We arrived in a small city called Himeji after taking the bullet train from Kyoto. The rain had stopped during the night, but the streets remained wet and the dull daylight shimmered off puddles on the city streets. There isn’t much in Himeji except two major things: the Himeji castle and the Kokoan Garden, both of which are more than enough to warrant a day here.
The castle has the distinction of being the best in Japan, and when I first saw it in the distance after getting off the bullet train, I could see why. It was a towering thing, rising white and grey into the overcast sky, towering well above everything else. It was an impenetrable fortress, surrounded by a moat and large walls. I pictured an army trying to breach the castle and archers up above the walls, shooting arrows down at the opposition through small holes in the castle keep. It seemed like a safe place to be. A place well suited for a zombie attack, if there were ever to be one.
We took a tour of the castle and climbed to the tallest point. The castle had undergone major restoration work in the past five years, and it was clear this fortress was a special place and well taken care of.
After the castle, we went and toured a beautiful garden. Choi fish swam in ponds fed by gently falling waterfalls, and vibrant flowers lined slab stone paths that wound around bamboo forests and small, meticulously manicured shrubs and trees. It was a beautiful place steeped in quiet reflection. A place to spend a few moments in silence listening to the wind brush the leaves, and the slow trickle of water cascading down rocks in a shallow creek bed.
