More Japan

After leaving Hiroshima, Jen and I headed toward Kyoto. On our way we stopped off in a small town to see Himeji Castle. It's reputed to be the largest "fuedal" castle in all of Japan. Of all the castle's I've seen in Japan, or Europe for that matter, Himeji Castle is definitely the most impressive. It is absolutely beautiful.

The pictures below show the main tower. There is also a fairly large grounds with lots of other buildings, but the tower dominates. You can also see some of the moats around the castle. You can also see how the main tower rises far above the rest of the city. At one time, the entire city was a big castle with moats and walls around the outside. The Japanese cities of the middle ages were MUCH more impressive than those in Europe.

This last picture shows Jen pretending to shoot an arrow out of one of the arrow holes. Let's just say it's a good thing we were born in the 20th century.