Himeji

Our trip to Himeji yesterday was damp. We awoke to brilliant sunshine and heat and weather forecasts of clear skies. We intended to rent bikes in Himeji, tour the castle and park, then hike up Mt Hiromine to visit the Hiromine shrine.

We arrived early, began our tour of the castle grounds under cloudy sky, and by the time we entered the castle it was raining. It is somewhat pleasing to know that the Japanese are as poor at forecasting weather as the English.

The rain was rather light, so we continued the tour of the KoKoen traditional gardens. Very beautiful spot to tour. If I had two acres and a full time staff of twenty gardeners, this is precisely what I'd do in my back yard. Three foot long, eighty year old Koi and all.

As we left the garden, the rain stepped up its tempo from 'light, refreshing and warm' to 'Welcome back to Vancouver'. Within seconds I was soaked head to toe. This seemed an opportune time to visit the covered shopping arcade. After dabbing myself dry with a 4" x 4" handkerchief, we watched the water cascade down from the heavens for a while.

We decided two things: that our three hour hike to Hiromine would not be very pleasant in this weather, and; it did not appear likely the rain was going to stop. We got Chinese take out instead.

And so we bid farewell to Osaka. At the end of our journey, we will try to sneak back to a few places and visit some shrines and sites we didn't get opportunity to see. But for now, we're beginning the Kyoto leg of our journey.