Himeji Castle

Of all the cool, interesting or delightful sights I saw during my travels in 2025, I'd have to put Himeji Castle at the top of my list. Granted, everything we saw during our trip to Japan last summer was amazing, but the Shogun-era castle was truly unique in terms of its history and its beauty.  

Corinne and I took the Shinkansen from Osaka - it was her first experience riding the bullet train - to Himeji, and we then took a short bus ride from the train station to the entrance to the castle grounds. It was very hot the day we visited, so rules prohibiting drinks within the castle were waived (we were actually encouraged to bring water with us during our walk through the castle, which was a kind and thoughtful gesture on the part of the staff). The castle grounds were enormous, with many interactive exhibits in both Japanese and English. There was also a lot of climbing involved, both around the castle grounds and within interior spaces such as the Main Keep. The entrance fee of ¥1,050 per person (about $6.70) was a true bargain, given how much there was to see!

Himeji Castle dates back to 1333; the current structure largely built between 1581 and 1618. Although much of Himeji was reduced to rubble by American bombers during World War II, the castle itself was largely untouched. It has withstood frequent earthquakes over its centuries of existence as well.

While the castle structure is original, it underwent an extensive restoration between 2009 and 2016. The Main Keep (the largest and tallest part of the castle) was essentially dismantled and reassembled. The castle's roof was completely restored, its walls were re-plastered, and earthquake-resistant structural elements were added. 

A closer look at the castle's architecture. The castle had to be built with withstand both invaders and earthquakes; that this was accomplished with such beauty is remarkable.

The view from the top of the Main Keep, looking back at Himeji's train station. The top of the Main Keep reaches an elevation of 302 feet, providing spectaular views of the surrounding city. 

A view from inside the Main Keep, showing the centuries-old wood craftmanship. In order to protect the castle's wooden floors, and in keeping with Japanese tradition, you are required to take your shoes off before entering the Main Keep.

Another view of the Main Keep's interior, showing the castle's traditional wood architecture. The Main Keep has seven stories, including a basement. A small Shinto shrine is located at the keep's top level.

The Bizen Bailey (a fortified courtyard) in front of the Main Keep was the perfect place for Corinne and me to take a picture. Himeji Castle was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993.

A pathway leading to the Taiko (Drum) Tower just outside of the Bizen Bailey. Note the loopholes, where archers or gunmen could fire upon invaders, to the left. Himeji Castle's defenses are impressive, but it was never attacked.

After visiting the castle, we went next door to see the Koko-En Garden. The garden was built in 1992 to commemorate Himeji's 100th anniversary as a municipality and was delightfully serene and beautiful. 

Koko-En Garden is divided into separate sections with different landscaping themes. A tower along the castle's West Bailey wall can be seen peeking out above the trees to the right. 

The castle at twilight, as seen from Himeji's train station. After leaving the castle and adjacent garden, we walked back to the station, stopping at a small restaurant for amazingly delicious Tonkatsu, and then took the Shinkansen back to Osaka. All of our days in Japan were wonderful, but Corinne and I agree that the day we visited Himeji was our favorite. 

Even though my trip to Japan was months ago, I'll be able to enjoy Himeji Castle anytime I want. This is because Corinne got me the Himeji Castle LEGO set for Christmas!

Video of our trip to Japan

Last month Corinne and I spent a week and a half in Japan. It was my first trip to the country in two decades; she had never before been. 

We stayed in Osaka, spending time exploring that city and making day trips to places like Kyoto, Kobe and Hiroshima. We also attended Expo 2025 - the world's fair - because Corinne has good memories of attending the 1984 World's Fair in New Orleans as child (her father was involved in its organization) and has always wanted to attend another one.

Below is a video I created of our trip:

If I ever have the time and motivation, I might write some additional posts about the trip: what we saw, how we got around, and (most importantly!) what we ate. 

As is usually the case when we travel, this trip simply makes us want to go back and see more of Japan in the future. But we're not going to make any more trips to Japan in the summer - it was just as hot in Osaka as it is in Houston!

Thoughts on the Tokyo Olympics

They were delayed a year, they were played in the sweltering heat, there were no fans in the stands, they were the most expensive on record, and its organizing body is still hopelessly corrupt. The 2021 2020 Summer Olympics, which ended a week ago, probably shouldn't have happened at all. But happen they did, and I have a handful of thoughts: 

We're (Just Barely) Number One: The United States "won" the 2020 Olympics, by earning the most gold medals (39) as well as the most medials overall (113). The United States has won the most number of gold medals in six out of the last seven Olympic Games, and the most medals overall for the seventh summer Games in a row. 

However, Team USA only barely edged out China for the most golds; the Chinese team, which had been leading in the gold count until the final weekend of the games, came in second with 38 golds (and 88 medals overall). Rounding out the top five in the gold medal count were host nation Japan, Great Britain, and the Russian Olympic Committee (which I'll say more about in a moment).

