Day 10 - Narai to Himeji

My time-related anxiety therapy continued this morning with a breakfast at 8am followed by a rapid march the 900 meters to the station in the rain to buy tickets and catch an 8.43am train.

Breakfast was again amazing, albeit a bit rushed. It would have been nice to start earlier or leave a bit later but I think the idea of having to get up earlier horrified our young chef and the next train was not until 11am.... So, 8am was our compromise timeframe.

You can relax, yes, we made it in time, and I wasn't at all stressed (believe that if you will).... I am getting good at this!

Our train journey took us first on a local slow train back to Kiso Fukushima. From there we changed to a slightly more express train to Nagoya before hopping on another speedy Shinkansen for the final leg to Himeji. All up, it took about 4 hours, arriving about 12.45pm.

Himeji's claim to fame is the White Castle 🏯, that looks over the city, about 1.5 km or so from our hotel, which is near the station. So we dumped our packs at the hotel, stopped for a quick lunch at the station and walked up to the castle for a tour which took as a couple of hours. It was amazing.

We also ducked into an adjacent garden as part of the ticket, which was nice but not as good as the one at Kyoto.

From there it was back to the hotel for a luxurious onsen experience involving not one but two separate baths (one indoors and one outdoors) plus a sauna. Very posh. And they have a fridge with free ice-creams after you finish. How good is that!!

We then went out to a nearby Nepalese restaurant for some very yummy curry and the biggest naan breads ever seen, followed by a stroll back up to the castle to see it all lit up at night. Himeji has got lots of Christmas lights as well, and is the first place we have seen make any kind of big deal about it.

Back at the hotel now so having grab another free ice cream for dessert...Read more