More than a week has passed since we returned home, and the next (and last) entry is long overdue.
Yakushima’s beauty still vividly present in our minds, we continued our journey towards Okayama. As usual, the Shinkansen proofed itself as the best and most comfortable way of travelling through Japan. That’s how a train ride should feel like!
Shinkansen time!
In Okayama, we visited the black “Crow” Castle, where – thanks to a Japanese gentleman insisting we should come with him (contrary to other places, this is – mostly – not a dangerous thing to do in Japan) – we got to try on kimono. Another item checked off our list! We then went on to visit Kōrakuen, one of Japan’s most famous landscape gardens, which was truly beautiful.
Okayama Castle
Kōrakuen
Also contributing to our good memories of the beautiful little city of Okayama is the dinner experience we enjoyed in a more than lovely restaurant we discovered by accident. Asking for an English menu, we were immediately surrounded by pretty much all every employee, all chipping in, combining their English skills, to help us order the best food and drinks. Everyone was so helpful and sweet, the food was simply delicious, and the sake, served in a bamboo cup, was absolutely mouth watering. By ourselves, we then went to sing some karaoke, which was long overdue as well.
The next morning, we left our small, but cozy hotel to catch the train to Himeji where we, of course, intended to visit the famous castle. After leaving our luggage at a coin locker (best invention ever if you’re travelling as a backpacker), we managed to get ourselves an English speaking guide at the castle, something we should and wished we would have done at other castles and temples as well, as she made the tour around the castle grounds so much more interesting than it would have been if we had been walking on our own. Vividly painting pictures of feudal lords and ladies, their dramas, tragedies, and conspiracies in our heads, our guide gave us a wonderful tour. While the main castle keep is off limits at the moment due to undergoing major restoration work, it was still so worth the visit, as we got the chance to observe the fascinating restoration work in progress. Himeji is one of the few remaining original castles of feudal Japan (most castles are more or less faithful reconstructions), and it really makes a big difference if you’re visiting an original or a reconstruction, flair and ambiance wise.
Himeji castle – under restoration
We also visited Kōkoen Garden close to the castle, which was completely different from Okayama’s Kōrakuen, but no less stunning and beautiful.
Kōkoen Garden
After a short refreshment in a Hello Kitty Cafe (Hello Kitty secretly rules Japan from the shadows, I am sure of it), we met with our last Couchsurfing host, Yoshi, who took us to a nice little bar where we enjoyed sake, snacks, and nice conversations. After a good night’s sleep, Yoshi surprised us with delicious breakfast the next morning before he had to leave for work and we had to catch our train back to Osaka.
In Osaka, it was coin locker appreciation time again, when we visited the Museum of Old Japanese Farmhouses in Hattori Ryokuchi Park. The visit itself was interesting enough, but our best memory is receiving beautiful presents from a Japanese artist working in the museum.
Museum of Old Japanese Farmhouses
We also tried our first and only Japanese curry in Osaka that day. Not bad, but nothing all too overwhelming, either.
And then … then it was time to return to Nara to our first Couchsurfing host, Hiro, where we made such good memories the first time. It almost felt like returning home. We were so happy to be back. Nothing had changed, and yet, we were the ones who were different, changed and shaped by the experiences and memories we had made over the last weeks. When we went to the public bath once again, there was no shame, no awkwardness anymore. We knew what to do, and we were proud we did. Hiro, being the awesome Couchsurfing host that he is, immediately offered to take us to an Izakaya (a traditional Japanese bar), the one thing we had not yet been able to cross off our list. The tiny, back alley place we went to has to be the greatest Izakaya in Nara. What a nice evening (and the best sake ever) we enjoyed there in the company of Hiro and his lovely friend Yuka. We then continued the sampling of Japanese liquors in a stylish bar where I ordered “something really Japanese” and got served a Matcha Whiskey Cocktail.
The next day, we took the train to Mount Koya, where we would spend our last night in Japan in style, namely Shukubo – temple lodging. On Mt. Koya, the center of Japanese Shingon Buddhism, you can spend the night at one of the numerous temples, participating in daily temple rituals like meditation, sutra writing, or morning fire ritual. Needless to say that we did all of those. Our temple and room were simply gorgeous, I’d be ready to move in there at any given moment. Never before had the futon been so comfy, the view so pretty, and the food (a special type of vegetarian Buddhist cuisine called shojin ryori) so delicious. Well, except for Hiro’s crepes, maybe, but, seriously, shojin ryori is breathtaking.
After our magnificent dinner, we took a stroll to Okunoin, an impressive and large cemetery, which was illuminated beautifully at night. (We still returned the next morning, to take some pictures in daylight.)
Okunoin cemetery – by night and by day
We slept well, but way too short, as we stayed up late, talking to a group of German martial artists who also stayed at our temple, and we had to get up early the next day to watch the goma fire ritual. The temple stay, while pricey, was well worth the money and made a wonderful, crowning last night and conclusion to our journey.
Morning fire ritual
Since our flight would not depart before nightfall, we had decided to treat ourselves to something else before leaving: a Noh performance in Osaka. Noh is a form of classical Japanese musical drama where the main characters are masked. Hiro had helped us reserving the tickets, and we were already expected when we arrived at the theater, being once again the only gaijin in sight. If they hadn’t prepared pages and pages of English introductions for us about both the play and Noh itself, we would have been completely lost, that’s for sure. The performance isn’t something we will forget anytime soon, but the mindless (but oh so relaxing) shopping activities we indulged in afterwards were most needed.
With melancholy overcoming us, we had to get our luggage and finally go to the airport, where we arrived just in time for boarding. I began the journey with just a backpack of 12 kg, and I went home with an overall weight of 29.1 kg (my newly bought pink suitcase included). Brooding about when I will get the chance to visit Japan again, I would not want to part with a single souvenir I bought, though.
We spent the flight to Dubai in complete darkness and had just enough time to enjoy a little snack in the same little airport restaurant we met at 5 weeks ago before we had to say goodbye to one another and catch our continuing flights home.
Thank you, Japan, for 5 incredible weeks, for fulfilling and surpassing all our expectations. We will see you again, someday.