Himeji and Himeji Castle

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Arrived late last night just in time for the Coopers local shared dinner party. They live in an apartment style accommodation with 22 other families and singles. We were graciously given the lounge room to live in for a few days. Today Peter and Julie were our guides by bicycle around Himeji. First stop breaky at their local kisaten (coffee shop) and then off to the museum to see a large floor map of Hyogo prefecture ,West Japan. Then on to Himeji Jo. Unfortunately for us the castle is under repair and hidden inside a giant box the size of Seacliff Schools two story building! Except this one was 8 stories high! We went up inside by a lift to the top level where we could see the restoration in progress. Amazing to be here seeing history preserved for another 50 years! We cycled back through the town mall for lunch and souvenir shopping. Kate found some great Hiragana cards for school! Dinner was at a ramen restaurant that fitted just the 6 of us! It was great, we were served by kobasan, the head chef who laughed at our jokes in English and Japanese! A 10 minute bike ride around the castle moat and back to the house for a well earned rest! Oyasumi (goodnight!)

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