Sunday October 21, 2007: Bullet Train to Himeji

We checked out of the Tokyo Prince Hotel and headed to Tokyo Station to catch the bullet train to Himeji, a 3 hour train ride. The train was really clean and comfortable. There is a stewardess who walks down the aisles periodically with a refreshment cart. We passed by the cities of Kyoto, Kobe, and Osaka and even caught a glimpse of Mount Fuji. Our group coordinator, Kato-San, told us to gather our luggage and to be prepared to exit the train quickly since it only stopped for a minute in Himeji. We then took a chartered bus to our hotel, Himeji Castle Hotel, just minutes away from the train station. I’m looking forward to the free Internet and coin laundry there.

There are several notable differences between western and Japanese hotels. In Japanese hotels:

1. A yukata (traditional cotton robe w/ obi) is always placed on your bed.
2. You will find a flashlight by your bedside in case we lose power in an earthquake. (In my hotel room here in Himeji, there is some sort of orange mask located in a safety box…not sure what it is since the instructions are only in Japanese.)

3. There is always a "tea station" with a hot water pot, tea cups, and a variety of tea.
4. A copy of The Teaching of Buddha can be found next to a copy of the Bible.
5. The toilets have many functions (seat warmer, bidet, etc.).

After getting settled in to the hotel room, we set off for the Nada Festival (Nada Matsuri) at Usuki Shrine. Although we received directions from Kato-San, it was almost impossible to tell where our subway stops were since nothing is written in English (like it is in Tokyo). Luckily, there were 2 teenage girls on the subway with us that were headed to the same festival so we just followed them. We got there just as the sun was setting and in time to see the procession of the 3 portable shrines carried by men. These portable shrines (palanquins) each traveled down different streets eventually meeting in the front of the shrine. Once there, they “fight” by colliding into one another since it is believed that the collisions please the gods. As we followed the procession of the portable shrine, many Japanese stopped to practice their English with us. Unlike Tokyo (which is full of foreign tourists), we really stood out here in Himeji.

At the festival, there were many food stalls that lined the street reminding me of a town fair in the states. I tried these gooey dough balls with veggies, octopus, and some kind of black sauce. It was very good but it was probably the worst thing I could’ve ordered that night. The crowds here were the worst I’ve ever experienced. We were all literally shoulder to shoulder. After finishing my “octopus balls,” I realized there was no garbage can in sight…when I asked a man at a food stall, he handed me a plastic bag to put my garbage in and I carried it in my purse the entire night. The police were very visible that night but their efforts to push back the crowd were futile. At one point, our group separated since some of us needed to use the bathroom which was located next to the shrine. After our bathroom visit (coed bathroom!), we could not make it back to our group because it was so crowded. (One of the ladies in my group felt a kid reach into her purse so she was quick enough to stop him from stealing something.) We finally reached the front of the shrine in time to see one of the portable shrines stop directly in front of us. The men began swaying the shrine side to side…we really thought we were going to be hit since we were so close. Somehow, we reunited with our group and called it a night. Thankfully, we began chatting with a man on the subway platform as we were waiting and found that he was going the same way. He kindly offered to be our guide, we exchanged business cards with him (he seemed so honored to receive these and studied them carefully before putting them away), and he apologized that he did not have time to take us out for dinner (what an offer after having just met us!).