Fun fact: the Chronicle claims that, if Houston were its own country, it would have finished 20th in the medal count.

Welcome to the Club: Athletes from Bermuda, the Philippines and Qatar won their countries' first-ever gold medals, while Burkina Faso, San Marino and Turkmenistan won their first medals ever. San Marino is, in fact, the first European microstate ever to win a medal at the summer Games (Liechtenstein has won medals at the Winter Olympics). 

Given its small size, San Marino also ended the Olympics with the most medals per-capita: one for every 11 thousand inhabitants (the United States, by comparison, won one medal per 2.9 million people). 

On the other end of the medals-per-capita list is India. Even though Indian athletes had their most successful appearance in the Olympics ever, the seven medals they won represented a ratio of one medal per 197 million people.

Cheaters do win, if you're Russia: After Russia's blatant state-sponsored doping scandal, the International Olympic Committee and the World Anti-Doping Agency decided to "ban" Russia from the Olympics. Russian athletes could still compete, however, as long as they called themselves the "Russian Olympic Committee," competed under a special flag, and played something other than the Russian national anthem at medal ceremonies:

At the medal ceremony here, the Russian national anthem was replaced by “Piano Concerto No. 1” by Tchaikovsky, the Russian composer. The flag raised was not the Russian flag, but one featuring waves of an Olympic torch … but using the Russian colors of blue, red and white.

No Russian flags are allowed at any venue (or the Opening or Closing Ceremony), but they can be hung about the Olympic Village. So there’s that. Not that it matters. The Russians designed their uniforms to mimic the beloved Trikolor.

“If the flag is not allowed, we ourselves will be the flag,” Rugby captain Alena Tiron told the Russian state news agency RIA Novostu.

In Russia, the Olympics gold medal you.

“We know which country we stand for,” Tiron said.

Everyone does. A country that is adept at embedding spies in the highest level of governments around the globe doesn’t even have to try to be sneaky over here.

These so-called "neutral athletes" - over 330 of them, in all - finished with 20 gold medals (and 71 overall). What a joke. 

The head of the United States Anti-Doping Agency, Travis Tygart, had some choice words to say about this charade:

"Unfortunately, we’ve seen this horror film already – where the Russian state-sponsored doping programme walks free and Russia wins while the IOC and WADA leaders attempt to pull the wool over the world’s eyes by claiming Russia is ‘banned.’," said Tygart.

"All can now see this ‘ban’ once again for the farce that it is.

"It is barely a ‘rebrand’ and will do nothing to stop the corruption in Russia and likely will embolden others willing to win by any means.

"It’s a doomed system that allows, as it has here, one nation to make a mockery of the Games by their thirst for medals over values."

Russia is also "banned" from the 2022 Winter Olympics, but Russian athletes will be there, too. Vladimir Putin has to be laughing his ass off.

I would have punched that horse, too: the modern pentathlon is one of the weirdest sports of the Olympics. Okay, so maybe not as weird as artistic swimming or race walking, but a competition consisting of five very disparate disciplines - fencing, swimming, show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross-country running - is, well, pretty wacky. According to Wikipedia, this sport is "patterned on events representing the skills needed by cavalry behind enemy lines." Okay, but it's still somewhat ridiculous, especially since cavalry isn't really a thing in warfare anymore.

Anyway, there was controversy during the women's modern pentathlon when a frustrated German coach appeared to strike an uncooperative horse during the show jumping portion of the competition:

The International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM), the sport's governing body, announced Saturday it was giving a black card to Kim Raisner, dismissing her from the remainder of the Games, after reviewing video footage from a Friday event.

The footage "showed Ms Raisner appearing to strike the horse Saint Boy, ridden by Annika Schleu (GER), with her fist," the group said in a statement. That violated UIPM competition rules, they said.

The light punch came after Schleu, who was heading into the show jumping round with a commanding lead, was trying to get Saint Boy to respond to her commands. But the horse was obstinate.

Schleu, who was visibly in tears because she couldn't get her horse to cooperate, scored zero points in the show jumping segment and fell to 31st place by competition's end. 

This brings up another weird aspect of the modern pentathlon: unlike other equestrian events at the Olympics, the horses do not "belong" to the riders. Rather, horses are randomly assigned to competitors twenty minutes before the show jumping competition, giving athletes a very short time to "bond" with the animals. This would appear to create an element of luck that is completely outside the competitor's control: if somebody ends up with a wayward horse that refuses to jump, then their dreams of winning a medal are sunk through no fault of their own. This apparently happened to several competitors - not just Schleu - during the women's modern pentathlon.

The agency that oversees this weird-ass sport is reviewing the event and considering changes for 2024. Perhaps they should consider doing away with horses entirely, and replace show jumping with a skill relevant to a 21st century soldier, like rock climbing or mountain biking.

