Castle

On my way to Hiroshima from Takayama I made a brief stop off at Himeji. Himeji is home to Japan's most impressive castle, Himeji-jo. There are only a few castles remaining in Japan, many were destroyed as they were deemed unnecessary and others were destroyed during the war.

I arrived at the last moment and they closed the entrance gate behind me. But, I had an hour to tour the Castle and its surrounding grounds. This, in my opinion, was more than enough time. While the castle was interesting to see I was able to walk the grounds and climb to the top of the highest part of the interior in about a half hour.

At the end, two elementary school children approached me. They were very shy but had a school project which had them asking foreigners (who spoke English) a few questions in English. They were elated that I would take the time to answer their questions. I think many people had said no to them...unfortunately.

Then, it was off to Hiroshima for the night...