Japan 2008 - Day 3
Day 3 and we’re off to Himeji. Himeji is also sometimes called the White Crane castle, and has been the backdrop for several movies including James Clavell’s Shogun, and Ian Flemming’s You Only Live Twice. It’s a beautiful castle, and the Koko-en gardens nearby are phenomenal to visit. On this day, it happened to be one of the hottest days out here so far, and it was pretty brutal. The 1 KM walk from the station to the castle is normally not a problem, but when the temp climbs, it can be pretty nasty. The only saving factor today was there was a nice breeze, but still, hot is hot. Apparently there was some kind of record set today near here, of 39C. That's the equivalent of 102F, plus the humidity. Ouch!
Looks like they’ve rebuilt the bridge recently.
Himeji Castle.
The west bailey is an interesting area. Mainly built inside the wall, it served a few functions. Housing for the women, storage of various goods, and defensive fortification, to name a few. The area is divided into a number of rooms and long corridors. Here’s some attempts at artistic shots. It’s actually hard to get some of these shots because of the number of people running about, but a little patience eventually results in a cleaner shot.
