We hopped on th train early in the morning and mad our way to Himeji. Though we weren't on the famous Shinkansen, we still sped along remarkably quickly on the Special Rapid, which was really a superfast subway style train. Just after we left Kobe and its beautiful women, we passed the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, the longest single-span suspension bridge in the world, which connects the main island of Honshu with the island of Awaji.
After 40 minutes or so, we arrived at Himeji. Even though I've never heard of it prior to the trip, the guidebook proclaimed it a must-see as "the best preserved feudal castle in Japan." Osaka-jo is more famous, and rightly so as the most visited tourist site in Japan, but it's a concrete reconstruction as the true castle was partially destroyed by Tokugawa in the early 1600s and the current iteration was built (poured) after WWII. I had no qualms with skipping a fake Osaka-jo and reveling at pristin Himeji-jo.
The guidebook was right about Himeji-jo being the best-preserved castle. I'll credit it for that. What I'm m ore than slightly miffed about is the fact that the Rough Guide: Japan didn't mention the main keep is under a 5 year restoration and is encased in heavy steel-beam scaffolding. Classic. Yet another time the farthest leg of a trip of mine has resulted in Clark Griswald/WallyWorld-being-closed-like failure. In 2000, on spring break, I drove over 2000 miles to see Lake San Isabel in Colorado (went there as an 11 year old and was convinced it was the prettiest place on earth) only to discover it was still closed for winter. The next year, after I graduated from Artillery school, my brother and I drove from Oklahoma to California and then all the way to Crater Lake, Oregon, only for it to be fogged in for the two days we were there.
As we were in Himeji anyway, we toured the grounds of the castle, which were spectacular in and off themselves, but because I foresaw a long day of travel ahead of us, I herded the girls back to the train station. I was looking forward to a day of travel because I needed rest. I've not had a completely down day in months and, though this has been a fairly easy trip, it's been draining to be the travel master, so to speak. Hours of sleeping on the train were just what I needed.
Though she was actually 100% correct, I was particularly displeased when, after I'd bought the tickets and we'd settled in for our circuitous route to Matsumoto via Tokyo and Nagano, Mom pulled out the guide book and pointed out that we were going through our elbows to get to our butts ad there was a much shorter direct route. I tried not to bite her head off, but I really dislike when people leave all aspects of guidance/leading to me and then snipe when I make a mistake. Either participate the whole time or stay out of it. Also, and fundamentally, what the hell is the good/use of pointing out that (and not simply dropping it) after a) I've bought the tickets and b) we're on the train? I mostly ignored her, closed my eyes and fell asleep.
I stayed awake as we approached Nagano. The clouds were spectacular in the dying light of the day as I gazed upon the jutting mountains and the cities speeding by us in a blur. After a brief stop in Nagano, we caught the connection to Matsumoto, where, thankfully, the hotel was directly across from the station.
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