Himeji

I was actually glad to leave Tokyo and leave for Kansai this morning. Since I had all my luggage in tow, Kei wanted to leave early so that we don't get trampled on in the subway. It was so early that the subway entrance that we usually take was still closed by the time we got there.

We made it to Tokyo Station way earlier than expected and opted to take an earlier train rather than wait for the train that we had reserved seats for. As I read on internet sites, there are indeed spaces on the train for one's huge luggages; they are located behind the last row of seats in each car. They're safe enough that I left my luggage there eventhough our seats were all the way towards the front. We're in Japan afterall.

Despite not having reserved seats, I got a window seat, but it was pretty useless since after eating the yakisoba that I bought at a local convenience store, I ended up sleeping until we neared Nagoya. What is it with shinkansens that lulls one to sleep? I never get any shuteye on airplanes or buses, but somehow, I managed to catch some sleep on the train. Love it! I was also surprised to find out how big the spaces are in between the seats. I'd rather ride the shinkansen than fly any day!

Shortly before noon, we arrived in Himeji. Since I researched Kansai pretty well, it was my turn to be the tour guide. From the JR Himeji Station, we walked to Himeji Castle, which you could actually see from the station...if you're tall. Otherwise, you'll be like Kei and keep saying "Where? Where? I don't see it" because of all the trees. HaHa!

When we got there, it was jam-packed with people, thanks to all the beautiful sakuras in full bloom. Himeji Castle = wow. Himeji Castle + sakura = super wow. Again, my knees and feet got tested again because to get to the top part of the castle, you have to hike up all these narrow wooden steps. I was also wearing boots so taking those on and off was a pain in the butt. But don't chastise me because there were a bunch of ladies wearing their high-heels and short skirts as you often see in this part of the world. I really don't know how you can enjoy and get around as a tourist wearing those.

After the castle, Kei and I headed back to the station with a pitstop at a green tea soft serve stand. Yum! This is what I came to Japan for! Our local Koot's Green Tea place closed over a year ago and I've been craving for green tea soft serve ever since.

We got our luggage out of the coin lockers and hopped on the next train to Hiroshima. I loved how these trains come so often! We got to Hiroshima with no problems at all and my hotel turned out to be just a few streets away from the JR Station. As expected, my room was a tiny little box. I thought it couldn't get any smaller from Ibis Myeongdong, but alas, it was indeed smaller!

Since Kei was battling a headache (Dr. Mina says it's from dehydration), we headed over to Okonomi-mura Village to eat some Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki. They're different from the regular okonomiyaki because they add noodles to their version. There are over thirty okonomiyaki restaurants in this area that it was hard to choose which one to go to. Even using the "go where there's a line" mentality is not helpful because of course, the ones near the elevator would get more traffic than those on the sides. Regardless, we picked one near the elevator where there were only a couple of seats available. They even had an English menu!

I'd have to say the Hiroshima-style okonomiyakis are my fave. Very yummy and filling. They were actually huge, but Kei and I finished the two that we shared. With stomachs full, we ended up window shopping instead of using the rest of the day to see the sights. In the process, we both ended up buying matching Mary Jane-style Crocs. Yes, you read that right: I now have a pair of Crocs. They were on sale and I thought that they'd help my feet problems. Surprisingly, the Crocs store in Hiroshima didn't smell like rubber unlike the one in The Fort in Manila. Interesting trivia for all of you, I'm sure. HaHa!

The day ended without seeing a single tourist spot in Hiroshima. It was a long traveling day and I definitely needed to slow down a bit if my feet issues were any indication.