Hoko Garden – Himeji City

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Benjamin Martin

The Koko-en or Koko Garden is located just west of Himeji Castle in Himeji City. If you’re walking from the main train station, it is to the left of the castle grounds on the other side of the moat. According to the visitor’s pamphlet, the garden was completed in 1992 and is situated where the samurai beholden to the local domain once lived.

The day I visited, the weather was overcast, but I found the expansive garden a great place to wander. Throughout the garden grounds there are actually 9 distinct garden areas all built with Edo-era techniques. While tours are available, I wandered on my own. The diverse gardens enable you to find your own path or follow set courses. Before the Entrance to the grounds, I found many flowering trees, and cuttings of sakura and plum were displayed throughout.

I skipped past the kassui-ken restaurant and moved through the roofed corridor that gave me the first glimpse of the largest garden. Named ‘The Garden of the Lord’s Residence,’ it had a huge pond with carp, waterfall and stone bridge. The corridor passed into the Choonsai guest house in which were displayed miniaturized sakura trees.

Past a garden with square beds of various plants and flowers was the entrance to the tea ceremony garden and house. The garden was meticulously maintained, and I stopped for green tea and a snack (an extra 500 yen). Unfortunately, when I went they did not actually conduct a tea ceremony, but simply served the tea which was prepared in some other area. I believe they will conduct it with a large enough group.

After leaving the tea house, I wandered down the walled path bisecting the garden grounds. To the north is the main garden, while six other gardens lie to the south. Some were completely walled off from the others, while some were divided by rush stalks tied to poles for a less imposing divide. Most of these gardens have water running through them.

Gardens to the south include

Flatly landcaped garden
The garden of summer trees
The garden of pine trees
The garden of flowers
The garden with a hill and pond
The garden of bamboo

Overall I found the gardens almost as rewarding as Himeji Castle. If you enjoy Japanese gardens it is definitely worth the walk. If you have young children it might not be as engrossing. I went in early March and found many flowers and cool weather. I’m sure the gardens will present new sights throughout the seasons.

The cost is 300en for adults and 150en for children with hours of 9-5 (9-6 in May through August). There is an additional fee for the optional tea ceremony or restaurant.

Weekend Trip to Kansai- Kyoto

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Benjamin Martin

Since moving to Japan, I’ve lived on small islands in Okinawa Prefecture. Unlike those on the mainland, it can be hard to travel when you factor in the time and cost of having to take a boat or plane before you get to a major airport, and at least two planes to get to a major rail station. Still, after a motivating visit from ZoomingJapan and a time sale on Peach Airlines (less than 7,000 yen round trip from Naha to Kansai), I decided to make a weekend trip up to the Kansai region to visit Kyoto and Himeji.

Although I’ve been to Kansai before, I chose the region because I love the history and culture of Kyoto, the tickets were cheap, and because Himeji is the sister city of Phoenix, where I was born. My novel Samurai Awakening is also set outside of Himeji City for the same reason. With the way flights worked out, I had to fly into Naha on Thursday night to catch an early morning flight from Naha to Kansai International Airport (KIX) via Peach. I was a bit nervous about using the discount airline, but since I didn’t check a bag, things went smoothly enough. I got a seat in the first row so I had plenty of leg room as well. The flight seemed rather long for the short distance we traveled.

In Kansai, I jumped on the airport express to Shin-Osaka station, and then jumped on another train to Kyoto. I got in town right around 1:30 with the plan to do some photography and wander around the city. It promptly started raining.

I bought an umbrella from a convenience store after running around with my camera tucked into my jacket. I walked east past the art museum and sanjusangendo temple then turned north for my favorite place in Kyoto – Kiyomizu Dera. If you check out that link, you’ll find pictures from my previous trip a good 3 years ago. Though it started raining pretty well, and I was carrying my only bag, I walked the whole way. I was surprised at all the tourists despite the rain. Unfortunately, in addition to the rain, the temple was undergoing some reconstruction, still I managed to take a few decent pictures, and I enjoyed the feeling of timelessness that the surrounding forests and wood buildings seem to create, despite the crowds of umbrella toting tourists (me included of course).

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Outside the temple grounds are streets filled with stores and shops catering to the tourists. At one was an older lady baking senbei (a kind of cracker) that were flavored with cinnamon and in a unique curved shape rather than flat and round. I bough some while escaping the rain for my coworkers and was treated to tea and taste-tests of their other products as well.

After the temple, I continued my trek north, turning west to visit the Gion district. This was an area I had missed on my last trip, having had to go run and try to find a JA bank in the middle of a big city (JA is the agricultural bank of Japan) while my friends shopped. This time, the rain kept me from getting to see much. It would definitely be a great place to stroll at leisure, but perhaps not with a 20kg bag. At that point it really started pouring, so I turned south to check into my hostel near the Kyoto Station. My pants were soaked by the time I made it back.

