Day 02: Himeji (Sep 2017)

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Sunday, 17th September 2017

Nagoya >> Himeji (278.3km, 93 mins, 8,610 Yen)

The weather was forgiving as I woke up shortly after six this morning. The rains that plagued since yesterday had miraculously stopped as the skies gave an all clear signal. The weatherman from NHK had announced that the typhoon had already made landfalls in the southern part of Kyushu early morning and was soon on its way to sweep through the rest of Japan within the next 24 hours or so.

With perfect weather before the impending storm, I jumped onto the opportunity for a whirlwind Shinkansen excursion to Himeji and Kyoto for the day. Home to the magnificent white castle, the beautiful Himeji-Jo was evident as soon as I made my way out of the train station.

I strolled my way through the neat rows of the shopping arcade, some of the shops had just rolled up their shutters for the day. I haven't had a chance to visit the castle during my previous trips as it was hoarded up for renovation for a long time.

I was thankful to be here this morning, thankful that I finally made it to the castle grounds and thankful for the fine weather this morning which made sightseeing plans convenient.

Very soon, I was on the Shinkansen again, to take me through the ancient city of Kyoto where I picked up from where I left some 10 years ago.

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