Day 12: Himeji Castle and our return back to Tokyo

This morning was an early morning as we rose, rolled up our futons and packed to leave Matsuyama. It was very difficult saying good-bye this morning to the Sumidas and Akiko shimai.  We have had such a wonderful stay and we will take with us many beautiful memories.  Thank-you Sumida shimai for the delicious pancakes and fruit this morning! and for the bento lunch that kept us from starving this afternoon :)

Saying good-bye at the train station to our new friends.  My heart is so full of gratitude for their kindness and love for our family.

Bevan shimai with Sumida kaicho and shimai

Akiko shimai and Bevan shimai - a tearful farewell

Bruce enjoyed shooting a few pictures of the beautiful scenery as we left the island of Shikoku and headed across the sea to Okayama.

One of the many bridges that connects the island of Shikoku to Honshu

Seto Inland Sea dotted with islands

We arrived after lunch to the city of Himeji where we disembarked from the Shinkansen to walk up to this amazing castle.  Himeji City is most famous for its well preserved feudal castle - Himeji jo.  Himeji Castle has never been destroyed by earthquake, fire or war - it is one of the most magnificent castles in Japan.  Its shape was likened to a white heron spreading its wings, so the castle is also known as the White Heron or White Egret Castle. The castle has three separate moats and various gates that lead to dead ends where enemy troops would have boiling oil or water poured over them as they were trying to scale the walls.

The middle moat

Katie and Sarah standing outside the entrance to the castle

Interior of the West Wing of the castle.  The main interior of the castle is still closed off to the public for renovation.  We had to remove our shoes at the entrance and put on slippers to walk on the interior wood floors.  The craftsmanship of the woodwork was awe inspiring

Another interior view of the hallway. There were various
 types of exhibits displayed in the rooms off both sides of
the main hallway.

View from base of the castle - this was as close as we could get today!

Detail of the family crest on the roofwork

It was getting close to sunset as we headed back to the station to board the Shinkansen for Tokyo. We stopped at a convenie on the way to the train and loaded up on Japanese snacks for the four  hour trip north.  We pulled into Gotanda station about 9:00pm that night.  It was very crowded with commuters heading home to work.  We found our new apartment, checked in with the owner and then headed out to find a quick bite to eat.  We found a noodle place not too far from the station that had delicious ramen.

Bruce snapped a photo of his dinner - a rice bowl with egg and chicken and a bowl of ramen with soba noodles - so delicious! (Oishii!!)