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Trip to Japan part 3: The Group Goes South
Written by Guillaume Erard   
Sunday, 05 October 2008 23:14
himejicastle
Our first weekend in Japan is approaching two days after our arrival. We have not yet gotten used to the Tokyoite environment but we already have to pack our stuff and in preparation to the trip that will take us south, to the historic cities of Himeji and Kyoto. This weekend is really be some sort of travel back in time, in particular when put in perspective with the modernity of what we have experienced in Tokyo until now. Our first stop of the day will be Himeji, which is a little off the road from Tokyo to Kyoto but the visit of its world famous castle makes it a worthwile detour.

Hostess on board of the Shinkansen
Hostess on board of the Shinkansen
One thing worth noting when travelling to Japan in order to train at the Aikikai is that the registration only signs you up for classes during the week. If you wish to train at the weekends; you have to spend a few extra yen in order to attend the various classes proposed. It can be quite a pain for resident Aikidoka but for us tourists, it becomes a welcome opportunity to forget about training for a little while, recover from our little pains, strains and other injuries that several days of training inevitably provoked. More importantly, it is also the occasion to discover a bit more Tokyo and the rest of the country.

Friday morning... We are just after completing the morning class at the Aikikai and it is time to go back to the hotel, take a quick shower and head towards Shinjuku Station to catch the Shinkansen that will take us to Himeji, home of the world famous Himeji Castle which is also known as the "White Heron Castle". Shinkansen trains regularly run at speeds of up to 300 km/h (186 mph), putting them among the fastest trains in the world, along with the French TGV.

One notable difference is the absolute comfort within the carriage. While you are stuck like sardines in a tin can during the TGV journeys, Shinkansen is very spacious and like everything else in Japan, it is of a spotless tidiness. It is literally an army of cleaners that embarks on the train when it stops at the station in order to make sure that every seat and window is cleaned thoroughly. I am mesmerized at the strange ballet formed by the benches being reversed one by one without effort by these cleaning ladies thanks to a very clever lever mechanism. It is obviously designed in order to make sure that the travellers face forward during their journey which is yet another thing that the SNCF, the national French train company, would do good to take onboard. I can't help wondering what might result if I put my foot on the mechanism of the adjacent seat to mine while Voitek and Derek are sound asleep... The temptation will be present during all the 4 hours of the journey and I have to force myself to sleep or read in order not to yield to the mischievous urge.
Front of the Shinkansen
Shinkansen Train

Like everywhere in Japan, great care is taken to providing the highest standards of service, in particular in the foods department (but of course, you know by now that the Japanese are absolutely obsessed by food). What a difference with the triangle shaped SNCF sandwich served by a grumpy French woman on the TGV! For such a long ride as the one today, it is indeed very welcome. Countless shops at the station propose anything you might want, in particular some beautifully packed Sushi that have nothing to ashamed of compared to their restaurant served counterparts. There is also the omnipresent, cheaper yet still tasty, option of Onigiri.

Food Shop at the train station
Variety of meal boxes and Sushi sold in the train station
These Sushi boxes are a personal favourite of mine, along with a cold Asahi beer when I am on board of the Shinkansen. Other travellers carefully unpack homemade sandwiches and Onigiri while drinking the ubiquitous Green tea. In case you forgot or did not have time to bring or purchase your meal at the station, hostesses are here to provide you with light meals and refreshments all the way to your destination. I am always reminded of how different this country is when I see them politely bow as they get in and out of each carriage.

View from the train window
The countryside view from the train's window

It is nice to see the landscape unravel as we make our way south. It is our first encounter with Japanese countryside and we make sure not to miss the famous Mount Fuji ( Fuji San). The volcano is currently classified as active with a low risk of eruption. The last recorded eruption started on December 16, 1707 (Hōei 4, 23rd day of the 11th month) and ended about January 1, 1708 (Hōei 4, 9th day of the 12th month) during the Edo period.

Fuji San seen from Tokyo
Fuji San seen from Tokyo

We finally reach the city of Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. Himeji is also called "the kingdom of Shinkin bank", as the headquarters of four Shinkin banks are located here. After the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, the Japanese government reportedly considered moving the nation's capital from Tokyo to Himeji. From the station we can see the castle rising majestically above the city and a short walk on one of the main boulevards of the city brings us to the gate of the castle. Unlike many other Japanese castles, Himeji Castle was never destroyed in wars, earthquakes or fires and survives in its original form. It is both, a national treasure and a UNESCO world heritage site. One of Himeji's most important defensive elements, and perhaps its most famous, is the confusing maze of paths leading to the main keep. The gates, baileys, and outer walls of the complex are organized so as to cause an approaching force to travel in a spiral pattern around the castle on their way into the keep, facing many dead ends. This allowed the intruders to be watched and fired upon from the keep during their entire approach. However, Himeji was never attacked in this manner, and so the system remains untested.
Himeji Castle view front the front court
Himeji Castle

