here.

Anyway, after a beautiful night down by the sea, we headed back to our hotel for one more night. The remainder of our adventure, would take place in Osaka.

... Hiroshima's is more like a pancake with stuff on top, Osaka's is more like an omelet with stuff underneath. I'd probably choose Hiroshima first, but I couldn't finish that huge dish there, and remember: no doggie bags, so I'd eat it in the morning since it would last me the whole day. Osaka's was smaller so more manageable for me to eat the whole thing.

We split up with Takahiro and returned to the hotel to rest up ...

... machte und sie von der nächst grösseren Stadt wieder zurück fahren mussten. So ging ich alleine zur Brug von Himeji. Die Burg gehört zum UNESCO Weltkulturerbe und gilt als schönste des Landes. Super lage, wunderbare Aussicht. Hat mir wirklich gefallen. Dann zurück zum Bahnhof und weiter.

... It stretched off into the distance to an island just off shore.

On arrival in Himeji we walked to the famous castle, which David wanted to visit because Dan Cruikshank had been there. We entered through a massive wooden gate and entered the quarters of Princess Sen, a long wooden tunnel of identical rooms, making it easy to get lost. David said it was like a video game with repeating scenery. We had some great views of the beautiful ...

... across its east and west baileys, home to a display of bonsai trees, and a building famous for its group suicides, eventually entering the tower at its lowest point. Indoors was cool and shaded, with displays of the old shogun uniforms and weapons racks. Seven steep staircases later and we were at its peak, which offered superb views; and a rare opportunity to imagine the town through the eyes of the Shogun.

... functioned as commercial and residential shells. We headed for a hotel about a station stop away from the main Kobe train line. The main dish of the afternoon? Kobe beef…

It is rumoured that the beef is regularly fed with beer and barley, along with a special diet. Some even goes as far to say that the beef has been massaged and surrounded with soothing music to calm the animal down. Even during its slaughter, the beef is made in high spirits to ensure the ...

... findings from the castle, including some weaponry and some info on daily life. There were also stunning views of Himeji and the surrounds from the top. Death before dishonour The Samurai tradition would encourage warriors to choose death over dishonour. The castle featured a "suicide quarter" where the warriors could commit hara-kiri (death by disembowelment) and other graphic ...

... a fine mist of water onto the tent occupants. Heaven. We spent a good 10 minutes in the tent, and due to the lack of crowds we weren't holding anyone up, so we took our time and made the most of it. So back out through the gates, and out came the drinks and ice-creams, at which point everyone came back to life after the refueling. Back through the huge park with no purpose, and through the shopping ...

... attention whenever I've been close enough to a taxi, and sure enough every taxi I have seen has had a real gear stick. At the station, we booked our seats to Himeji, and were given, 2 sets of tickets. 1 from Sasebo to Hakata station (Fukuoka), and one set from Hakata to Himeji on the Shinkansen. We made our way to the train gates, and when we got there it was we noticed that Tagawa Sensei had purchased a ticket for herself ...

... a bus/rail pass. Although I had to be in the area near Namba station in Osaka on Monday to get my Korean visa processed, I was actually more interested in making my way to Kyoto, Kobe, and a castle in Himeji. As I sat there reorganizing a huge stack of pamphlets a woman clad in a kimono handed me a paper cup filled with sake. "Can you drink alcohol?" She asked in a heavy Japanese accent. I nodded and accepted the drink. As I began to sip on the spicy soju-like rice wine I thumbed ...