(Full disclosure: I'm not the world's biggest fan of horses. They've always creeped me out, for some reason.)

NBC's coverage still sucked: I've written about this so many times since 1996 that I really don't have anything new to say about it. So I'll hand off to The Guardian, which describes the coverage of the Tokyo Olympics as "televisual vomit:"

Viewers have been able to see everything at any given moment (provided you have the Peacock streaming service) while understanding fundamentally nothing about what’s going on. NBC has never met a night of swimming finals that didn’t need to be spliced up with bizarre human interest segments on Caeleb Dressel’s first ride through the Florida wetlands on an airboat, or a routine on the double bars that couldn’t be improved by a quick jump to an ad break and some random highlights of Denmark and Indonesia in the badminton. We all want to know who the athletes are, of course, if only at a superficial level; and since the whole Olympics is so overwhelming, with so much going on at once, some measure of discombobulation from the host broadcaster is always understandable. But when we switch on the Olympics, I think it’s fair to say that most of us want to witness elite athletes perform spectacular feats with their bodies, not hear a series of driving stories about how they handle their daily commute.

NBC’s programming choices have been consistently bizarre, even more so when you consider that whole chunks of the schedule in Tokyo – for swimming above all, but also in the athletics – were specifically rejigged to cater to the American TV audience, and at several points it’s been unclear to all but the most obsessive Olympics watchers whether what’s on TV at night in the US is live or a replay. On Sunday morning, the women’s triple-jump world record had just been broken, a thrilling men’s high jump had ended in shared gold and the starting gun for the men’s 100m – the biggest race at the Olympics – had just been fired. NBC was showing a replay of the equestrian eventing final. The point, of course, is to funnel viewers to watch the repeat in primetime. Which may have worked at Tokyo 1964 when you could avoid the result for 12 hours. But which viewer with even a passing interest in sport for Tokyo 2020 won’t already have seen the result on the internet or used a VPN to watch it on the BBC or CBC?

Time, The Los Angeles Times and TechDirt are similarly critical of the coverage, while Vulture suggests that the oftentimes-confusing array of coverage - NBC presented coverage of the Games across its broadcast network, multiple cable channels, and its Peacock streaming platform - was simply a case of viewers getting what they've always wanted:

Some of the complaining about figuring out “how” to watch the Olympics on the NBC platforms is a classic case of “be careful what you wish for.” After all, for years the rap on NBC’s coverage was that the network offered almost nothing but prepackaged, and often pretaped, extended highlights shows. Audiences would have to wait until prime time to see events which finished up hours earlier; sports fans who wanted deep coverage of less high-profile events were often out of luck. The fact that NBC now pretty much lets anyone with a cable login watch every event live, in real time, is a massive improvement over the status quo of a decade or two ago. And it’s certainly a lot better than it was back in the 20th century, when NBC — and previous Olympics hosts CBS and ABC — treated the Olympics as a prime-time soap opera, serving up only the story lines it felt would appeal to a broad audience (thank you, Roone Arledge). NBC still does this with its main coverage, of course, but audiences now have more choice than ever before.

The Tokyo Games ended up having the lowest viewership of any Olympics NBC has broadcast since they first picked up the Games in 1988. NBC, of course, had a litany of excuses ready to explain away their poor ratings - Coronavirus, the time difference, difficulties encountered by the athletes they overhyped the most (Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka) - and tried to put a positive spin on its viewership:

NBC says its coverage of the Games boosted everything from podcasts to broadcast programs such as the Today show and NBC Nightly News. 

But the days when the Olympics were appointment television for most TV viewers seem to be ending. The pressing question for NBC — which has spent billions for rights to air the Games until at least 2032 — is how to handle a media world where the hours of coverage are increasing while audience numbers are heading in the opposite direction.

I dunno, maybe try to make your coverage (and the ability of viewers to navigate it) suck less? Maybe present the Olympics as an actual sporting event, rather than a primetime reality TV show? Maybe fire Mark Lazarus, who is apparently the guy most responsible for this claptrap? I'm not holding my breath.

All Jazeera reviews the highs and lows of the just-completed Games, while the Daily Beast explores some of Tokyo's weirder moments and ESPN waxes sentimental on what the games are all about. And if the Tokyo Games left you yearning for more, don't fret: the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing are only six months away!

The Eshima Ohashi Bridge

Although it’s a clickbait staple, i.e. “THE TERRIFYING JAPANESE BRIDGE YOU DON’T WANT TO CROSS!” - the Eshima Ohashi Bridge in Japan is not quite as terrifying as it looks. Most of the “terrifying” pictures of the bridge are taken from a distance using telephoto lenses that, due to perspective compression, tend to eggagerate its height and slope. The bridge's actual grades are 6.1% on one side and 5.1% on the other - you'll encounter steeper grades on mountain highways.