The castle was conceived and constructed during the Nanboku-cho era of the Muromachi period. It was bombed twice in 1945, at the end of World War II. Although most of the surrounding area was burned to the ground, the castle survived almost entirely unscathed. Castle restoration efforts began in 1956. Himeji Castle frequently appears on Japanese tv. Edo Castle (the present Tokyo) does not have a keep, so when a fictional show such as Abarenbo Shogun needs a magnificent substitute, the producers turn to Himeji. This white castle is absolutely magnificent and it we immediately takes us at the heart of the samurai stories and tales that came to be so famous in the west, the Forty-seven Ronin[1], Miyamoto Musashi[2],[3] and of course the Samurai movies of Akira Kurosawa. In fact, Himeji Castle has often been used as backdrop for period movies such as Kurosawa's Kagemusha and Ran, the miniseries adapted from James Clavel's book Shōgun[4] starring Richard Chamberlain, and more recently, The Last Samurai[5] with Tom Cruise. It has also appeared in one form or another in many video games and comic books.

Himehi Castle
Himeji Castle
This solemn experience is however somewhat diminished by the laughs provoked by Gerry dragging his massive suitcase accross the sandy paths... While everybody has taken the strict minimum for the trip in their backpack, he probably thought that this was no way for a gentleman to carry his garments. We will however not get the chance to watch him painfully climb the countless narrow stairs of the castle as he spots a left-luggage locker and leaves his stuff there, deaf to our protests against seing our entertainement terminate so early... Like everywhere in Japan, the entry inside the castle is done at the cost of getting rid of one's shoes. Plastic bags are provided to carry them around with us and there are even employees, most of them well into their 60's, painstakingly brushing the bags off the dust in order to reuse them.
Old man cleaning the plastic bags
Old man cleaning plastic bags
A picture of postcard standard is to be taken absolutely everywhere we point our camera and I believe that with the amount of pictures we have taken, 100% of the castle has been photographically covered, up to the most obscure corners... One of these is a dark pit called Okiku-Ido (Okiku's Well)[6]. It is supposedly haunted by the ghost of a young and beautiful lady who got tortured and thrown down the pit by Asayama Tetsuzan who dishonestly accused her of stealing one of a set of 10 very precious plates. Although the castle is closed at night, it is said that her ghost still rises nightly from the well, and counts to nine before shrieking and returning. This variation of the very famous Bancho Sarayashiki folk tale  set in Himeji is called the Ningyo Joruri version.
Okiku's Well
Okiku-Ido
The castle is the most visited in Japan but luckily, we have chosen to travel outside of the touristy period and most of the relatively few other visitors we will encounter during our stay are Japanese people which, I have to admit, is better for immersing oneself in the culture. Once arrived at the top of the castle, the fantastic view of Himeji is not to be missed. The 3.5 hectares Koko-en Garden beside the castle provides a magnificient setting for the imposing structure. Both actually fit so well together that it is really hard to believe that the garden was only built in 1992.
View of Himeji city from the top of the Castle
View of the Koko-en Garden from the top of the castle
Most of the visitors are actually groups of school students with their strict uniform. One can't help but being impressed by the interest that these kids have for their culture, the enthusiasm that they have for these visits and the respect showed to their teachers and elders in general.
School student praying in front of a shrine
Student praying at a shrine
Like in all traditional buildings in Japan, the interior is kept to the strict minimum and the fact that we are in a military building pushes this to its extreme. I keep wondering how people in full body armour, with swords and often long bow could make their way through these narrow corridors and staircases.
Me climbing one of the many narrow, steep staircaises
Me climbing one of the countless, narrow staicases
After a good few hours spents climbing up and down the majestic Castle, we finally promptly head back to the station as we have to take the next train that is to bring us to the historic city to Kyoto, where we have planned to meet Philippe Gouttard and Jean-Baptiste Buffone for a bit of Temple crawl. The exciting thing is that tonight, we will be sleeping in a Ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn...

__________________

himejicastle.JPGTo go further

Trip to Japan part 5 - To the discovery of Tokyo

Take a virtual tour of Himeji Castle

The UNESCO page for the castle

References

  • [1] J. Clavell. Shogun, Hodder & Stoughton, 2006.
  • [2] M. Ravina. The Last Samurai: The Life and Battles of Saigo Takamori, Wiley, 2005.
  • [3] G. S. de Morant and O. Gaurin. Les 47 Ronins : Le trésor des loyaux samouraïs, Paris, France : Budo Editions, 2005.
  • [4] K. Tokitsu. Miyamoto Musashi, Boulder : Shambhala, 2004.
  • [5] E. Yoshikawa. Musashi, City : Kodansha International (JPN), 1995.
  • [6] L. Hearn. Kwaidan: Stories And Studies Of Strange Things, Tuttle Publishing, 2005.
 
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