Japan - Day 3
We awoke on Day 3 in the historic city of Kurashiki. The night before, we met a man on the train on the way into the city who asked where we were from, and why we chose Kurashiki. We didn't really have an answer for him other than that we wanted a quieter city with a more traditional feel. He was surprised and said foreign tourists don't usually come to Kurashiki and thanked us for coming and supporting the city.
Kurashiki is home to the historic Bikan district. It's full of traditional houses and storefronts, as well as an old spinning mill that's been transformed into a market square. Many of the buildings along the canal were built during the Edo period (1603-1868) and have been turned into museums. What I thought was most interesting about a lot of these buildings was the traditional ceramic tiles, or Kawara. Also, some of the buildings were black because the siding was charred wood.
We walked the canal in the morning and took a short 20-minute boat ride which can be purchased at the tourist information centre.
There was no time to rest after our walk of the canal; it was off to Himeji almost immediately. Himeji is home to the Himeji Castle, built in 1581, and one of the only original castles remaining in Japan.
Pictures don't do Himeji castle any justice; the construction is outstanding and the sheer size and stability of the main keep makes it no wonder why the castle has never been burned down or destroyed. As you go through gate after gate to approach the castle, the path gets more and more narrow. Attacking armies would have to navigate through a maze of walls and large, heavy, iron doors. Throughout the property, walls have tiny windows that allowed samurai inside the castle to easily throw rocks and shoot out of. The exits of these windows were so small that nothing could get in, but the samurai could easily shoot out. As attackers got closer to the castle, defences were fortified by high up windows where defenders could pour hot oil down onto the unsuspecting approaching army.
If you're visiting Himeji Castle, take about a half a day to see the grounds. There are countless storage lockers at the train terminal that allow you to drop your bags and go. A large locker fits two carry-on bags with space to spare, and costs 700 yen.
We took a little longer than we would have liked in the morning so we didn't arrive in Osaka until 4:00 in the afternoon, about an hour later than our itinerary suggested. We had to cut a few things out of our Osaka itinerary but we were determined to make it work and see what we really wanted to see!
Shinsaibashi station was our first stop, to start a walking tour that one of our books recommended. So far on our journey through the country, I had wondered where all the "hip" young people were. We found them near Triangle Park. This place was a mixed crowd of people, almost like a wacky fashion show! The streets were lined with tattoo parlours (rare in Japan), piercing shops, clothing stores, and people who were dressed and made up like anime characters. Certainly a unique place with a distinct culture.
From Triangle Park we walked to the Dotonbori area, which is like Times Square in terms of number of people, but packed tightly into a much smaller space. Osaka is widely known as the dining capital of Japan, and there are a ton of restaurants in the Dotonbori area. It's impossible to pick, so we let TripAdvisor pick for us and ended up knocking on the door at Matsusakagyu Yakiniku M, an award-winning steakhouse down one of the small alleyways. The restaurant has won TripAdvisor's certificate of excellence three years in a row.
The door slid open gently and a man poked his head out. We requested a table for four and he asked if we had a reservation. We didn't. He would be right back. The door slammed shut.
After a minute or two, he poked his head out again and asked if we could be out in an hour and a half, because he had a room reserved for another party later on. We certainly could!
A lot of Japanese dining is done in a private room, away from other people. We were escorted to an enclosed booth with a grill in the centre of the table and greeted by our friendly server, Miyuki. Miyuki spent a year as an exchange student in New Zealand, and had excellent English. She was helpful and guided us through our meal of premium Japanese beef and scallops, which was excellent! Thanks, TripAdvisor.
Finally, day 3 was capped off with a ride on Osaka's Tempozan Ferris wheel. With a height of 112 metres, it is one of the largest Ferris wheels in the world. While climbing to the top, I discovered I am not very fond of Ferris wheels. My stomach was virtually in knots for the entire climb, and I was white-knuckle gripping the handle behind me like that would help me when the cage went plummeting into the sea inlet below.
