Himeji Castle during Silver Week

Himeji Castle, a place in my dreams…literally. One random night before moving to Japan, I dreamt about going to Himeji Castle, arguably the most famous castle in Japan. In my dream, it was large, pristine, and gave me a feeling of excitement. The dream was so vivid, and when I woke up, I made it a clear goal to myself to visit there. However, there was one big problem. When I moved to Japan, Himeji Castle was about two years into a five year reconstruction project. You couldn’t see the castle. I was pretty heartbroken. My plan was to stay in Japan two years and then go to grad school, but plans change, and as it turns out, three years later, I’m still here!

So when I heard the construction was finished, I knew I had to go! I went with my boyfriend during Silver Week, a holiday period in Japan. Ever since the construction finished, people from all over have been flocking to it, and anyone who went to see it told me that it was very crowded. Therefore, I decided to go during Silver Week because I knew it would be busy no matter what time I went. I did not anticipate just how busy it would be though. Holidays in Japan like Golden Week, Silver Week, Obon, and the New Year are terrible times to travel because it’s like a madhouse.

Shinya and I got up and left our town around 11 am. It only takes about an hour and a half to get there from where I live. The train surprisingly costs a lot, though. We ate a small snack while riding the train and arrived around 12:30. It’s a straight shot from the station to the castle. It’s a very touristy area, so the streets are paved very nicely, and everything looks clean and new. There isn’t actually much to do in the area except eat and see the castle, but it’s a pretty city.

When we got the castle grounds, there were a ton of people taking pictures. Shinya and I joined in and took a few ourselves. My first impression of the castle was “Wow!!! It’s really white!!” Like seriously, it was so white! I’m used to seeing Osaka Castle with its cream-ish color and green roofs, but Himeji Castle looked totally different. It was smaller than in my dream but beautiful nonetheless.

Himeji Castle!

We decided we’d try to go the inner grounds and see the castle up close and possibly go inside, but there was a really long line, and it was really hot. We asked how long the wait was to get it, and it was an hour just to the inner grounds gate. Once you get in, it would take another hour and a half to walk through the inner grounds because there were so many people. Shinya and I are alike in that we have no desire to wait outside in the heat. We decided to walk a big circle around the castle instead which was really pleasant and fun. We could see the castle from a few angles and get pretty close while enjoying the surrounding gardens and the moat filled with koi fish. We took several sitting breaks to admire the fish and sit in the shade. This was my favorite part of the day.

Japanese garden.

Around 1:30 or 2:00, we decided to go eat since we had hardly eaten anything yet. We decided to go to a famous tamago-kaki-gohan place my friend recommended. Tamago-kaki-gohan is raw egg mixed with rice, soy sauce, and sometimes other toppings). However, since the area was so packed with tourists, there was a 6 page waitlist. We decided to write down our name and see how quick people could get in. The place was really small, though, and didn’t have many seats, and after about a half hour of waiting, we gave up.

This is where the story gets a little ridiculous. We walked around a little until we found an izakaya (Japanese pub) that looked good. When we tried to go in, they said that lunch was over and they don’t open up again until dinner. We decided to go sit at a coffee shop and actually research some places to eat and try calling. Himeji’s famous food is anago which is a type of eel. We decided it would be nice to go to a place that served it. Shinya made a call to a place nearby that specialized in anago. To our dismay, they also weren’t open until 5pm. We had about 2 hours to kill, so we hung out in an arcade for a bit and played air hockey and pachinko. We were hungry, but since we came all this way, we figured it would be worth it to eat some nice food in Himeji.

We got to the anago place right at 5 when it opened, and some people were already lined up outside. We got in line, and a staff member came out and said they were sold out of anago! Seriously like wtf?! You are an anago shop!! Actually, it wasn’t the first place to be out of anago. I saw several places on the way that had signs saying they were sold out of anago. Disheartened, hungry, and exhausted, we gave up on anago and tried to go to a sushi bar instead that we had found online. 

When we arrived, there was a huge line out the door. Shinya looked inside and said they place was tiny and it would take a while to get it. By this point, we were in such disbelief by our luck and the amount of people due to Silver Week, we agreed that we had had enough of Himeji, and we would just go back to Osaka and eat because there would be fewer tourists there. The hour and a half trip home on an empty stomach seemed daunting, but I really don’t think we would’ve gotten in anywhere in Himeji except for crappy family restaurants or chain izakaya.

We took the train back to Osaka and decided to go to a nice nabe place that we both enjoy. Despite not getting to eat in Himeji, I was really excited to go to this place because it had been a while, and I was craving it. When we got there, it was about 8:30 at night. We were dying from hunger only to be told that it was an hour wait….ughhhhhhh…..this is what Silver Week in Japan is like. We had the restaurant call another one of their nearby branches to see if we could get in, and it was also an hour long wait! Frustration is probably the best word to describe how I felt. It was the 7^th place we tried to get in at!!

8^th time’s a charm? We decided that we would simply just go to the next place we see that we could get into right away. It happened to be a cheap little izakaya down the street past where a drunken businessman was puking outside. 9:00 pm is a little early dont’cha think? By that point, anything was ok with me. We were seated in a small Japanese style room on the 2^nd floor that only had 4 tables. I kind of liked the homely atmosphere. Since it was Japanese style, we sat on cushions on the ground.

Right away we ordered drinks and just started naming things off the menu that looked good because we were so hungry. The drinks came out right away, and let me tell you, after the tiring trip and subsequent stress, those were some goooood drinks haha. The food started coming out little by little. Despite this izakaya being so cheap, this food was legit! Very delicious with a homemade taste! We had dashimaki-tamago, cheese balls, hokke, fried oysters, edamame, and some other stuff I don’t really remember lol. I remember thinking at the end of it with a full belly that things didn’t turn out so bad. I was kind of happy we found this little place whose name I don’t remember.

Since it was on the way home, we stopped in to one of my favorite bars I hadn’t been to in a while for one drink. A nice ending to the day. Looking back on it now it wasn’t a bad day, and I’m really glad I got to see Himeji Castle!