The allure of Himeji
(Wednesday, July 2, 2008/11:07 PM)
Whew, tired from a day of geeking with my MTG geek pals and of cos', my usual Japanese lessons at Orchard. My Japanese is really lousy. >.< I can't even carry a simple conversation with my sensei properly! I'm in desperate need of a proster to help me out. Pls lemme know if u're willing to coach me! Heh! ^^
Alright, back to my trip to Japan, Himeji is up next! My JR Rail Pass had expired and I had to buy single-trip tickets on the ever-expensive Shinkansen. We had a little misunderstanding and ended up paying additional fee for super-express benefits, which we didn't need at all! Jeffrey-san, so sorry for the cock-up! >.< Nevertheless, it was worth the trip to Himeji, juz for Himeji Castle alone, which was filmed in some James Bond movie, and is a UNESCO world heritage site.
I purposely coincided my itinerary with the Yukata Matsuri, ongoing in Himeji, expecting to experience the vibrancy of the town, as well as to see pretty girls dressed in yukata. ^^ However, I was rather disappointed cos' the streets weren't as lively as I thought, and there were so few ladies dressed in yukata! Even those I saw were mostly obasans, and the few youngsters I bumped into weren't exactly stunning as well. Sigh...~
I can't seem to get a good shot of the castle. This seems to be my only decent shot! >.< The exterior of the castle is definitely a sight to behold but if u decide to explore the interior, it can be quite a challenge! It consists of 7-8 storeys of extremely steep flight of stairs, and a single misstep would mean that u would be rolling back down to the previous level. =P
Despite learning a little on Japanese history for one of my modules last semester, I was clueless abt the history behind Himeji Castle, and I was more interested in the armor & weapon exhibits, rather than the enriching historical exhibits. Lol! Samurai is so cool!
After the visit at the castle, we headed back down and looked for a respectable restaurant to rest our legs and have our lunch. It may not be as lively as the main cities of Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto etc., but the town has a homely feel and we felt much more relaxed at this place. Heh, my friend helped me take a random photo of me with the cute cartoon dudes eating ice-cream! ^^
Enjoyable yet slightly disappointing. I was expecting Yukata Matsuri to be much much more... I scheduled the entire day to linger in Himeji, but we ran out of things to do by 3 PM, so we headed back to Osaka to do more shopping. Himeji is definitely worthwhile visiting once, but whether or not, u wish to return for subsequent visits, it all depends if u feel anything for the place! =)
Another time of geeking early tml morning... Gtg rest up early so that I'll have enough energy tml... Oh yeah, KC bro, happy bday!!! Pls lemme know if wanna do anything on ur bday! ^^ Ciao guys!~
Alright, back to my trip to Japan, Himeji is up next! My JR Rail Pass had expired and I had to buy single-trip tickets on the ever-expensive Shinkansen. We had a little misunderstanding and ended up paying additional fee for super-express benefits, which we didn't need at all! Jeffrey-san, so sorry for the cock-up! >.< Nevertheless, it was worth the trip to Himeji, juz for Himeji Castle alone, which was filmed in some James Bond movie, and is a UNESCO world heritage site.
I purposely coincided my itinerary with the Yukata Matsuri, ongoing in Himeji, expecting to experience the vibrancy of the town, as well as to see pretty girls dressed in yukata. ^^ However, I was rather disappointed cos' the streets weren't as lively as I thought, and there were so few ladies dressed in yukata! Even those I saw were mostly obasans, and the few youngsters I bumped into weren't exactly stunning as well. Sigh...~
I can't seem to get a good shot of the castle. This seems to be my only decent shot! >.< The exterior of the castle is definitely a sight to behold but if u decide to explore the interior, it can be quite a challenge! It consists of 7-8 storeys of extremely steep flight of stairs, and a single misstep would mean that u would be rolling back down to the previous level. =P Despite learning a little on Japanese history for one of my modules last semester, I was clueless abt the history behind Himeji Castle, and I was more interested in the armor & weapon exhibits, rather than the enriching historical exhibits. Lol! Samurai is so cool!
After the visit at the castle, we headed back down and looked for a respectable restaurant to rest our legs and have our lunch. It may not be as lively as the main cities of Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto etc., but the town has a homely feel and we felt much more relaxed at this place. Heh, my friend helped me take a random photo of me with the cute cartoon dudes eating ice-cream! ^^ 
Enjoyable yet slightly disappointing. I was expecting Yukata Matsuri to be much much more... I scheduled the entire day to linger in Himeji, but we ran out of things to do by 3 PM, so we headed back to Osaka to do more shopping. Himeji is definitely worthwhile visiting once, but whether or not, u wish to return for subsequent visits, it all depends if u feel anything for the place! =) Another time of geeking early tml morning... Gtg rest up early so that I'll have enough energy tml... Oh yeah, KC bro, happy bday!!! Pls lemme know if wanna do anything on ur bday! ^^ Ciao guys!~
posted by MightyFlameboy. shoot me? | 0 shot me.