After a busy day, we hopped the Shinkansen to Kyoto, where we would spend the next two nights. Finally, somewhere we can unpack and stay for more than a few hours!
Kurashiki is home to the historic Bikan district. It's full of traditional houses and storefronts, as well as an old spinning mill that's been transformed into a market square. Many of the buildings along the canal were built during the Edo period (1603-1868) and have been turned into museums. What I thought was most interesting about a lot of these buildings was the traditional ceramic tiles, or Kawara. Also, some of the buildings were black because the siding was charred wood.
We walked the canal in the morning and took a short 20-minute boat ride which can be purchased at the tourist information centre.
There was no time to rest after our walk of the canal; it was off to Himeji almost immediately. Himeji is home to the Himeji Castle, built in 1581, and one of the only original castles remaining in Japan.
Pictures don't do Himeji castle any justice; the construction is outstanding and the sheer size and stability of the main keep makes it no wonder why the castle has never been burned down or destroyed. As you go through gate after gate to approach the castle, the path gets more and more narrow. Attacking armies would have to navigate through a maze of walls and large, heavy, iron doors. Throughout the property, walls have tiny windows that allowed samurai inside the castle to easily throw rocks and shoot out of. The exits of these windows were so small that nothing could get in, but the samurai could easily shoot out. As attackers got closer to the castle, defences were fortified by high up windows where defenders could pour hot oil down onto the unsuspecting approaching army.
If you're visiting Himeji Castle, take about a half a day to see the grounds. There are countless storage lockers at the train terminal that allow you to drop your bags and go. A large locker fits two carry-on bags with space to spare, and costs 700 yen.
We took a little longer than we would have liked in the morning so we didn't arrive in Osaka until 4:00 in the afternoon, about an hour later than our itinerary suggested. We had to cut a few things out of our Osaka itinerary but we were determined to make it work and see what we really wanted to see!
Shinsaibashi station was our first stop, to start a walking tour that one of our books recommended. So far on our journey through the country, I had wondered where all the "hip" young people were. We found them near Triangle Park. This place was a mixed crowd of people, almost like a wacky fashion show! The streets were lined with tattoo parlours (rare in Japan), piercing shops, clothing stores, and people who were dressed and made up like anime characters. Certainly a unique place with a distinct culture.
From Triangle Park we walked to the Dotonbori area, which is like Times Square in terms of number of people, but packed tightly into a much smaller space. Osaka is widely known as the dining capital of Japan, and there are a ton of restaurants in the Dotonbori area. It's impossible to pick, so we let TripAdvisor pick for us and ended up knocking on the door at Matsusakagyu Yakiniku M, an award-winning steakhouse down one of the small alleyways. The restaurant has won TripAdvisor's certificate of excellence three years in a row.
The door slid open gently and a man poked his head out. We requested a table for four and he asked if we had a reservation. We didn't. He would be right back. The door slammed shut.
After a minute or two, he poked his head out again and asked if we could be out in an hour and a half, because he had a room reserved for another party later on. We certainly could!
A lot of Japanese dining is done in a private room, away from other people. We were escorted to an enclosed booth with a grill in the centre of the table and greeted by our friendly server, Miyuki. Miyuki spent a year as an exchange student in New Zealand, and had excellent English. She was helpful and guided us through our meal of premium Japanese beef and scallops, which was excellent! Thanks, TripAdvisor.
Finally, day 3 was capped off with a ride on Osaka's Tempozan Ferris wheel. With a height of 112 metres, it is one of the largest Ferris wheels in the world. While climbing to the top, I discovered I am not very fond of Ferris wheels. My stomach was virtually in knots for the entire climb, and I was white-knuckle gripping the handle behind me like that would help me when the cage went plummeting into the sea inlet below.
After a busy day, we hopped the Shinkansen to Kyoto, where we would spend the next two nights. Finally, somewhere we can unpack and stay for more than a few hours!