Index
Day 1: Flying
Day 2: Tokyo to Kyoto
Day 3: Kyoto
Day 4: Fushimi Inara Taishi
Day 5: Himeji Castle
Day 6: Kyoto
Day 7: Return
Japan
Diana reached peak Japanese train food influencer this morning, both before and after we got on the Shinkansen to Himeji Castle. Japan-only McDonald's breakfast items, plus Japanese train station to-go bento and sandwich for breakfast.
We got to Himeji Castle butt-early because the English tours are very limited in capacity, so we wanted to be first in line to not only buy tickets but sign up for the tour. Turns out showing up closer to 8:00am than 9:00am (the official ticket on-sale time) was actually a pretty good idea, although honestly as late as 8:15am is probably totally fine-- perhaps even 8:25am? Also left us almost an hour to wander around and take pictures outside before the tour started.
As the tail end of a holiday weekend, the castle itself was quite busy. Our tour guide took the 10 of us around for all the highlights, although due to the layout, we still had to wait in the same lines inside as everyone else. Some of the floors/floor plans/exterior features are done deceptively to confuse enemies including ninjas, which if nothing else was fun to learn about. One of the mayors of Himeji City was an urban planner who also insisted that the train station be aligned with the castle so you could get a great view from the train station, which was a fun tidbit for this Geography dork.
Once done with the main castle tour, the guide recommended we tour one of the buildings right next to the castle, Ri no Ichi. Not quite sure what it was in the past (defensive turret?), but it seemed like a storage building/walls, and was a nice place to snap a few more pictures in a place that was less crowded than the castle itself. Then did lunch literally right across from the castle as we were starving and whatever they had on the grill outside looked delicious. Can't say it was the best meal, but it most certainly hit the spot.
After a brief walk back to Himeji station, a quick stop to check out the J-pop bands performing outside, it was time to head back to Kyoto. We decided to be smart and plan out our additional train ticket purchases at the ticket booth inside Kyoto Station while there, which was definitely clutch (thanks Sam for the tip!).
Somewhere in there it became time for dinner, so we caugh Duy at Chao Chao Gyoza's Sanjo Kiyamachi location. The lines are formidable, as befits a two-time national champion for gyoza, but they sell beer for 500 yen to people waiting in line, and we randomly made friends with an older American couple who clearly also have good taste in food. Once inside, the vibe was strong, and we ordered pretty much all of the gyoza on the menu, both unique and conventional. The deep fried cheese (and chicken?) was superb was were the traditional ones, the chicken skin ones were mind-blowingly tasty (and probably bad for you!), and the horse sashimi was actually solid as well; kind of like tuna but a smidgen more chewy.
Caught up with more of Duy's family after dinner and promptly went bar hopping (is that what the kids still do these days?). Bars in Kyoto seem to be pretty tiny affairs with room for maybe a dozen patrons at many of them, maybe two dozen at some of the slightly larger ones, and are strictly capacity controlled. Bar Cavalier was the first stop, with very pretty and tasty cocktails complete with dramatic flames, then it was off to Bar Liquor Museum Pontocho, which had a sole round table in front just big enough for our group of five. Was not overly impressed by their whisky selection, given they are a whisky museum, but was still nice to sit down and chat before moving off to the final stop of the night.
A few places were full and couldn't fit us, but we eventually ended up at Furek LAB0, which seemed to be an apartment living room/kitchen that had been opened up, converted to just a big kitchen island/counter/chemistry set, plus a little patio outside for a few more guests. Had a nice enough view while outside, and a pair of bartenders that clearly had fun with infused waters and the local gin. It didn't seem like a permanent location from what I inferred from bits of conversation relayed to me by the group, but the vibe was way cool.