Day 14 Okayama - Himeji

Up, out and onto the speed train back to Himeji to see Himeji castle which is an extremely well preserved and restored castle from the samurai period of Japan. It sits high on the hill overlooking the city and surrounding area. On the way to the castle we rented some bicycles from a vending machine which got us around the town a whole lot faster and was loads of fun. Basically the castle is a huge fort with all sorts of features designed to make it easy for the Warriors to defend the lord when under attack. This castle was never actually under attack and even survived close by bombings in WWII.  It is a very impressive castle. I managed to pick up a free tour guide along the way who explained lots of details and stories about the castle which was handy.

After riding all the way around the castle and enjoying some lunch we caught the train back to Okayama to visit the beautiful gardens.  The Japanese gardens are simply beautiful and so tranquil. 

A big day with sore feet all around.  Moving on to Hiroshima tomorrow morning. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

Day 13 Kyoto - Okayama

This was our last day in kyoto.  After packing up the house we set out to explore the Nishiki markets a little more and bought a few more souvenirs and tasted some more delicious food. We gave the sparrows on a stick a miss though. 
Then it was time to make our way to the train station for another awesome trip on the Shinkansen. We are really enjoying traveling by train here in Japan. Being able to grab a delicious bento box and even a beer and a sake to enjoy on the train just makes the whole trip way more relaxing. 

 

 

       

     

 

 

           

Day 12 Kyoto

 Chris and I got out of the house early and left the kids to catch up on some sleep. We wandered to the nishiki market street which was selling many interesting foods and wares. We invested in some Japanese knives for the kitchen and a beautiful teapot for me. ☺️ Next stop was a traditional tea ceremony where our host explained the custom and then performed a shortened version of the ceremony. The real ceremony can go for 3-4 hours ! We got to make our own cup of matcha tea which we are all really enjoying. Even Chris is drinking tea! The whole experience is very peaceful and calming. 
Afterwards we made our way to our next experience which was a bento box cooking class.  This was so much fun. We made the 6 different components of the bento box and then had to arrange them all in an attractive way in the bento box. And it was all taking place in a traditional Japanese style house. A fabulous experience for us all. AND then the best part - eating what we had prepared. Delicious!
The rain is falling quite a lot again this evening so we are staying in and resting up before more adventures tomorrow. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

Day 11 Kyoto - Nara

Up and out and on to the train to Nara for the morning. We walked to the deer park where there are so many tame deer wandering around and approaching people for food. They are quite cute although many had their horns lopped off and looked a bit sad. 

Within the park is the Kohfukuji temple, a five story pagoda  which contains statues of the Buddha. Next stop was the worlds largest wooden structure the Todaiji temple which houses a 15m high bronze Buddha. Pretty impressive. 

After lunch we headed back on the train to Kyoto to see the golden pavilion which is a part of the Kinkakuji temple. Again very impressive and the gardens surrounding were also very beautiful. A very popular spot of tourists so it was quite crowded. 

That was enough for one day.

 

 

 

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Day 10 Kyoto

 What a fabulous day. Started the day with a walking food tour of the Fushimi district of Kyoto. Our guide took us to 10 different specialty stores, most of which have been operating for over 100 years. Everything we tried was delicious and each vendor was impressed that we ate everything they served us! Sushi, sashimi, fresh water eel, tea, tea and more tea, shavings of dried fish, sweets and more. Oishi! (Delicious!) With our bellies full of enough food to get us through until dinner, we set out for a fun filled afternoon of sight seeing. First stop the famous Inari shrine with over 1000 Tori gates creating a tunnel that winds its way up a hill from a large shrine at the bottom to the top of a hill overlooking Kyoto. So many people visit this place but we noticed the crowd thinned out the higher we climbed. It was quite a hot and humid day so we worked off some of the food tour. Along the way through the tunnel of tori gates there are hundreds of mini shrines. Incredible. And then there would be a tea shop and a vending machine. Japan is amazing.  We still had some energy left so we caught trains to get to the bamboo forest. It was coming on to dusk so it was a beautiful time of day to walk through the great bamboo. It was also a very pretty part of the city with beautiful views of the mountains. Also viewed a very old bridge and by this time we were all beginning to fade like the light so back to base for dinner.