Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
THE HIMEJI CASTLE:
Himeji, Japan.
October 21st, 2013, 3:34pm.
Hello all! Today was yet another failure that we turned into a great day! We had planned on waking up at 5:00am to get to Naoshima for the day. We surprisingly succeeded in doing that much, but once we got to Uno Port, (the port you need to take to get to the Naoshima Island) there was a sign that said, "All facilities at Naoshima will be closed today, Monday the 21st." Real was sooooo upset! We decided to turn back and make the most out of our day. We found ourselves in Himeji, home to one of the most monumental castles in Japan. It is made out of plaster, making it pure white in colour. It towered over the small town. There was a large, modern-looking building right beside it, which took away from the view a little. We wondered why it was there... Turns out, the Main Castle was being restored. The building obstructing the scene was a construction site! Just our luck- AGAIN! We made our way to the entrance, despite the second disappointing news of the day. It actually turned out to be a great experience! We had a private tour guide who spoke decent English! Her pronunciation was a little off, though. She kept saying, "road." Each new road added to the castle. After much confusion, Real and I figured out that she was saying, "Lord." Not, "road." Boy oh boy. You can imagine how funny that was. She explained a lot about the history of the castle, including many side stories. We learned all about the Princess's family history, her genealogy, and her habits. Apparently she had a 4 year old son who died because of disease. Since she was so wealthy, she had a shrine built in his honour near the castle. That was where she was said to go every day to pray for him.
Another side story she told us about was the house-keeper of the castle. She was accused of stealing one of the castles most valuable dish, so she was killed and thrown down a well. Of course, she told me this as I was hanging half way over the well! Creepy! Her cries could be heard from the well every night until later, her spirit was enshrined in a nearby shrine. The cries stopped after that.
Anyways it's been a good day! Now we're just sitting at an Italian restaurant, having some Japanese pizza for a very small cost!!! Our appetizer, meals, and drinks only costed 12 bucks! Crazy.
Well I'll let you know what comes out of the rest of our unexpected day!! :)
Love always,
Lindsay Lehr
- comments
Roma How was the pizza?
Roma Oh I see why Real was so disappointed. The island of Naoshima is nicknamed Art Island and is known for its contemporary works, inside and outside.
shirley I finally found your blog, for some reason it wasn't showing up on my page. And I can just imagine how well that went over for you when telling of he being thrown down the well! I'm curious about the pizza as well.