That being said, you're never going to get me to ride a bicycle up and down the damn thing, especially since there is not a protected bike lane on the bridge and so heavy trucks pass within a few feet of you. 

Houston adds two new airlines in two weeks

Last week, the Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways (ANA) announced that they would begin daily nonstop service between Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport and Tokyo's Narita International Airport, starting next June. This service, when implemented, would be in addition to United's existing daily nonstop between Houston and the Japanese capital.* As United and ANA are both Star Alliance members, these services appear to be designed to complement each other and feed into each other's networks.

Today, it was announced that Taiwanese carrier EVA Air will begin service between IAH and Taipei's Taoyuan International airport. This service, also set to begin in June, would initially operate three times a week and expand to four flights a week in July. EVA Air is also a member of Star Alliance.

This will add Taiwan to Tokyo, Beijing, Seoul and Singapore (via Moscow) on the list of East Asian/Pacific Rim cities accessible from Houston by either a nonstop or direct flight. As I've said before and will say again, this can only be a good thing for Houston and its economy. What city will be next? Bangkok? Kuala Lumpur?

Meanwhile at the city's other airport, Southwest has announced that it has filed applications to fly to Cancun, Los Cabos, Mexico City and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; San Jose, Costa Rica; and Belize City, Belize from Hobby Airport beginning next year. As the article notes, the services to Mexico are subject to a complicated agreement between the United States and Mexico regarding the number of carriers that can fly between US and Mexican city pairs.

Southwest already plans to fly between Hobby and Aruba once every Saturday starting in March, which would be the first international service from that airport since Intercontinental opened in 1969. The service can begin before Hobby's international terminal is finished because Aruba's Queen Beatrix airport has US Customs preclearance facilities.

*Last year United announced that they were implementing a second daily nonstop between Houston and Tokyo, but I can only find one flight per day in their online booking interface.

Japan claims Women's World Cup

Have I mentioned the the thing I hate the most about soccer is that so many games - especially championship games - are decided by penalty kicks? (Oh yeah: I have. I don't even like them when my team wins.)

Such was the ending of yesterday's thrilling Women's World Cup championship. After playing to a 2-2 tie after 90 minutes of regulation time and 30 minutes of extra time, Japan defeated the United States 3-1 in penalty kicks to clinch their first-ever World Cup title.

It really is a disappointing way to decide a game. But the truth is that it never should have come to PKs. The US took the lead twice - once in regulation and once in extra time - and twice they allowed Japan to equalize. The Americans simply missed too many scoring opportunities on offense - shots on goal that hit the posts or otherwise went wide - and suffered from some sloppy play on defense (Japan's first goal, for example, was created by the fact that the Americans couldn't manage to clear the ball out of the penalty box).

As disappointed as I am in the way the game ended - the fact that the United States lost as well as the fact that it was decided on goofy penalty kicks - I can't help but be impressed by the tenacity and determination of the Japanese team. They were underdogs throughout the tournament and pulled off three compelling upsets in the knockout stage - against host Germany and Sweden as well as the United States - to claim the championship. They also provided some joy and pride for a country that just a few months ago was devastated by an earthquake and tsunami that resulted in 23,000 deaths and a nuclear emergency. That's something that everybody, Americans included, can feel good about.

But I still hate penalty kicks.

The trip home, the Cougars and other thoughts

Sorry for the delay in posting, but between the flight back and the long holiday weekend I just haven't had a lot of time for blogging lately. I'm afraid blogging will be light this week as well.

The voyage back from Dubai was long and boring but otherwise free of hassle. Remembering the long lines at the ticket counter and the security checkpoint that I endured the last time I flew out of Dubai, I made sure to get to the airport early this time. It must have been a wise decision, because neither the lines at the counter nor the security checkpoint were long and I ended up with plenty of time to kill before my 12:30 am departure to Amsterdam. The plane was delayed in its departure, but I didn't mind because it just meant there'd be less time for me to wait at the Amsterdam airport.

The time at the Amsterdam airport actually passed quickly - I befriended a soldier on leave from the Middle East who was also flying to Houston and the two of us killed time discussing college football and drinking draft Heinekens (nothing like a beer or two at 8:30 am!) at a bar across from the gate. We finally boarded the 747 to Houston, and after another long and boring flight arrived safely at Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport and made our way through the nice new customs and immigration facilities at Terminal E. Lori and Kirby were in the arrivals area, waiting for me. A nice, long nap was waiting for me once we got back to the house.

I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that at least a third of the people who were on the flight from Dubai to Amsterdam were also on the flight from Amsterdam to Houston. Most of these people were related in one way or another to the effort in Iraq.

Much of Saturday was spent on the computer sorting through the 1,000-plus e-mails I had accumulated during my absence or in front of the TV watching football games. Later in the afternoon, Lori, Kirby and I met my parents and my brother at the Rice Stadium parking lot for some pregame tailgating before heading into the stadium for the 8 pm kickoff.

