Himeji, buying gifts, and my favorite meal so far
Today I went to Himeji castle, which is about a 50 minute ride on the Shinkansen west from Kyoto. Whereas yesterday the weather was supposed to be fine, but it rained much of the day, today the weather was supposed to be lousy, but it was bright and sunny until about three, so for the entire time I was at Himeji, the weather was the best I've had. The castle is quite striking, imposing and stylistically unique. The setting is dramatic as well, high on a hill overlooking the modern Himeji city. The signs throughout the site were informative (in both Japanese and English), and the tour route well laid out, so I had a pretty good time. Just seeing the castle brought me lunch time, and I wandered around the city looking for a place to eat. Unfortunately, there was this list of restaurant suggestions in the tourism office, which descriptions in English, where the restaurants don't have english menus or english speaking staff, which was a relaly crappy trick to plan on the unsuspecting traveler. In any case, this led to a rather embarrassing moment in which I sat down at a restaurant, asked (in Japanese) if there was a menu in English, and when the answer was no, I had to leave since the menu didn't have pictures. I felt bad, as I should have asked before sitting down, but I assumed that a recommendation from the tourism information office would have only included restaurants that would be able to deal with English speaking tourists. Anyway, I threw that packet of recommendations out and wandered around until I found a reasonable place with an English menu in the window. It was an ethnic (I think Turkish) kebab restaurant, and I had a really good chicken kabab meal. The menu was even arranged in numbered plates, so I could order by number, which was within my Japanese skills.
After lunch I saw the Himeji castle gardens, which were really quite good, even to my japanese-garden-jaded eyes. Just as I was finishing the tour, it started to rain, and then it started to really pour when I was about half way back to the train station. Fortuantely, I had my umbrella, and made it quickly to a covered arcade of shops that ran the remaining way to the station. The rain was almost gone in Kyoto when I arrived, and so I decided to brave the crowds and head to the Kyoto Handicrafts Center, a highly recommended shop for buying good quality Japanese crafts from around the county. I was able to obtain my presents for my brother and sister-in-law, my parents, and for two of my lab friends who gave me suggestions for my trip. I am particularly happy with the gift for my parents; it is a little extravagent, but was very nice. So as to not ruin the surprise for the various recipients, however, I won't describe them. I am still looking for the perfect souvenier to remember the trip by for myself, and for something inexpensive but cool that I can get for some of my tkd friends.
Afterwards, it was dinner time, and I decided to head towards Ichi-ban, a yakitori restaurant. But halfway there, I noticed in the guide book that it wasn't open on Sundays (damn!), and had to change my plans. I scaned the book for about ten minutes, and settled on Katsu-kura, a katsu restaurant (in which the entrees are breaded in japanese breadcrumbs and fried). The description was luke warm, but it was cheap and katsu sounded really good after so many days of strange food. I got to the place and the line was out the door (and no tourists in sight!), so I knew I was on the right track. It took about a half hour waiting in line before I sat down. I ordered the pork and giant prawn katsu plate (there was an English menu), and it was delicious. The breading was light and crunchy, the pork super tender, and the giant prawn both tasty and as large as advertized (longer than my thumb to pinky hand-span). The miso soup was good too, and the bed of shredded cabbage was just the right balance to the heaviness of a fried main dish. I was stuffed when I left, and at 1600 Yen (about $14), it was real bargain. Although I've had some excellent sushi, and the sukiyaki was quite decadent, I think that this was the meal I enjoyed the most so far.
Pictures from Himeji castle will follow when I get a chance.
Tomorow I plan to go to Kinkaku-ji (the Golden Pavilion) and then stop at the Kyoto Craft Center (another store full of Kyoto crafts) before getting on the train to Koya-san. I probably won't even bring my computer with me (instead sending it ahead to my Tokyo hotel inside my luggage, so my next update won't be for two days.
After lunch I saw the Himeji castle gardens, which were really quite good, even to my japanese-garden-jaded eyes. Just as I was finishing the tour, it started to rain, and then it started to really pour when I was about half way back to the train station. Fortuantely, I had my umbrella, and made it quickly to a covered arcade of shops that ran the remaining way to the station. The rain was almost gone in Kyoto when I arrived, and so I decided to brave the crowds and head to the Kyoto Handicrafts Center, a highly recommended shop for buying good quality Japanese crafts from around the county. I was able to obtain my presents for my brother and sister-in-law, my parents, and for two of my lab friends who gave me suggestions for my trip. I am particularly happy with the gift for my parents; it is a little extravagent, but was very nice. So as to not ruin the surprise for the various recipients, however, I won't describe them. I am still looking for the perfect souvenier to remember the trip by for myself, and for something inexpensive but cool that I can get for some of my tkd friends.
Afterwards, it was dinner time, and I decided to head towards Ichi-ban, a yakitori restaurant. But halfway there, I noticed in the guide book that it wasn't open on Sundays (damn!), and had to change my plans. I scaned the book for about ten minutes, and settled on Katsu-kura, a katsu restaurant (in which the entrees are breaded in japanese breadcrumbs and fried). The description was luke warm, but it was cheap and katsu sounded really good after so many days of strange food. I got to the place and the line was out the door (and no tourists in sight!), so I knew I was on the right track. It took about a half hour waiting in line before I sat down. I ordered the pork and giant prawn katsu plate (there was an English menu), and it was delicious. The breading was light and crunchy, the pork super tender, and the giant prawn both tasty and as large as advertized (longer than my thumb to pinky hand-span). The miso soup was good too, and the bed of shredded cabbage was just the right balance to the heaviness of a fried main dish. I was stuffed when I left, and at 1600 Yen (about $14), it was real bargain. Although I've had some excellent sushi, and the sukiyaki was quite decadent, I think that this was the meal I enjoyed the most so far.
Pictures from Himeji castle will follow when I get a chance.
Tomorow I plan to go to Kinkaku-ji (the Golden Pavilion) and then stop at the Kyoto Craft Center (another store full of Kyoto crafts) before getting on the train to Koya-san. I probably won't even bring my computer with me (instead sending it ahead to my Tokyo hotel inside my luggage, so my next update won't be for two days.
posted by Conor at 7:34 AM
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