On our next day out, we headed to Himeji, whose wooden castle is one of the few original ones in Japan. When we arrived at the train station, we saw a gorgeous embroidered carriage on display. The first photo in the montage has the detailed embroidery work.
And the sign for the "Renewal Festival" had me mystified. Are they going to renew themselves into Redheaded, Green-Eyed Westerners? The fascination with Western looks it pretty apparent, though they don't want to sit next to you on a bus or train, if you're a Gaijin (i.e. Westerner). What is THAT about?
We just missed the tourist bus that would take us to the castle, but the walk was fine and we saw some interesting tidbits along the way. First: why is there a statue of a fat,naked saxophone player? And then a few steps down, a statue of a naked woman? Okay, Himeji...what is your fascination with naked Westerners?
The manhole covers all over Japan were pieces of art, but I especially liked this one in Himeji.
We came upon a big marching band, following these guys wearing Japanese cartoon character costumes. John makes a new BFF.
And of course, the soft serve ice cream. It is EVERYWHERE. And again, note the western features on those ice cream sales-kids.
We did finally get to Himeji-jo, the Castle. The city itself was nearly totally destroyed by bombs during WW2, so it is amazing that the Castle remained intact.
It is called the White Egret Castle, because of it's white exterior, but I thought it looked like a giant wedding cake perched on its hill. Gorgeous and with gingerbread trim. Who knew they did gingerbread in 1581, when this castle was built?
No matter, it was beautiful.
It was impressive defensively and was a gorgeous place to live.
We next wandered down to the Koen (Garden) that is attached next door. Every garden 'room' was exquisite. At least I thought so. John was incredibly bored. Here are 3 of the areas that I photographed.
I would have liked to have lingered but my hubby and the weather conspired against me. It had gone from full sun to cloudy to sprinkles. So, off we went.
Oh Himeji, you were beautiful, despite the fat, naked guy...
The cultural differences in symbolism are so interesting to me - wondering what the saxophone player represents...and wondering how they perceive our artwork...Nature translates easily from one culture to another though - those gardens are beautiful!
Posted by: tinker | Saturday, April 04, 2009 at 09:55 AM
Your photos are amazing; mine will not be so good. Isn't it an adventure to travel? We don't just learn a lot about the country, but also about ourselves.
Posted by: Margaret | Friday, April 03, 2009 at 06:54 PM