Day 2: Day Trip to Himeji Castle
Visited a merchant in Obanazawa, a Mr. Seifu, finding him to be wealthy but relatively free of the vulgarities of the merchant class. And he knew from his own many travels to Miyako the trials of life on the road, so invited us to stay the week. All in all, quite relaxing.
"My house is your house,"
and so it is--very cool,
sprawling out in comfort
Come out from hiding
under the silkworm room
little demon toad voice!
A little rouge brush,
remind me somehow
of local safflower fields
-Excerpt from Narrow Road to the Interior, by Matsuo Basho
On my second day in Japan, I decide to take a day trip to Himeji, about 50-75 minutes from Kyoto by train. Still unable to sleep in past 5, I wake up early, go to the main train station in Kyoto, and hop on a train. However, I immediately regret not eating breakfast/not staying in bed, because I feel absolutely awful on the ride up. I distract myself with Narrow Road to the Interior, but can only hold my attention for so long before my head feels dizzy. I get to Himeji and grab a 2 liter bottle of water and a bag of dried goods to alleviate my pain. I then walk out of the station and find a castle in my visual field, front and center.
The primary attraction of Himeji, drawing tourists from around the world, is Himeji Castle, sometimes called “The White Egret Castle.” The UNESCO World Heritage site looms over the landscape like an authoritative parent over a defiant small infant. The worst part of the experience—and I have hundreds of fellow tourists who will back me up on this—is waiting in line, in the hot sun, without any fans or protection. I wait for about 20-30 minutes, until I finally reach the main keep, where they ask us to remove our footwear, put our shoes in plastic bags, and enter the keep.
The general architectural style is similar to Nijo-jo. Not surprising to anyone, I’m sure, as they are both castles. Unlike Nijo-jo, Himeji-jo feels like it was built to wage war. Nijo-jo is flat, soft and designed for an emperor; Himeji-jo is vertical, imposing, and has utilitarian features at every turn. The areas surrounding the castle, while stunning, provide more of a buffer zone than a gardening achievement. I explore the various floors, slipping between crowds. On the first level of the castle, the views outside are fantastic. By the time we reach the seventh floor, they are majestic. It feels like hovering over the canopy of the trees, the castle itself an ukiyo-e, a floating world.
The stairs between floors are steep, and slippery socks on wood floors are a dangerous combo. I make it, though, and take site of a giant pillar in the center of the floor. This pillar extends from level to level, and ends at the top with a shrine. Tourists stop, donate a ¥10 piece, and say a quick prayer. After reaching the peak of the castle, we start the descent, slowly going back down until we reach ground level of the Main Keep. The interior of the castle takes about two to three hours to explore, to say nothing of the surrounding grounds and gardens. We are allowed to put our shoes back on, and walk out into a courtyard. For a bit of scale, this courtyard, below the first level of the castle, is still higher up than most of the buildings in Himeji. It is a beautiful view, both of the castle and the city, so I take the photo op and a selfie and move on.
Realizing how hungry and tired I am, I look for a place to eat. I walk down the street to the station and find Menme Udon. I sit and wait, since the restaurant is full. While waiting, an American comes up to me and asks, “Excuse me, do you know if this is Menme Udon?” I point to the standup street sign, which clearly says in hiragana, “うどんめんめ,” and confirm that he is where he wants to be. Suddenly, a giant family of 4 kids and his wife appear from nowhere, and sit. We have a conversation, and I find out that they are from Oregon. Apparently, they had flown in to Tokyo, then took the train all the way down to Himeji. Not a pleasant trip to do one after the other. My spot is ready, so I bid them farewell and eat some delicious kitsune udon (きつねうどん)、udon noodles in a hot broth with fried tofu. I enjoy the meal immensely, realizing it is my first cooked, warm meal since I arrived in Japan. I pay my bill and head out.
I still have to see koku-in, the garden complex surrounding the castle but I decide I need something cold after the warm soup. It should just so happen that I find an ice cream stand right in front of the entrance to Himeji-jo, so I get strawberry ice cream and tour the garden. After the garden, I realize I am tired and start to head back to the train station.
On the way, I find a shopping complex, inside a big hall. Many of the shops are just opening, leading me to think that this must be a night market. Without anything else to do while I wait for shops to open, and with the threat of exhaustion creeping in, I jump on the train and head back to Kyoto. I sleep for about 75% of the ride, but get cramped and uncomfortable during the last stretch. As I stare out the window, I must look concerned. The man in front of me asks “Are you okay? No problem?” I say I am just trying to make sure I don’t miss my train stop. He confirms where I need to get off, and I thank him deeply as I depart.
I get back to the hostel around 5:30, and unload my backpack. I plan to go out and see the nightlife of Kyoto, but instead I pass out at 6, destroying those plans. Luckily, the accommodations have been wonderful.
