*The castle moat and high, sloping stone walls*
*The main tower covered by scaffolding*
*The front gate*
*One of the cats I shared my lunch with*
*View of the moat, looking towards the front gate*
*An old map/illustration of the layout of Himeji castle, it was one of the best designs for defense (apparently)*
*Just in case you were thinking of scribbling*
*The beautiful corridors in Senhime's personal wing of the castle*
*The outside of the same corridor, Senhime's wing*
*Mannequins showing Senhime and her lady in waiting playing a card game. Not only did Senhime marry for love after her first husband killed himself while Osaka Castle burned, she also smoked and gambled, and really liked cats*
*Proof that I was there and that it was freezing cold*
After eating my lunch in the castle grounds surrounded by cats, I went next door to a beautiful garden. It had various garden 'rooms' in different styles of Japanese gardening, with different 'moods'. It was so beautiful, and as usual I took hundreds of photos in an attempt to capture just a little of its beauty.
*Those Koi were HUGE, at least 50cm or more*
*My favourite flower in the whole garden, I wish I knew the name!*
On the way back to the station I spotted this oddity: A statue of a naked man playing the saxaphone...
When I finally arrived at my hotel in Hiroshima it was almost dark, the view was wonderful, as you can see below. I then set off to have the local specialty, Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki. In the restaurant I sat alone (as usual) but the lady who owned the restaurant sat another lone traveller beside me, and that is how I made a new friend, Yuichi.
*Yuichi and Me*
