009: Japan 2016 Day 09 | Date Day at Himeji

2016年 12月 21日 (水)

With my Shimano Tokyo 23 backpacked to the brim with my Fujifilm X-T1, Fujfilm instax mini 8, Sirui T-025X, LEE Filters, BlackRapid Sport and SanDisk Extreme Pros (sponsor meee), my shoulders and back were going to have a field day.

Yay…

Catching the train out to Himeji took 1h20m, so it was a good time to catch some Zs. Because who wants to soak in beautiful scenery, amirite?

Upon stepping out of the station, Himeji Castle was well within view even at its long distance away. Walking down the long straight lasted about 15mins and was the usual city scene, nothing special of note. It was only when we reached the castle grounds, that Carolyn realised she had forgotten her camera. Ohhhh noooo… what a shame. Under my watch, not a minute passed without her being reminded of the blunder.

We paid for a combo entry ticket, allowing us access into the castle and Koko-En, a beautiful neighbouring garden. Admission was ¥1040 and unlike Osaka castle, it was worth it...?

P009JPND0901 an angled view of Himeji Castle.jpg

While I regard Osaka’s castle exterior as beautiful with its gold and green trim, I found Himeji’s castle to be more beautiful and elegant with its monotonous palette and grander structure. Interior wise, it was well preserved and maintained. It was amazing seeing the various hidden hiding spots and tactically being able to see the entire castle grounds from above.

P009JPND0902 a straight on view of Himeji Castle.jpg
P009JPND0905 girl posing in front of Himeji Castle.jpg
P009JPND0904 a clear look at the structures at Himeji Castle.jpg
P009JPND0907 view overlooking castle grounds from inside the Himeji Castle.jpg

When entering the castle itself, you’re required to swap your shoes for some slippers and traverse with your bagged shoes in hand. From the ground floor, we made our way up and down in a spiral, much like how the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan was.

P009JPND0908 inside one of the floors of Himeji Castle.jpg
P009JPND0909 looking out to the pylons of Himeji Castle.jpg
P009JPND0910 a large floor space in Himeji Castle.jpg
P009JPND0911 people wandering the floors of Himeji Castle.jpg
P009JPND0912 looking out into the city from Himeji Castle.jpg
P009JPND0913 a shrine at Himeji Castle.jpg
P009JPND0914 woman admiring the vast beauty of Himeji Castle.jpg
P009JPND0915 wide angled shot of Himeji Castle from below.jpg
P009JPND0916 Himeji Castle in the distance of the castle grounds.jpg

Leaving the way we came in, it was a 500m walk towards the right for Koko-En. Stepping into the garden was like stepping into tranquillity materialised. Even with the handful of others there, the beautiful scenes could be enjoyed in peace. If only I could have all the nice spots to myself.

P009JPND0917 small cascading water feature at Koko-en.jpg
P009JPND0918B a peaceful shot of long exposed water at Koko-en garden.jpg
P009JPND0919A a long exposed shot of main garden at Koko-en.jpg
P009JPND0919B beautiful long exposed photo at Koko-en garden.jpg

Past the water featured main? garden, there were surprisingly a large number of smaller gardens. They weren’t as nice as the main one, but still gorgeous nonetheless.

P009JPND0920 smaller garden filled with lush flora and shrubbery.jpg
P009JPND0921 girl fetching a pail of water.jpg

The day was almost over and we had only explored what was only the tip of Himeji’s iceberg. Heading back into town, we went for lunch... at 16:00. Not before picking up some more ice-cream.

P009JPND0922A girl holding soy ice cream in hand.jpg
P009JPND0922B bokehlicious shot of soft serve soy ice cream.jpg
P009JPND0923 casual cyclists crossing zebra crosswalk.jpg

We were just heading back to the station when a giant picture of a salad bowl caught my eye, perfect for Carolyn. This vegan friendly place was called The Farmer’s Daughter (café and kitchen). From the outside, it looked like a standalone restaurant, but the establishment shares the space within the department store. The staff were just lovely and sweet.

As for the food, it was good. From memory, their menu was entirely western. I ordered a pasta dish that was pretty tasty. And Carolyn’s salad bowl looked nice… enough.

P009JPND0924A delicious plate of tomato pasta with prawn and bacon.jpg
P009JPND0924B salad bowl full of healthy foods.jpg
P009JPND0925 girl holding up salad bowl for the camera.jpg

Just as we were about to head home, we were distracted by piole Himeji, yet another of the many department stores across Japan. Here, I was introduced to the worst best thing I could have come across - B-Side Label stickers. With a price tag of ±¥300, you can see why. It was just love at first sight, seeing the humorous, cute, cool or visually stunning designs. It was an inevitable purchase. I’m an absolute sucker.

P009JPND0926 humorous B-Side Label stickers.jpg
P009JPND0927 weird perversion B-Side Label stickers.jpg
P009JPND0928 hilarious B-Side Label stickers.jpg
P009JPND0929 normal Japan B-Side Label sticker.jpg
P009JPND0930A B-Side Label sticker of girl poking her head through a portal.jpg
P009JPND0930B B-Side Label sticker of girl peeking through wormhole.jpg
P009JPND0931 B-Side Label stickers of Phoenix Wright pointing at drunkard man.jpg
P009JPND0932 B-Side Label sticker of three cats departing.jpg

Unfortunately or fortunately, I came to learn about its standalone stores after returning to Australia. Imagine the oodles of money I would have lost...

Eventually, we left that department store to return to Osaka and regroup with our friends. For an outing at yet another department store...

As the night came to an end, so did our Osaka leg. Tomorrow, we go further south to Hiroshima for a couple of days. Thank you for reading and join me next time.

P009JPND0933 group of friends posing cutely in peace sign.jpg

Too short and sweet of a post? Go visit Carolyn's post.