So the answer to yesterdays mystery about where was our next destination we went to using the Two Day JR West Pass is... Himeji...We were pretty tired after the long excursion to Hiroshima and Miyajima the previous day, so we decided somewhere a bit closer. Himeji while still in the Kansai area is actually a reasonably decent ride on the Shinkansen away. On the way home we got to ride on an N700 (the latest series) which is way quieter and smoother than the all of the other kinds I've tried, not that the others are all that bad, actually any Shinkansen is more comfortable than a regular train.
So the main thing we went to see was Himeji castle (Himeji-jo), which is only one of four castles in Japan that are still remaining in their original wooden form, rather than a modern concrete reconstruction. Himeji-jo is also the biggest of the remaining castles and some would say the most beautiful, but I think the most beautiful award goes to Matsumoto-jo.
Now, on this day I wore my Fremanlte Docker's cap in order that the rest of the party wouldn't lose me amongst the crowds at Himeji-jo. It was pretty apt that in this photo that Bob had the cap out of focus, because that's pretty much how the Docker's season has been this year. As of today (15/08/2008) we've only won 5 games out of 19 and we sit second last on the ladder! The good news is we beat our arch-enemies (The Eagles) in the two games we played against them this year, so it's not a complete waste of a season. Hopefully we can win tomorrow against bottom of the ladder Melbourne. Come on guys get focused! At least we should get some good draft picks for next season!
BTW Here's a list of the castles that I've been to in Japan:- Kumamoto-jo (1997, concrete), Edo-jo (1998, concrete), Nagoya-jo (1999, concrete with one smaller wooden building remaining in the grounds), Gifu-jo (1999, concrete), Ueno-jo (1999, concrete, not sure if this is it's correct name but it's in Ueno city in Mie-ken), Himeji-jo (2005, 2009, wooden), Matsumoto-jo (2005, wooden), Osaka-jo (2007, concrete), Nijo-jo (2007, wooden, but not typical of Japanese castle design), and Shoryuji-jo (2008, 2009, concrete, Nagaokakyo's own!)