Himeji Castle in the Clouds - or at least under wraps

One morning, in a land far away, a traveler woke up and decided to make her way to a distant town. Once she got to the train station, she realized that the distant town was far too distant considering she had overslept, so she chose a more sensible destination - Himeji - which by bullet rain is a mere hour from Hiroshima. The Shinkansen are so fast and efficient, you barely get settled and you're there.

You know Himeji Castle even if you never knew the name. If you've ever seen a samurai movie, or the James Bond film You Only Live Twice, you've seen Himeji Castle. It is picture postcard perfect seated as it is on the top of a fortified hill.

And so I walked down the broad boulevard toward the gardens and castle, relishing the fact that the predicted rain failed to show, and the sun was peeking through the clouds. At the end of the boulevard, rising proudly to the sky was the castle - no wait - the image of the castle on a large shroud which covered the main tower. What???!!! The brochure said nothing about a painted backdrop.

Well, as with most of the places I've visited, the main tower is undergoing major renovation and restoration. Time and earthquakes have left unkind marks on the structure, and it is undergoing a 5 year long face lift. You can imagine my dismay!

By now trudging along in anticipation of pretty much nothing, I was pleasantly surprised by what I did find. First of all the grounds are amazing all by themselves, and there is an absolutely phenomenal garden that can take 2 hours or longer to enjoy. The  Himeji tourism bureau was totally on the ball and realized people would want to see what they came to see, so they had constructed an elevator to take people up inside the wrappings to see the restoration in progress, which allowed aerial views of the castle grounds and the city beyond. They also had tours of various floors of the castle itself with - you guessed it, very steep high steps that you had to take in your stocking feet. I happened to be put in the very old ladies group, one of whom had a similar uneven leg situation. So I would climb up, and then hold my arm out just in case one of the ladies needed support. We did that the whole way up and the whole way down. One of the women came over to me and handed me a charm. "Present for you", she said..."I made it myself." It was a knotted butterfly charm, which, like the pine cone from the young school girl, I will especially treasure.

 Here's what the fuss is about with all the old buildings. The humid climate, earthquakes, and hundreds of years of freeze and thaw are taking their toll.

After wandering around the grounds at the end of the structured tour, I headed to the gardens and tea house. I was stunned with the beauty and peacefulness of the area. Every single detail was carefully planned and managed to look natural, and none of it was. Even the colors of the plants were stage-managed for optimum effect. And yet, at no point did it feel contrived or artificial. The people who planned the garden are geniuses. Their vision, not only when the garden was first new, but also understanding what it would look like when everything had mellowed and matured, was pitch perfect. If my stomach hadn't started seriously letting me know it was way past time to eat, I probably would be there still, talking to the koi in the various ponds.

And thus, the day ended. Back to Hiroshima to plan another day.