As for the game itself: like I keep saying, a win over Rice is never a given. Luckily, the Coogs were able to squeak by with a one-point victory, but they had to climb out of a 16-point hole in order to do so. Certainly, making such a comeback is a which is a huge confidence builder for the team, but the question remains: why did the Coogs, after putting fourteen quick points on the board, allow the Owls to run off four unanswered touchdowns and get into a 16-point hole to begin with? To the credit of Briles and his coaching staff, they did make defensive adjustments that shut the Owl offense down in the second half. And there were no turnovers on the part of the Coogs. But there were still way too many penalties, and special teams, well, let's not go there.

A lot of credit has to be given to the Rice Owls and their new coach, Todd Graham. They came out ready to play and they used the "surprise" factor of a brand-new offense, of which the Houston coaches had no game film to study, to their advantage. I wish them luck for the remainder of the season, especially as they make their way through their ridiculous non-conference schedule of UCLA, Texas and Florida State. As for the Coogs, hopefully this too-close-for-comfort game was just the result of opening-day jitters and next week's game against Tulane will be a better indicator of how good this team really is. There are definitely some concerns that the UH coaching staff needs to address quickly, but the main thing is that the Coogs are 1-0.

On Sunday, Lori, Kirby and I ran some errands, went up to her parents' house to visit, and went to the palatial and bustling Kim Son on Bellaire for a retirement dinner being held for my dad by several other professors in his department. As of last Friday, the Old Man officially became Professor Emeritus, although there's still one more retirement party being held for him later this week.

The Labor Day holiday was spent around the house, being lazy and unproductive. Today it was back to work. I'll be in Houston all this week, Dallas for most of next week, and will return to Dubai on Sunday the 17th.

And finally, a few quick thoughts:

• Okay, so I'm just as saddened by the death of Steve Irwin as everybody else, but let's face it: is this really a surprise? We all knew it was going to happen, sooner or later; you can only mess with deadly animals for so long before one of them finally gets you. The only surprise, I guess, is that the Crocodile Hunter met his end from the barb of a stingray rather than from the fangs of a snake or the jaws of an alligator.

• The Houston Chronicle now has two University of Houston sports blogs. UH beat writer Michael Murphy began blogging about the Coogs last week and joins UH journalism student Ronnie Turner on the chron.com website. They've also just added a blog for Rice sports as well. Between these three blogs you'll find plenty of discussion about last weekend's nailbiter at Rice Stadium.

• Speaking of football, the Texas Longhorns have moved into second place on the AP poll after their 56-7 drubbing of North Texas in Austin last weekend. This sets up a 1-versus-2 showdown in Austin this weekend as Ohio State comes to town. There's not a great deal of movement between the preseason AP poll and this week's poll; no schools were added or dropped and rarely did any school move more than a few sports. However, Miami of Florida and California both dropped several spots after their season-opening losses to Florida State and Tennessee, respectively. The Vols made the biggest jump of the weekend, and Oklahoma was demoted following their less-than-impressive victory against UAB.

• A potentially huge discovery of oil in the Gulf of Mexico could boost US petroleum reserves by a whopping 50%. It still remains to be seen exactly how much oil exists in this deep-water field, and it will be many years and billions of dollars in drilling rig and pipeline investments before any of this oil makes its way into our tanks. The discovery could, however, suggest that the looming "oil crunch" of high prices and scarce supplies being predicted by "peak oil" theorists might not be at hand just yet. As an oil analyst remarks, "it should remind everyone that before they buy into the reckoning of $100 a barrel oil that all those estimates don't take into account tremendous amount of money can be spent on exploration when prices are at these levels."

• Whew! A succession crisis in Japan has been averted. Princess Kiko gave birth to a baby boy earlier today, apparently putting to rest the debate about what happens if the imperial family does not have a male heir to inherit the throne once Emperor Akihito, Crown Prince Naruhito, and his brother, Prince Akishino all pass away. However, while this regal crisis might have been resolved with this baby's birth, Japan still has a baby crisis of its own: the country's low birthrate is causing the island nation's overall population to decrease, and that trend could have disasterous societal and economic consequences in the future.

My trip to Japan, October 2005

My brother had been living and working in Japan as an English teacher since April of 2004. In October of 2005, I was finally able to visit him. Here is a recap of my trip, with some pictures. (Good thing I went when I did; he returned to Houston in December.)

Getting there and back was possible because I had accumulated enough Continental OnePass miles (although it took me a dozen years to do so, since I don’t fly nearly as frequently as I would like) to fly for free; all I needed to pay out-of-pocket were about $60 in various fees and taxes. Most of the flights were on Continental’s codeshare partner, Northwest. This meant that, in order to get to and from Osaka’s Kansai International Airport (which sits on a man-made island out in the bay), I had to fly through Northwest’s hub in Detroit.  I left Houston the morning of Thursday October 21st and, after transferring in Detroit and crossing the international date line, arrived in Japan the following evening.



