"Hiking Himeji Castle"

"Everywhere is walking distance, if you have the time."

-Steven Wright

...I say "hiking", because that's exactly what we did!

{This place is gi-normous.}

So, the background story to the "Twelve-Layer Kimono" post...

I went to Himeji with one of the English teachers at my school.

{She's Japanese.}

After hiking the castle,

we went to a historical museum

and that's where I tried on the kimono.

{It took about 15 minutes with two ladies to dress me up.}

So! Back to the castle:

This is the Okiku Well...

haunted by a ghost every nightfall.

{I could barely see the bottom... it's deep!}

Himeji Castle is enormous,

surrounded by a mote

and tons of secret gates and corridors.

{The lady in the picture is the one who encouraged me to enter the kimono drawing.}

Ye Olde War Guns.

A shrine for the gods on the top floor of the castle.

{You can see all of Himeji from there!}

Grab a hold and give it a yank

to "wake up the gods"

and make them pay attention to your prayers.

Kinda awesome. :)

Japan has such a rich history.

There's so much to learn,

and so little time!

Only 10 months & 24-ish days left!