We went to Himeji Castle this week-end. Set the navigation system for the shortest route (BIG mistake) and set out for the town of Himeji. 2+ hours later, after a harrowing journey through mountainous, twisty, turney, cart tracks overflowing with enormous trucks and reckless drivers, we arrived at our "destination"--according to the navi! Naturally this destination was in the middle of nowhere. We thought perhaps miss Navi wanted us to proceed on foot, but we refused, turned the car around and followed the road signs! Once the car was parked, we set off to find lunch, which was in a delicious little kebab restaurant. Once fortified, we made our way to the castle entrance. It was/is magnificent. We spent the rest of the day exploring the grounds and 6 floors of the main tower, and the gardens. Of course, this being Japan, no shoes are allowed in the buildings, so we had to remove our shoes and wear slippers! Ever wonder why they're called "slip"pers? Just try climbing up some steep castle steps in a pair of pleather ones that are a bit too big for you! We had some laughs as the slippers slipped off and the person bringing up the rear of our little group had to collect them and bring them up to us. But the castle and grounds were awesome. Well worth the trouble getting there. (I'll include some photos)
Oh, on the way home we set the navi for the fastest route. It took about 40 min on the expressway, a nice straight 4 lane highway!
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