I thought that flying on a 747 for the first time would be a fun experience. It was not. The plane was cramped and I was stuck in a middle seat between two other people for fourteen hours straight. I could not get any sleep because it was simply too uncomfortable to do so, given the cramped conditions and intermittent turbulence. None of the channels on the plane’s audio system worked, either, making the headphones they passed out to everyone essentially useless unless we wanted to watch the crappy in-flight movies they were showing.

Eventually, the flight landed and I wearily made my way through Kansai International Airport.  The woman at passport control got upset with me because I didn’t fill in the line on the immigration document stating what my address and telephone number in Japan were going to be. None of the books or websites I read about traveling to Japan said that this information was required, so I didn’t bother to get David’s address or telephone before I left. I was about to tell her to go outside and ask him where he lived, because he was out in the terminal lobby waiting for me, but she finally let me through. I collected my suitcase, passed through customs, met my brother and we took a bus back to his apartment in Nishinomiya.

Nishinomiya is a municipality located roughly halfway between Osaka and Kobe on the north side of Osaka Bay. To be sure, the north and west sides of Osaka Bay essentially constitute one large urban area, and there isn't any physical distinction between individual municipalities. However, Nishinomiya's relatively central location did make for easy day trips to other cities in the Kansai region, such as Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe and Nara. This made it easy for David to plan out an extensive itinerary for me.

Thus, the next several days were a whirlwind of traveling, sightseeing, eating and drinking. The first full day I was there, Saturday October 22, David, his girlfriend and I went to the ancient capital of Kyoto, about an hour and a half from Nishinomiya. Once we reached Kyoto we made our way to the imperial palace grounds so we could watch the Jidai Matsuri (Festival of the Ages) parade. It was an interesting parade which depicted different eras and personalities in Japan’s history with ornate costumes, musicians, horses and palanquins (portable shrines). Afterwards we made our way across the river to eastern Kyoto where most of the famous shrines and temples are located.  We visited the Kyomizu temple, which is famous for its hillside view overlooking Kyoto, and afterwards strolled through the streets of the nearby Gion district, walking through parks, looking at other temples and shrines, and stopping for ridiculously overpriced coffee. We then made our way back across the river and dined at a restaurant along Kyoto’s waterfront. (David has more detail about this particular excursion on his blog).



Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto is one of many historic temples and shrines located along the city's eastern hillsides.

A view of Kyoto from the Terrace at Kiyomizu Temple. Kyoto was the capital of Japan until 1868, and remains and remains one of the country's most historically-significant cities. 

 On Sunday the three of us went to Osaka. We toured the Osaka Castle and Museum, went to a crab sushi restaurant in the central Namba district, and then went to the Floating Garden observatory atop the Umeda Sky Tower to see an amazing nighttime view of the city. That evening, David's girlfriend drove us over the mountains to the town of Sanda, where we ate dinner at a friends' house. Japanese homes are a mix of the modern and the traditional, with fully-automated kitchens just steps away from traditional washitsu with tatami mats. 



A busy pedestrian mall in the Dotonbori district of Osaka. Osaka is the main city of the Kansai region and is Japan's second-largest city.

A view of Osaka at night from the observatory atop the Umeda Sky Building. The city stretches for miles, ending only when it meets the mountains. The scale and density of Japanese cities is amazing and is unlike anything I've seen anywhere else.

On Monday, we took a trip to Kobe, the port city that had to be largely rebuilt after a devastating 1995 earthquake. There we rode the ropeway up a mountain overlooking the city and later went on a boat cruise of the busy Kobe harbor, which allowed us a great view of the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, which is the longest suspension bridge in the world.

The busy port city of Kobe is located to the west of Osaka. It suffered a devastating earthquake in 1995.

On Tuesday October 25th, my brother and I embarked on the "big" excursion, a two-day journey to Tokyo and the highlands around Mt. Fuji. David was looking forward to the trip as much as I was because, in spite of being in Japan for a year and a half, he had never ridden the Shinkansen (bullet train) or visited Tokyo. Neither failed to impress either of us. 



Once we arrived in Tokyo, we took a bus tour of the city's main sites including the Tokyo Tower, the grounds in front of the Imperial Palace, and the Asakusa Temple. We later checked into our hotel in the Shinagawa district, and dined at a yakitori restaurant in the city's upscale Roppongi district. In the process of traveling around town, we familiarized ourselves with Tokyo's impressive subway system.



A view of Tokyo from the observation deck of the Tokyo Tower, looking westward. The cluster of buildings in the distance is Shinjuku-ju, a major commercial, shopping, administrative and entertainment district. Like most Japanese cities, Tokyo is multi-nodal; it lacks a single, clearly-defined "downtown" and is comprised of multiple major commercial and office centers.

