Himeji...the White Heron Castle

Woweeeeee...Himeji was an impressive place and you SHOULD NOT MISS IT.  Yeah, you, over there.

It could have been awful...we almost missed it out completely, but thanks to the Ichiban Shinkansen, we had enough time to shink over to Himeji from Hiroshima in the morning, before shinking down south to Beppu (Kyushu prefecture) in the evening.

Himeji...go see it before the White Heron Castle flys away.

Don't really want to ramble on Led Zeppelin style about some historical site/architecture, but it was amazing...the grounds were pretty vast, with lots of well preserved buildings and gardens to wander around.  You could enter the castle and roam around the entire building courtesy of a swanky one way walking system to stop Western folk getting pissed off with the crowds (really, we're the only ones uptight enough to care...we should all relax a little bit)...not only can you roam the castle, you can go up to the top level and soak in the amazing views over the city.  It was quite funny watching big tall Jodie trying to fit himself + bass through some impossibly small staircases, but he made it in the end minus bruises/injuries!  YAY!  There are also random ninjas and BIG FAT KOI to keep the kids (and us) amused.

Oh, and Himeji town has an amazing vintage clothing shop call the Kilo store...you pay based on the weight of your purchases...amazing!

Please PLEASE make sure you visit Himeji and Iga Ueno Ninja Museum if you're in Japan.  OK!