Day 10: 10 April 2009 (Himeji and Amerika-Mura)

LOCATION: HIMEJI AND OSAKA (NAMBA)
MOOD: SERENE
LISTENING TO: CANIBUS – HARBINGER OF LIGHT

YOU LOOK PRETTY IN PINK:

Today was another fine day, and I decided that the best use of the good weather would be to head to Himeji. The town of Himeji itself is pretty unimpressive, a small enclave around an hour and a bit away from Osaka by train. It is however home to the stately castle nicknamed Shirasagijo, the White Heron Castle. A quick photo will hopefully help to explain why it is widely regarded as the finest castle in Japan, and especially beautiful at this time of year when the sakura are in full bloom.

I'm speechless. I'm literally without speech.

My first stop in Himeji however was the Koko-en Garden, which is right next to the castle. I figured that no visual cuisine should be sampled without a fitting appetizer. Koko-en was a tasty little entree; it's actually a set of nine separate gardens combined with a reconstructed samurai house. I won't pretend to be cultured enough to notice the subtle differences between different Japanese gardens, so suffice to say that once you've seen one you've seen them all. Here's a couple of photos.

If there's anything more idyllic than a waterfall...

...it's another, bigger waterfall.

I'm getting better at the self-taken headshot. Perhaps now I can give masterclasses to teenage girls setting up myspace accounts.

For some reason all the fish in Japanese ponds seem to be on steroids. These ones were literally the size of a small dog. Must be something in the water.

While Koko-en was a quiet, pleasant place to take a stroll, Himeji castle was a sight that truly overwhelmed the senses. When you enter through the main gate you're immediately greeted by the sight of a see of pink sakura trees with the white castle perched elegantly on a hill overlooking the city. I think I must have spent at least half an hour wandering around the outer courtyard just taking photos of the blossoms.

Yes, I like pretty pink flowers. Go ahead, take your shots.

The castle itself was equally impressive. It takes about an hour and a half to follow the marked route, which will take you through the castle grounds and up into the keep. The keep itself was surprisingly cool, given that the temperature outside was pushing high twenties. As you wound your way up the keep you were treated to a combination of exhibits on feudal life and breathtaking views of the castle grounds and the city.

Well this ought to reaffirm my manhood. I wanted to climb into them and get my Last Samurai on, but the wizened 60 year old security guard kept shooting me glances so I decided to pass. After all, this is Asia - everybody knows martial arts, right?

They say a man's house is his castle. Maybe so, but I much prefer the view from this guy's house.

Apart from the heat, there were really only two unpleasant things about my trip to Himeji. The first was that the stairs within the keep were steep (each step was roughly as tall as two normal steps), and the second was that on my way up the keep I got stuck behind a large tour group that was just large enough to prevent me from being able to push through and overtake them.

Just enough people to clog up the path. Fantastic.

On the train home I struck up a conversation with a pair of American kids who were studying at Kyoto University and had taken a day trip to Himeji. As much as I've enjoyed the chance to use my Japanese I still find myself jumping at the opportunity to chat with other foreigners. It helped that these two were pretty friendly and living in the next place on my itinerary. We swapped contact details, so hopefully they'll be able to show me a good time when I get to Kyoto in a couple of days.

It's not really a good shot, but apparently this is the longest suspension bridge in the world. We passed by it on the way back from Himeji. I couldn't help but wonder if anybody's jumped off it.

THE AMERICAN DREAM:

I arrived back in Osaka in the late afternoon and decided to rest up for a bit before heading out to the heart of Osaka's nightlife, Shinsaibashi. While historical monuments like Himeji castle are best viewed during the day, Japan's modern edifices are most striking at night. This photos at Ebisu-bashi will hopefully show you why:

Who says neon has to be gaudy? You just need lots of it and a river flowing through the middle of your city.

Moving on from Ebisu-bashi I then took a stroll through Amerika-Mura (American Town), a crazy little section of Osaka that's been completely caught up in the myth of America. You'll find everything here from wanna-be retro-style American diners to sneaker stores blasting the latest hip hop joints straight from the US.

You'll also find more Obama-mania. Can we blindly ape another country's culture? Yes we can!

The interesting thing to me was that fashion seemed a lot more organic in Osaka compared to Tokyo. You still have hip hop shops in Tokyo in places like Harajuku, but it seems completely foreign there. None of the kids are dressed like that, and they have to ship in African guys to give the shops some veneer of credibility. In Osaka you'll see crews of young Japanese decked out in street fashion, and the only Africans I saw were chilling on the corner, not pushing t-shirts.

You don't need to smoke weed to open your mind - it's mindbending enough to see Japanese kids walking around in Rastafarian hats.

I was considering looking around for some t-shirts but my suitcase is already stuffed as it is, so I just grabbed a can of Coke and headed for Triangle Park in the centre of Amerika-Mura. It was interesting just sitting and drinking, watching the people go by. Osaka fashion really is unique, and a lot of stereotypes we have in the West about 'crazy Japanese fashion' (eg the flashy colours, the dyed hair) actually come from Osaka, not Tokyo.

The view from Triangle Park. That little gold thing on top of the billboard was an imitation Statue of Liberty.