Tokyo at night. This view is looking northward from our hotel. To the left is the brightly-lit Tokyo Tower, where the previous picture was taken.

The following day, David and I took a leisurely walking tour of some of central Tokyo's major districts, including Nihonbashi, with its famous zero-milestone bridge, the upscale Ginza district, and the riverfront Tsukiji district. We then took the subway to across town to see the Meiji Shrine and the trendy Harajuku district. Finally, we made our way to Shinjuku station and boarded a highway bus which took us out of Tokyo and into the highlands. We spent the night in a ryokan on the shores of Lake Kawaguchi.  



The Meiji Shrine in Tokyo. It was constructed in 1920 (and rebuilt after World War II) to commemorate Emperor Meiji, who became the first emperor of "modern" Japan in 1868. It is located adjacent to Yoyogi Park on the city's near west side and is close to Tokyo's trendy Harajuku district. Unfortunately, the rain kept all the teenagers in outlandish fashions - the "Harajuku Girls" - from coming out that day.

Here I am standing at the Tenjo Ropeway overlooking Lake Kawaguchi. We came to the scenic highlands surrounding Mt. Fuji hoping to see the great mountain itself. However, clouds spoiled our view.

Well, they say it rolls downhill! This sign, which we found at the Tenjo Ropeway, is an excellent example of "Engrish." As an English teacher in Japan, David quickly discovered that he had his work cut out for him.

On Thursday the 27th, David and I spent time in around Lake Kawaguchi, hoping to catch a glimpse of Mt. Fuji. Unfortunately, we had no such luck; clouds obscured our view of the majestic mountain all day long. Dejected, we took a bus from Kawaguchi to Mishima early that afternoon so that we could catch the bullet train back to Osaka (and, from there, a local train to Nishinomiya). However, the ride was slow and circuitous and my eventual need to find a restroom caused the two of us to get off the bus at Subashiri, a village outside the town of Gotenba. There we found the necessary sanitary facilities as well as a delightful shine which led to an overlook that, on an clear day, would have afforded a great view of Mt. Fuji. 



Since we had time to kill until the next bus to Mishima arrived, David and I went to a small cafe near the overlook for a cup of tea. While we were there, David explained to the cafe's owner that we had come to see Mt. Fuji, but were frustrated by the clouds and therefore were on our way back to Nishinomiya.  



We had finished our tea, paid our bill and started walking back towards the bus stop when the cafe's owner ran behind us, calling for us. Had we forgotten something? No. She had felt so bad about the fact that we were unable to see Mt. Fuji that she wanted us to have two snapshots - from her own, personal, photo album - of the mountain.



Although the woman need not have given us her own pictures of the mountain, David and I gratefully accepted the photos; it would have been rude, in the Japanese cultural context, to do otherwise. Besides, it was a wonderful gesture on the cafe owner's part and it is a unique little memory of Japan that my brother and I will always have. In retrospect, I'm glad that my need to use the restroom caused us to stop at that village! 



We caught the next bus to Mishima, grabbed a bite to eat once we arrived there, and then took the next Shinkansen back to Osaka.



Friday October 28th David and I returned to Kyoto, this time to see the Ginka-kuji (Silver Pavilion) temple and its beautiful and serene Japanese gardens. We also took a stroll down the “Philosopher’s Path." The following day, we took a day trip to Nara, one of Japan's oldest cities, to see more temples and shrines as well as the deer that roam freely about the city.

We returned to Kyoto to see another famous temple, the Ginkakuji. This Zen Buddhist temple features a beautiful and serene garden. One could spend days upon days in Kyoto and still not see everything.

Deer roam freely about the ancient city of Nara. They are said to be messengers of the gods and are considered sacred. They are not afraid of humans; in fact, they come up to people expecting to be fed.

One of Japan's most famous temples is the Todaiji in Nara. This massive wooden structure, built at the end of the 1600s, is actually smaller than the structure which preceded it.

Inside the Todaiji is a gigantic Buddha. It is six stories tall; pictures just can't do it justice. Many Japanese are syncretic in regards to religion: they might practice both Shinto as well as Buddhist rituals. It's common to find a Buddhist temple and a Shinto shrine on the same property.

On October 30th, I took the Skinkansen to Hiroshima. David was unable to make the trip with me, so I was "on my own" for the day. Despite not speaking any Japanese, I was able to find my way from the main train station to Hiroshima's Peace Park and back without trouble. Hiroshima is a vibrant, bustling city. Other than the serene Peace Park, there really is no visible indication that the city was obliterated by an atomic bomb in August 1945.

The Memorial Centotaph for Atomic Bomb Victims in Hiroshima commemorates the estimated 80,000 people who died as a result of Little Boy, the atomic bomb dropped on the city on August 6, 1945 from the Enola Gay. In the distance is the Atomic Bomb Dome, which was the prefecture's industrial exhibition hall before World War II. It is the only surviving ruin of the atomic bombing and is a symbol of the destructiveness of atomic warfare.

