The Weekend Review - Himeji, Part 1
So a few weeks ago, I sat down with the planner and I realized that my summer weekends were almost fully booked. I have a lot of fun and exciting things coming up, but this also leaves little flexibility for friends heading home (and not coming back) this summer. So I did some rearranging and prioritizing... and this weekend was a good example of why that was neccesary.
I was originally supposed to go rafting in Shikoku (southern island), but instead, my friend Katie came down from Toyouka (Japan Sea side of Hyogo prefecture) for the weekend. Katie and I don't live very close together, but I'm lucky to have met her at a consulate event early in the year. We have a lot in common (both planning on going to law school when we return to the US - soon for her!) and always have a good time, often finding ourselves in interesting situations.
The weekend started out slow enough. I had a quiet Friday night, just relaxing and taking advantage of the alone time to catch up on some much-needed rest after all the recent running-around. It was nice; I fell asleep to the sound of the rain on my balcony and the Last Samurai playing on my laptop in the background. On Saturday morning, however, I met Katie at the train station in Himeji for the Yukata Matsuri (summer kimono festival). And that's where the fun started... our weekend in Himeji*.
Himeji Yukata Matsuri
Our original plan was to go first to the festival, then to Mt. Shosha (where they filmed the temple scenes from the Last Samurai) and
THEN to the Himeji Beer Garden (all-you-can-eat/drink rooftop events that are popular in the summer). We quickly realized it was a bit too busy of a schedule, so we decided to cut out the latter two activities and enjoy the festival and sunny day in Himeji. After buying a yukata (cotton kimono) for Katie and getting the sales people in UniQlo (Japanese GAP) to help us get dressed (took 3 sales associates over half an hour to figure out how to tie the bow on Katie's obi, or belt), we met some friends at the station to start the festivities. The Yukata Matsuri takes place in the main downtown area of Himeji at a tiny little shrine called Osakabejinga and in the areas surrounding the Himeji Castle. Himeji basically consists of one main drag, with the station on one side and the castle at the other end (sort of like Karl Johans Gate in Oslo..), so we started the day with a walk down the main street. The city was packed with both men, women and children ornately dressed in kimono. In the square near the castle, there were taiko drum concerts and dance performances, while rumors of a parade swirled around town (but failed to materialize, as far as we could tell). I've said it before and I'll say it again: Japan's (often wacky and definately numerous) festivals are one of the best parts of living here. The streets were lined with food and game stalls, while 
people-watching was at its prime. We all decided to wear our yukata (which are less formal than the silk kimono, but still hot). It garnered a lot a lot stairs and comments, but walking through the crowds of colorful fabrics in our own dresses, as if it were completely normal, was the highlight of my day. Walking itself was somewhat of an issue (spent the day scuffling, pigeon-toed, in my geta, or Japanese wooden sandals) but the yukata obi (belt) perfectly held a little Japanese fan to fight the heat. It seemed like there 
was a photo-op every 30 feet and the humidy was high, but it was a rare and georgous day in the middle of the rainy season. In the evening, the crowds swelled in the covered arcades (malls), as I ran into group after group of my students, shocked and excited to catch their teacher outside of school confines (for the first time, actually... and dressed in a yukata!). It was fun to see them; I hardly recognized a lot of them out of their uniforms!
Instead of the Beer Garden, we had a nice dinner and some drinks at Doma Doma, my favorite izakaia in Himeji and
then just sat and told stories for a while. The strong sun had left us tired, so we tried to make it to a late movie, but they all ended after our last train. Instead, we scooted off to Befu for a quick hour of karaoke and purikura (picture stickers) before heading home. On a random note, I'm not a great singer and am definately not a fan of Avril Lavigne, but I've recently been really into Avril's songs for karaoke lately. As Kelly put it, "it's a little scary and dangerous how good [I] am at Girlfriend singing girlfriend. That gave me a laugh. And I felt somehow a bit more dramatic (theatrical?) belting out songs in a kimono!
*So while Himeji is a famous town (home to Japan's most famous Samurai castle) and is charming, it's somewhat sleepy and small. It costs about the same amount to get from my house to Kobe as it does Himeji, so I generally choose to spend my time in the more convenient and urban location, with more options for things to do, see, eat and buy (ie Kobe). That being said, it has definately been far too long since I spent more time in the Himeji area.
