Day 16 - Rain on Himeji

It rained this morning for the first time (in daylight) our whole trip. This meant we had to slow up our plans for the day. A slow start to the morning meant an early lunch at Ichiran Ramen (Umeda site conveniently located near our hotel). This is a chain restaurant that does single booth service. It's quick tasty ramen, and the line had just formed when we got there. It was around the building when we left.

Post lunch we traveled to Himeji to see Himeji Castle. Himeji Castle (姫路城, Himejijō), also known as White Heron Castle (Shirasagijo) due to its elegant, white appearance, is widely considered Japan's most spectacular castle for its imposing size and beauty and its well preserved, complex castle grounds. The castle is both a national treasure and a World Heritage Site. Unlike many other Japanese castles, it was never destroyed by war, earthquake or fire and survives to this day as one of the country's twelve original castles. While it has been restored, it's been done so using original materials, unlike other castles. Our long route tour took us through the west bailey where we learned more about the construction of the castle and the lives of those who lived there.

After completing our tour of the Main Keep, we visited the varied and beautiful grounds of nearby Kokoen Garden. Kokoen is a relatively recently constructed Japanese style garden, which was opened in 1992 on the former site of the feudal lord's west residence (Nishi-Oyashiki). It consists of nine separate, walled gardens designed in various styles of the Edo Period. Among the gardens are the garden of the lord's residence which features a pond with a waterfall, a tea garden where visitors can enjoy green tea, a pine tree garden, a bamboo garden, and a flower garden. It was peaceful and lovely.

Tonight we stood at a standing-counter only sushi shop for dinner. Jon found an excellent place where he had a set nigiri menu and Lisa ordered al la carte. We each had miso soup and, joy of joys, free green tea!