Himeji Castle

Our day of touring and travel on Monday started after breakfast with a bus ride through more towering Japanese mountains covered with fir, pine and cedar trees. As with most Japanese land travel, the bus often zoomed through mountain tunnels. When our group arrived at Himeji, we toured the country's most beautiful feudal castle. The "White Heron" castle has white plaster walls to resist flaming arrows, and its roof line is said to resemble its namesake bird. The main section of the castle rises seven stories high, and dominates the town. We also had a short visit to nearby Koko-En Gardens, which features a rushing waterfall and large ponds that hold 250 colorful koi, the rarest type of carp. A lunch at a Kobe beef restaurant followed. Happily, our tour leaders had secured seafood meals for us, which included scallops, prawns and abalone. Then the group boarded a fast bullet train for Hiroshima. A short ride left us at the station and a well-appointed Sheraton hotel. We enjoyed a tasty sushi dinner at the hotel's Miyabitei restaurant before retiring. - Dan