I was originally supposed to go rafting in Shikoku (southern island), but instead, my friend Katie came down from Toyouka (Japan Sea side of Hyogo prefecture) for the weekend. Katie and I don't live very close together, but I'm lucky to have met her at a consulate event early in the year. We have a lot in common (both planning on going to law school when we return to the US - soon for her!) and always have a good time, often finding ourselves in interesting situations.
The weekend started out slow enough. I had a quiet Friday night, just relaxing and taking advantage of the alone time to catch up on some much-needed rest after all the recent running-around. It was nice; I fell asleep to the sound of the rain on my balcony and the Last Samurai playing on my laptop in the background. On Saturday morning, however, I met Katie at the train station in Himeji for the Yukata Matsuri (summer kimono festival). And that's where the fun started... our weekend in Himeji*.
Himeji Yukata Matsuri
Our original plan was to go first to the festival, then to Mt. Shosha (where they filmed the temple scenes from the Last Samurai) and
THEN to the Himeji Beer Garden (all-you-can-eat/drink rooftop events that are popular in the summer). We quickly realized it was a bit too busy of a schedule, so we decided to cut out the latter two activities and enjoy the festival and sunny day in Himeji. After buying a yukata (cotton kimono) for Katie and getting the sales people in UniQlo (Japanese GAP) to help us get dressed (took 3 sales associates over half an hour to figure out how to tie the bow on Katie's obi, or belt), we met some friends at the station to start the festivities. The Yukata Matsuri takes place in the main downtown area of Himeji at a tiny little shrine called Osakabejinga and in the areas surrounding the Himeji Castle. Himeji basically consists of one main drag, with the station on one side and the castle at the other end (sort of like Karl Johans Gate in Oslo..), so we started the day with a walk down the main street. The city was packed with both men, women and children ornately dressed in kimono. In the square near the castle, there were taiko drum concerts and dance performances, while rumors of a parade swirled around town (but failed to materialize, as far as we could tell). I've said it before and I'll say it again: Japan's (often wacky and definately numerous) festivals are one of the best parts of living here. The streets were lined with food and game stalls, while 
people-watching was at its prime. We all decided to wear our yukata (which are less formal than the silk kimono, but still hot). It garnered a lot a lot stairs and comments, but walking through the crowds of colorful fabrics in our own dresses, as if it were completely normal, was the highlight of my day. Walking itself was somewhat of an issue (spent the day scuffling, pigeon-toed, in my geta, or Japanese wooden sandals) but the yukata obi (belt) perfectly held a little Japanese fan to fight the heat. It seemed like there 
was a photo-op every 30 feet and the humidy was high, but it was a rare and georgous day in the middle of the rainy season. In the evening, the crowds swelled in the covered arcades (malls), as I ran into group after group of my students, shocked and excited to catch their teacher outside of school confines (for the first time, actually... and dressed in a yukata!). It was fun to see them; I hardly recognized a lot of them out of their uniforms!Instead of the Beer Garden, we had a nice dinner and some drinks at Doma Doma, my favorite izakaia in Himeji and
then just sat and told stories for a while. The strong sun had left us tired, so we tried to make it to a late movie, but they all ended after our last train. Instead, we scooted off to Befu for a quick hour of karaoke and purikura (picture stickers) before heading home. On a random note, I'm not a great singer and am definately not a fan of Avril Lavigne, but I've recently been really into Avril's songs for karaoke lately. As Kelly put it, "it's a little scary and dangerous how good [I] am at Girlfriend singing girlfriend. That gave me a laugh. And I felt somehow a bit more dramatic (theatrical?) belting out songs in a kimono!*So while Himeji is a famous town (home to Japan's most famous Samurai castle) and is charming, it's somewhat sleepy and small. It costs about the same amount to get from my house to Kobe as it does Himeji, so I generally choose to spend my time in the more convenient and urban location, with more options for things to do, see, eat and buy (ie Kobe). That being said, it has definately been far too long since I spent more time in the Himeji area.
posted by Brenda Ann Elizabeth McKinney @ 12:34 AM
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