I returned home on Halloween Day, Monday October 31st. The return trip was slightly better. This time, I had an aisle seat, so I had a bit more room to stretch out. The flight was also a bit quicker because the eastbound plane was flying with the jet stream instead of against it. One audio channel was working, which meant that I could at least listen to the same songs over and over again. However, I couldn’t get the audio for any of the in-flight movies they were showing (and they were actually showing something I wanted to see on the flight back!), and the overhead reading light didn’t work, either. Northwest Airlines, having declared bankruptcy, is clearly deferring nonessential maintenance of their aircraft.



My original itinerary back to Houston required me to land in Detroit, go through customs, languish at the Detroit airport for a couple of hours, take a short flight across Lake Erie to Cleveland, languish at the Cleveland airport for a couple more hours, and then fly to Houston. However, I was able to avoid the extra layover by convincing a very nice Northwest gate agent to put me on a direct flight from Detroit to Houston. My bags were already checked through Cleveland, however, and so even after I arrived in Houston my father and I had to languish in the baggage claim area for a couple of hours, waiting for the plane from Cleveland to arrive so I could collect my luggage. Oh, well. At least I made it home safely, in spite of all the languishing.



If I ever fly to Japan again, I think I’m going to go with Continental’s non-stop service from Houston to Toyko and then take the Shinkansen to my final destination. Having to transfer to and from long international flights is no fun; I prefer getting through customs and going home. Besides, the spacious, comfortable environment of the Shinkansen is a welcome relief from the cramped quarters of the plane, and with a 7-day Japan Rail Pass currently costing about $250, it pays for itself even if you only ride the Shinkansen a couple of times. 



Being in the transportation planning profession, I obviously found Japan’s extensive network of trains fascinating. From the sleek Shinkansen to the rickety streetcars of Hiroshima, from the extensive JR (Japan Railways) system to the various private railways (including the Hankyu system, which David and I used the most), from the relatively young and small subway system in Kobe to the bewilderingly extensive subway in Tokyo, Japan is a veritable rail nation. With an overall population density that is an order of magnitude higher than that of the United States, high-capacity transportation is not an option. As a result, the entire country is crisscrossed by every conceivable type of rail system. Most of it is electrically-powered, but I did see at least one diesel multiple unit (DMU) consist at JR’s Osaka Station. Japan’s main railway stations double as shopping centers; in many cases, in order to connect from one line to another you have to literally walk through underground malls. 



My brother made sure that I got to experience many different types of Japanese food while I was there. The evening I arrived, for example, I managed to shake off my exhaustion long enough to go out with him and his girlfriend to eat okonomiaki, which could be described as a combination of a pancake, an omelet and a pizza. It was actually pretty good. I also liked the yakitori (grilled skewers), chabu chabu (which could best be described as a Japanese fondue), and izakaya, which is similar to Spanish tapas in that you generally order a variety of small dishes and share them. We also went to a conveyor belt sushi restaurant: 



Here's my brother David at a kaiten-zushi, or conveyor belt sushi restaurant, in Nishinomiya. Just sit at a table and grab what you want to eat as it comes by. A sensor counts the number of plates consumed and totals your bill. This is actually one of the less-expensive dining options in Japan, and it's very family-oriented.

I think my favorite dining experience was the kushikatsu restaurant in Kobe, however. This type of dining featured a deep-fryer in the middle of the table and a nearby buffet stocked with meats, shrimp and vegetables on skewers. We chose what we wanted to eat, brought the skewers back to the table, dipped them into a batter provided at the table, stuck them in the deep fryer and then ate them. The buffet also featured a salad bar and a self-service udon soup bar, just in case anyone got tired of deep-fried skewers. It was very good, and it was all you could eat - and drink - as well… but only for two hours. After our two hours were up, the waiter came to our table and politely told us to get lost.



The food and drink weren’t cheap, however. As I quickly discovered, everything one hears about Japan being an expensive place to visit are true. Although most of the lunches we ate were reasonable, oftentimes the dinner tab for the three of us (myself, David and his girlfriend) would approach $100 US. One night the three of us managed to run up an $80 bar tab after only a couple of drinks apiece.



I brought back several items, ranging from exquisite lacquered wooden bowls from Kyoto to tea and sake from the supermarket near David's apartment. One of my purchases was a battery-operated Fortune Cat with a moving left paw. Lori says I got the wrong type of Fortune Cat; we need one with a raised right paw, which attracts money. A Fortune Cat with a raised left paw only attracts visitors...

I wish I could have stayed a few days longer, but considering all that I got to do and see while I was there I think ten days were sufficient. I came, I had a good time, I saw a lot of interesting stuff and ate a lot of interesting food, I took lots of pictures and video, and, most importantly, got to finally travel to a country I’ve always wanted to visit.

(Retroblogged on August 23, 2015.)