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Photo Review: DIY Adventure to Himeji while docked in Kobe port


Ssislandgirl
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Many fellow cruisers took advantage of this overnight stay in Kobe and traveled to Kyoto. Since we had previously visited Kyoto as part of our pre cruise Japan exploration, we decided to experience Himeji on our first afternoon in port.

 

We arrived in Kobe on time and had a wonderful reception by the locals

 

36237118611_1dbfa3b5dc_k.jpg20161017-DSC_0677 by Petra Graves, on Flickr

 

Smaller ships were welcoming us with colorful water fountains

 

36205573202_812a473950_k.jpg20161017-japan (44 of 77) by Petra Graves, on Flickr

 

Miss Kobe was present at the pier to greet us and a band was performing

 

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They also released hundreds of balloons upon our arrival

 

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We felt very special for sure!

We were able to leave the ship by 11am and were on our way to the train station. We used the port liner (tram) to get from the pier to Sannomiya JR Station where we boarded the JR Rapid Service to Himeji. The train runs more frequently (every 15 minutes) from late morning to early afternoon and the whole journey to Himeji took about 1 hour from the port. Our JR pass covered the rail road trip, but the port liner cost 210 yen per person.

After exiting the station in Himeji we picked up a free tourist map and walked another 30 minutes to reach this beautiful castle.

 

36328829066_b95780ecd2_k.jpg20161017-japan (49 of 77) by Petra Graves, on Flickr

 

35538017684_93a6c5a7db_k.jpg20161017-japan (47 of 77) by Petra Graves, on Flickr

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Remarkably, the castle was never destroyed by earthquakes or war. The castle is about 600 years old and is one of the most significant wooden buildings in Japan.

You will have to take your shoes off to enter the main structure and need to climb numerous steep and narrow staircases to make your way to the top. Each level gets significantly smaller as you ascend. The top floor houses a shrine from where you have a great view of the city.

 

36373777465_98f2bd8278_k.jpg

 

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36373770255_3e37bad1db_k.jpg20161017-japan (48 of 77) by Petra Graves, on Flickr

 

The whole experience was a lot of fun and very interesting.

After the castle we decided to explore Koko-En Gardens, a wonderful traditional Japanese garden with old Samurai Houses and Koi ponds. It is absolutely beautiful there and should not be missed!

 

35976916140_f241f59e23_k.jpg20161018-DSC_0751 by Petra Graves, on Flickr

 

36373765265_f4cc9f4ad0_k.jpg20161018-DSC_0740 by Petra Graves, on Flickr

 

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We purchased a combo ticket at a discounted price for both sites at the castle.

We returned to the ship in the early evening taking JR Special Rapid Service from Himeji to Kusatsu or Tsuruga and got off the train at Sannomiya.

We had a fantastic day!

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We did the very same thing on an overnite in Kobe years ago. We always go further the first day and then stay closer on the second day. We loved the castle...as everyone can see from your lovely pictures, it was well worth the trip and the walk to get to it!

 

Linda R.

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  • 6 months later...

Am SO glad I ran across your post! We're going to overnight in Kobe next month and rather than going to Osaka the first afternoon, we decided that Himeji looked way more interesting. Your incredible descriptive narrative has now assured me that we can do this on our own. And your photos are awesome! (would love to know what you shoot with)

 

Many thanks!!

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