i didn't even go to osaka

when i'm in the shinkansen screaming along at 186.4 mph, and another one comes from the other direction at the same speed, it is like a ton of bricks hitting. there's a lound whoooosh, and the train shakes, and i see it going by so fast it is just a blur. this stuff is great.

i jumped on an early train to himeji. himeji-jo, the himeji castle, is one of the few original castles still in japan. it was finished in 1618. in the 1960's they took it completely apart and put it back together again to strengthen everything, but it is not a reconstruction out of concrete and steel like many other castles here. it is a huge complex. half the town used to be in what was the castle complex, ringed by 3 moats. only the inner 2 moats remain. the walking tour there is great, as it takes you all around the whole complex. i had to take off my sandals and put on these little slippers (a men's size 9 is about as big as their feet get here, i guess, so mine hardly fit on the slippers) to walk around inside in a couple places. this castle was definitely one of the highlights of my trip so far. it is not a big soaring stone castle like we think of from europe, but mostly wood and roof tiles like normal japanese houses and things, but huge. the main donjon, or tower, is six floors. i took a ton of pictures, as the rain stopped right before i got to town and the sun even shined a couple of times. it was just fun to be walking around this 400 year old place and marvel at the ingenuity and military practicality of its design.

i then went hurtling back to kyoto where i jumped on a slower express train for nara. nara was the capital of japan for about 75 years a long time ago, but it has a large number of shrines and temples and other historical things to see around the area. and also deer. there are tame deer all over the place, and they sell little biscuits to feed them. i have barely enough money to feed myself, let alone deer, so i did not partake. the approximately 30,000 high school students that surrounded me at all times did, however, feed the deer. huge rain clouds were blowing around and it looked like a downpour was imminent the whole time i was in nara, but it never rained. there is a hall there with a huge buddha statue in it, that is the largest wooden building in the world. and it was rebuilt in the 1800's to actually be 33% smaller than the old one was. nara is a really pretty area, but very overcrowded with tourists and students.

by that time it was evening and i had had enough of temples and shrines and things, so that was it for today. tomorrow i leave kyoto to do a one day tour of nuclearly devestated cities...you can only do such a tour in one place in the world!