Now I take you again in Japan. This time, it’s in Himeji. It is a city in Hyogo perfecture, near Kobe where we actually stayed for 3 months.
Himeji is the most magnificent of the handful of Japanese castles that survive in their original (nonconcrete) form. Although there have been fortifications in Himeji since 1333, this castle was built in 1580 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and enlarged some 30 years later by Ikeda Terumasa. – by the Lonely Planet
One fine Saturday, my co-workers who were also in Kobe that time together with our Japanese colleagues decided to go to Himeji for an adventure. It was a long travel from Kobe to Himeji or maybe I’m just not used to it. We rode a train going there and walked for 10-15mins to get to the castle. Our itinerary for the day was to visit the famous Himeji Castle and the Himeji Central Park.
The Himeji Castle is a concrete example of a castle in Japanese architecture. If I remembered it right, even Hollywood stars like Tom Cruise were amazed by the castle’s structure. It was said to be the largest and most visited castle in Japan. Well, you can actually see the castle from the train station. The sight of it made me thought that it was just a minute walk but it took us a while to get there. The Castle was also included as one of the first UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the country of Japan.
I really can’t remember all the details but I’ll show you some sites that were mentioned in Wikipedia as well as worth posting pics. You can also check out the Castle’s Guide book if you’re interested to know the comprehensive explanation of the Castle’s form.
The entrance below is the “Diamond Gate”, the first of the castle’s 21 remaining gates.
The photo below is similar to the posters they sell in the souvenir shops.
If you happen to tour the whole area, you’ll notice that there are numerous gates as you go closer to the main building. Also, the nearer you are, the narrower the gates were. I’m not sure why they constructed it that way.
The Castle’s wall stones are also significant for them. I think they were placed together manually that’s why they treasure it so much.
After our educational tour in Himeji Castle, we’re now off to Himeji Central Park! We need to ride a bus from the Castle going to the park. I can’t remember if we paid for the bus ride but if not, maybe it’s included on the park’s entrance fee.
The Himeji Central Park is the only safari park in Kansai region. The park is not only a safari but also an amusement park.
The safari is similar to Zoobic in Pampanga but way bigger and better and the amusement park is like Star City I think. Hahaha! We were like kids enjoying the animal encounter and were giddy during our amusement rides.
First off, we rode a bus to tour the wild animal sections. The following pictures gives you an idea what animals are there inside when you ride the bus.
After the bus tour, there is also a walking Safari tour. There is a point where the bus stops and you have to tour the place by walking. Well, you also have an option to ride the Cable Car since it’s downhill/uphill. What we did was we went up then toured the walking route going down and rode the cable car to return where the bus stopped.
After the Safari tour, we’re now off to the Amusement Park. The place is big so it’s recommended that you spend at least a day to appreciate the Safari and all the rides.
Since we’re running out of time, we rode the famous rides first. The Central Park ticket I think has a stamp card where you present to the person in charge of the ride before you are allowed to enter and experience it.
First Ride: Jetcoaster
We thought that this was just a simple coaster but we kept of screaming during the ride. It was the longest ride in the park since it’s goal is to let you see the whole view of the amusement park. It’s one way for you to check out the whole place and plan where to go afterwards. But I doubt if you can still think of that while you’re up there!
Here’s the video for that ride:
Second Ride: Diavlo
The roller coaster ride was the first coaster I’ve seen where the rails are on top of your head and your feet is hanging on the air. It was pretty exciting and I’m not sure why they called in a Diavlo ride.
Now here’s the video for the Diavlo ride:
Third Ride: Mini Go Kart
Well, I remembered that riding a Go Kart abroad was on my bucket list. I’m not sure if I should cross it out because this one if for kids. Seriously, when you step on the accelerator the maximum speed is like 20km/hour!
Fourth Ride: Free Fall
Well, the ride’s name says it all. It’s like an elevator ride going up and then suddenly the wire snaps! You won’t know when you’re falling so the wait was the hardest part. When you start to fall, everything just shuts out. Hahaha! You can’t even scream! I rode with Sir RC that time. I don’t know who else tried that ride.
Here’s the video for the Free Fall ride:
Finally, the last ride was the newest attraction in the park. I forgot what it was called but it’s a coaster similar to Space Shuttle’s but with complicated loops. Hahaha!
Only Chard and I rode that coaster. I didn’t get a chance to take a video since it’s prohibited and I think everybody’s too tired to video us too!
We could have rode that big Ferris Wheel behind us (see image below) but since we ran out of time, we just took a photo with it.
In one of the shops in the Central Park, a big neoprint/photobooth was available so we tried it for our souvenir. It was really cool! During that time, that booth is not yet available in the Philippines. However, months after we came back, I already saw it in TimeZone. :p
On our way home, we had the opportunity to witness one of the Festivals in Japan, the Yukata Festival. I’ve never seen something like that before. Everyone was wearing a stylish Yukata and families are there to celebrate too. It was really fun and so many Japanese street foods were sold every corner. We stayed a bit and ate some Okonomiyake before going back to Hyogo.
It was one adventurous day we had back then! I suddenly missed Japanese food. Hahaha!
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