After dropping a few things off, I went back out and jumped on the subway north to the old Kyoto Imperial Palace in the hopes to checkout another place I had missed on my last trip. By then it was dark (and still raining). SUPER CREEPY. Seriously, that is how really good horror movies start. Walk into a huge park with bad lighting and hedges cutting you off from the main street. I left disappointed and headed back south to the Nishikikoji Food Market (yet a third place I had missed). It was mostly closed.

By the time I found the street normally filled with food shops and stalls they were all closed. I wandered the area for a bit. There were plenty of side streets with other types of stores open, but by then I was starving and looking for somewhere to eat. There were okonomiyaki shops and a beef place, but in the end… I ate at Subway. It was so good.

With the rain settling down a little I returned to the hostel for a drink with random travelers at the pup next to the hostel. It was, unfortunately not a perfect day, but well worth it. Since I did most of my trip via foot the most expensive part of my Kyoto trip was the shinkansen from KIX to Kyoto, but I think that came to about 4,000 yen.

The next morning, I woke up early to continue my trip. I jumped on a few Shinkansen trains to Himeji City in Hyogo Prefecture to visit Himeji Castle and Hoko Park (I’ll share more on the park soon). That too was well worth the extra expense of the express trains as it made it about a two-hour trip to Himeji City. After touring around I returned via Shinkansen to the airport area to stay at a local hotel since I had to catch my 7am flight back to Naha on Sunday. That was the only bad thing I found about using Peach. The morning flight meant I lost all of Saturday. Still a great trip, and highly recommended.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Himeji Castle

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Benjamin Martin

Himeji Castle in Hyogo Prefecture is hailed as the most fabulous of Japan’s many castles. It is definitely the largest. I had the opportunity to visit Himeji for a half-day at the start of March in 2013. Himeji Castle is a UNESCO World Hertiage site.

Restoration

Over the past several years, the main keep of Himeji Castle has been covered by a giant scaffolding that is essentially a building that encircles the high roof. The internal structure has been reinforced to prevent earthquake damage, while the plaster and roofing tiles have been replaced or reworked for water and fire proofing.

The last major restoration of the castle was completed in 1964. This new reconstruction is similar to the first. When I visited the restoration work was nearly complete. I had the opportunity to travel to the top of the scaffolding and view the roof from the outside, a view that will disappear in 2014 as the scaffolding is disassembled and the main keep re-opened. Despite the construction work, I found the grounds beautiful and interesting. Though the inner keep is not accessible, much of the rest of the grounds were, including the West Bailey. It was a great way to spend a few hours strolling through the castle grounds and trying to snap a few photos.

Throughout the grounds there are multilingual plaques describing many aspects of the history and culture of the castle including its reconstruction and maintenance. Many crests of past lords who reigned at the castle, many worked into the roofing tiles. In the Egret’s Eye View, I was even able to observe a live demonstration of the tiling work. I’ve always found Japanese style tile roofs to be interesting, so it was great to see how they and the walls were actually put together.

Himeji Castle is located in Hyo prefecture at 68 hon-machi, Himeji, Hyogo. Hours of operation are 9 am to 4 pm (September through April) and 9 am to 5 pm (May to August). Closed December 29 and 30. The Egrets Eye closes a bit earlier.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Osaka Castle Part 2

Posted on August 24, 2012 by Benjamin Martin

Back in June, I covered some of the grounds and parks surrounding Osaka Castle. Today, I have pictures from inside the grounds and keep. Osaka Castle is full of history, but can become quite crowded as well. When I went it was in the midst of Golden Week, and the crowds meant a long line to enter the keep and almost no chance of seeing any of the displays. Although the peak of the building offers great views of Osaka, the interior of the castle is completely modern, and thus not great if you’re interested in the design and architectural aspects of Japanese Castles.

The exterior of the castle and its gardens, however, are quite nice and offer many areas to explore and learn. There are many helpful signs around in Japanese and English that provide more insight in to the history and construction of the buildings and walls.

Silver Pavilion Buildings – Kyoto

Posted on August 8, 2012 by Benjamin Martin

Last week, I shared some of the amazing sights surrounding the grounds of Kyoto’s famed Silver Pavilion. Of course, the historic building is the reason most people travel up the winding, shop laden street to the gates of the building. The Silver Pavilion started as the retreat of failed Shogun Yoshimasa in the midst of the Onin War (15th century)* and remains today as a cultural landmark.

The Pavilion is a two-story wooden structure with wood tiled roof. Unlike the gilt Golden Pavilion to the west, the Silver Pavilion’s namesake color is not caused by metal, but by nature. When you travel up into the surround forest grounds, the cypress wood roof shows off its spectacular design as the brown roof turns to bright silver in the sunlight.

In addition to being a retreat fashioned after the Golden Pavilion, it is a Zen Temple with a wide sand garden and a cylindrical sand sculpture after the form of Mt. Fuji. There are numerous paintings in the various surrounding halls as well, with the main pavilion Kannon-den and Togu-do both being National Treasures. The interior of the building is usually not open to the public, but the Silver Pavilion is a must see for any trip to Kyoto.

Visit http://www.ginkaku-ji.or.jp for more information.

Click a picture below to start a lightbox slide show!