Okayama

My goal was to take it easy today as all the partying and drinking had physically caught up with me. Luckily the trainride from Osaka to Okayama was a short one and i planned on making two short stops along the way. The first one was in Kobe. At the Oktoberfest on my first Japan trip i learned that there was a Dutch stroopwafelshop (for people who don't know stroopwafels, it's the best cookie in the world, period) and so i was very anxious to see the shop and meet the shopowner, Marco. A Dutch immigrant who started the shop. The shop was not to far from the station and was easily found. When i got in the shopowner was a little bit surprised i knew his name but after telling him my name and explaining we had a mutual acquaintance he quickly got up to offer me a freshly baked stroopwafel, which i happily accepted. It was so weird for me to talk Dutch again after weeks of English, German and very poor Japanese. ;-) We talked a bit about his shop and Yumi, our mutual friend and before i left i bought the biggest pack of stroopwafels he had with all the different flavours he makes. Trust me my fellow countrymen, a chocolate or coconut stroopwafel may sound strange but it's actually pretty darn good. Really! Unfortunately i can't prove it to you as most of the stroopwafels were gone within a matter of hours. In the rush of saying goodbye i forgot to take a picture of us together but that just gives me an excuse to come back to Kobe again. :-)
Next stop on the way to Okayama was Himeji castle. One of the most famous and beautiful remaining castles of Japan. It has been (partially) closed the last couple of years due to restauration but now you can see over 90 percent of the restored castle again. It was easy to find as the castle is directly visible from the station and a 15 minute walk takes you straight through the entrance of the castle. Now this is obviously a touristy place as well but nevertheless it's a great place to visit. Every effort has been made to keep the castle as authentic as possible. So no elevators or whatsoever and the staircases are narrow and small. This in my mind however adds to the overal atmosphere of the castle. In the beginning i had to find my way across a group of elderly French tourists but some handy moves on my side and i was in the clear. The self guided tour sends you through the castle's main keep and the outer areas with short explanations in English with plenty of opportunity for pictures. The tour leads you to the exit of the castle and back to the station. So glad i could finally see this beatiful place.
Back on the train for the final and short ride to Okayama. The hostel was easy to find and only a short walk through the downtown area. I checked in and after making my bed i and taking a shower i got back downstairs to the common area and order myself a cold brewski. I was there talking with Emma from the UK and Yiyang from Korea when all of a sudden i turn around only to see a camera pointed straight at me. I was kind of startled at first but soon found out that this was a local TV crew making an article for NHK Okayama on tourist visiting Okayama. NHK is the country's national station but with several smaller stations in major citys nationwide. There is apparantly a rise in tourism to Okayama and they were looking for random tourists to ask for their choice in choosing Okayama as a destination. After talking a bit with them and showing my goshuin they asked me if they could join me in my sightseeing tomorrow and make an article about me! It didn't take much thinking on my part to say yes! I mean how cool is this. Last time i was here i got into a newspaper and now on TV! Are you kidding me? This is just awesome. After some more quistions at the bar this part of the interview was over and we decided to meet up the next day at 9am. I made the wise decision to go to bed early so i would be fresh the next morning. Awesome!!!Les mer