Kicking the bucket...list: Day 25 - Castles and Onsens. What could be more Japanese?

The White Heron Castle

I awoke in the morning of my twenty-fifth day in Japan to find myself back on the main island of Honshū 本州, after having spent the past three weeks exploring the island of Shikoku 四国 in what could be best described as the crossing off of an item on the travel bucket list. This day (well, technically, the late afternoon before) would also be a return to the second-largest city in Hyōgo Prefecture 兵庫県 following of absence of 35 years. A long, long time ago, in a Japan of a different era, I embarked on my first lengthy trip of the country. In the summer of 1990, with my girlfriend Rumi along for the ride, I made my way from Tōkyō 東京 to Saga Prefecture 佐賀県 and back, stopping in the Izu Peninsula 伊豆半島, Ise 伊勢, Kyōto 京都, Kotohira 琴平 and Hiroshima 広島 while en route. My reasoning at the time was the assumption I would eventually be leaving the country to get on with my life, and that this would be my one opportunity to see a large chunk of the country before that occurred. But life had other things in mind.

It was so long ago that I can't remember if it was going from Kyoto to Kotohira, or from Hakata Station 博多駅 to Kyoto, but either way somewhere along the way the two of us stopped long enough in Himeji 姫路 to visit its main claim to fame, Himeji-jō 姫路城, unarguably Japan's finest surviving castle. It was a time when foreigners like myself were relatively scarce outside of Tokyo and Kyoto. It was also a time when I may not have fully appreciated the architectural magnificence of the castle and the history behind it. A return visit, therefore, was long overdue, and this time I would have plenty of gaijin 外人 groupies to accompany me as I headed to the UNESCO World Heritage Site on a hot, muggy morning following breakfast at my hotel:

Approaching the  45 meter/148 foo -high main keep. Though a castle has stood on this site since 1333, what visitors see today is a reconstruction of a 1580 structure that was completed in 1609 (though there have been more modern renovations in the 1960s and between 2009 and 2015), making it one of only a dozen original castles still standing in Japan. Himeiji-jo's white-plaster facade is the reason the castle is nicknamed Shirasagi-jō 白鷺城 (White Egret Castle). A system of moats and defensive walls encircles the five-story main keep and three smaller keeps. What stands today survived the tumult of the end of the Sengoku period 戦国時代, not to mention the bombing of Himeji during World War II (one firebomb landed on the roof but failed to explode) and the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake 阪神・淡路大震災:

If the castle looks familiar it's probably because of its having been extensively featured in tourist literature and social media posts, not to mention appearances in a couple of Akira Kurosawa 黒澤明 films (Seven Samurai 七人の侍 in 1954 and Ran 乱 in 1985). It even served as the setting of a ninja 忍者  training school in 1967's James Bond outing, You Only Live Twice:

There are two main areas for visitors to explore. I began with the Hon-maru 本丸 (the inner citadel), which is dominated by the Daitenshū 大天守, the classic central donjon. On the way there my attention was briefly drawn to the Tile of the Cross 十字紋の鬼瓦, explained in the photo below:

Notable defensive features of the castle include its high stone walls, the nearly 1000 arrow and gun notches, and the zigzag approach to the main keep, which was designed to funnel attackers into narrow corridors where death would rain down from above:

There are seven levels within the central donjon, with special features indicated by bilingual signs:

Naturally there were great views of the city from the top level:

Shachihoko 鯱 on the castle roof:

Back outside in the heat, though seeing as the donjon's interior lacked any air conditioning, being indoors didn't provide much relief:

It can't be disputed that Himeji-jo is Japan's most photogenic castle, though Matsumoto-jō 松本城 (my personal favorite) comes in at a close second:

The other main area of the castle complex is the Nishi no Maru 西の丸 (western citadel), which served as the residence of the daimyō 大名 and his family (the central donjon was only used during times of war). The only remnants of the original palace are the West Bailey Long Gallery (240 meters/787 feet) and the Keshō-yagura 化粧櫓 (Ornamental Tower), where Princess Sen 千姫 (Tokugawa Ieyasu's 徳川家康 granddaughter) rested and relaxed:

A history lesson:

A Sama shooting hole:

While looking out one of the windows I noticed there were at least four cormorants sitting on the branches of this tree:

Hagoita 羽子板, wooden paddles used to hit shuttlecocks in a traditional New Year's game called hanetsuki 羽根突き:

A final look at the castle, resplendent in its architectural glory:

Next to the castle is Kōko-en 好古園, a modern recreation (finished in 1992) of an Edo period 江戸時代 samurai residence, with nine connected stroll gardens, a central koi-filled pond, teahouse and kaiseki 懐石 restaurant:

In desperate need of air conditioning, after visiting Himeji-jo I retreated to a cafe next to my hotel, where in addition to the pancake treat below I also had a soft cream cone:

And with all that sugar coursing through my veins, I left Himeji on the Hamakaze はまかぜ limited express train, heading to Kinosaki Onsen 城崎温泉:

I'd first intended on visiting Kinosaki Onsen two years ago, when I took my daughter on a similar extended excursion (also 27 days in length) in Japan, making our way from Tokyo to Ōsaka 大阪. However, our plan to stay in the hot spring resort had to be canceled when heavy rains left us stranded for a couple of days in Tottori 鳥取. So on this trip I stubbornly added one more day to the itinerary so I could make it to the onsen 温泉. Checking into the Kinosaki Onsen Sinonomesou 城崎温泉しののめ荘 I was assigned a tatami room large enough for half a dozen people:

After dropping off my things, it was time to explore. Located in the northern part of Hyogo-ken, Kinosaki Onsen is the most well-known hot springs resort town in the Kansai region 関西地方. According to legend the onsen was discovered 1400 years ago by an injured kō (oriental white stork), which healed its wounds in a natural hot spring there. Nowadays visitors come in part to relieve digestive diseases, skin conditions and muscle and joint pain in the calcium, chloride and sodium-rich waters. Or because it's romantic to don yukata 浴衣and geta 下駄, and stroll the streets between visiting the bathhouses: 

Kani カニ (crab) from the waters of the nearby Sea of Japan 日本海 is a popular dish in town:

The willow tree-lined canal looked especially charming as the daylight faded (see below):

Taking a break with a glass of Kinosaki Blend ice coffee:

This foot bath was one of several in the onsen:

Back at the hotel I enjoyed two of these local brews, one with dinner and the other after my evening bath (in-house):

Speaking of dinner. Not pictured below is the tofu soup, bowl of rice and fruit dessert which came after this photo had been taken:

When in Rome, so after dinner I took a stroll in a gaijin-sized yukata (traditional geta tend to painfully chafe around the big toes so I stuck with my trusty sandals). The presence of so many foreigners in addition to mysef in town begged the question of why there were so many of us here. I'd been aware of Kinosaki Onsen for ages, but in recent years guidebooks like Lonely Planet seemed to have amplified the hype:

The Ichi no Yu 一の湯 public bath. There are seven of these soto-yu 外湯 in Kinosaki Onsen, all clustered in an area of about one kilometer. The Sinonomesou provided me with a pass that could be used at three of them. However, I was content on the first night with just bathing at my hotel:

The next morning I would be more adventurous. Stay tuned as the next blog post finally wraps up this most recent visit to Japan. じゃまた!