Oniisanbomber's Blog

Japan Trip – March 2025 – Part 3 (Himeji)

22nd of May, 2025

It was time to explore Himeji in earnest!

On a side note, I wanted to break down the cost of the hotels in Himeji.

It turns out that hotel chains in Tokyo have been allegedly colluding to raise prices together instead of competing. If these allegations are true, there may be some dire consequences. But then again…big business in Japan is powerful, if you know what I mean.

Anyway, as a possible result of this alleged collusion, hotel rates have gone through the sky coupled with the explosion in tourism post-pandemic.

One night at the APA Higashi Shinjuku Hotel in Tokyo will cost around 21,000 - 25,000 yen for the cheapest room.

I was staying at the Richmond Hotel in Himeji. It’s one step above APA in terms of “luxury.” I guess if APA is Volkswagen, then Himeji is Audi. Or something like that.

For the same cost of one night at APA in Tokyo, I was able to get three nights at Richmond in Himeji.

Plus, the room in Himeji was around four times bigger.

If you’re coming to Japan, I would recommend you skip Tokyo if possible. You will get so much more for so much less outside of Tokyo.

Anyway, enough of that.

After getting out of bed, I went to McDonald’s at Himeji station for breakfast. Don’t judge me, I had a big hike coming up. And my personal rule is that before any hike, one must consume a Sausage and Egg McMuffin with a hash brown.

Where was I going to be hiking?

I was going to go up the mountain to visit Engyoji, the temple where they filmed The Last Samurai, starring Tom Cruise.

(On a side note, The Last Samurai suffers from the white savior trope, but despite that, I still enjoyed the movie. The white savior trope was a bit cringe to see, but it was a movie done with real sincerity. It feels like Hollywood is unable to do these kinds of historical epics these days. The quality of the writing just isn’t there anymore, in my opinion.)

It is possible to go up to Engyoji by cable car, but that was closed since it was the off-season. It is usually open in the summer and in the autumn.

I was going to take a bus to the place where l can start climbing the mountain, but honestly, navigating the Japanese bus system is really hard, so I took a taxi.

It’s really expensive to take a taxi, but it also saves a lot of time.

And time was of the essence since I only had one day to explore Himeji.

The taxi driver and I had a little chat about the cable car being closed and he asked if I was sure about going there, and I said I would hike up.

The start of the hiking path is wedged deep inside a residential neighborhood, so if you want to do the same thing, I’d recommend going by taxi. It will really save you a lot of time.

The view of Himeji was…well, quite normal when hiking up. The view is nothing special. It was when we got closer to the temple that the magic started.

While hiking up, I met a lot of retired old folks who were doing a morning hike. They barely broke a sweat while I had to take regular breaks. These people are more fit than me. Maybe wrinkles equal strength in this world.

I asked one local old man how far it was up to the temple.

He said, “Ichi-pon” (pronounced e-pon), which roughly translates into “one full point.” As far as I knew, it was a term used in Judo when you scored a point against an opponent. He spoke the local dialect, so honestly, I didn’t understand much of what he said. I guess “one full point” just means one hour?

I thanked him and moved on.

To get to the top, you have to walk through the local cable car mid-station and then the magic begins.

After the entrance gate, the path is decorated with Buddhist stone statues. There was the Chinese Guan Yin (I think) and also many other statues of the Buddha’s students? I’m not really sure, to be honest.

Simply put, it was a magical sight even though I knew very little about religion.

And then the big one. Their place where they filmed The Last Samurai.

Words won’t do it justice, so here are some pictures.

After having explored everything I could, I was starting to get hungry and was also almost out of water. I began to make my way down.

I was in the middle of nowhere, so unlike at Himeji station, there were no taxis waiting for me, ready to whisk me away in return for a deep bite out of my wallet.

I had to take a local bus.

However it was much easier to take the bus out here than at the station – because there was one bus line going through this rural area. At the station, there were multiple bus routes and unlike in Tokyo, in the south they don’t like to use numbers for their bus lines. Instead, they use names written in kanji, and it is insanely difficult for foreigners to navigate.

While sitting on the bench and waiting for the bus, I noticed how quiet the road was. Even though I was in a small town, there was nothing and no one around. The road, I noted, also felt perfect. Perfectly flat and smooth and clean. It was the embodiment of proper maintenance and care. This is what perfection looks like.

And yet, this quiet little town, this quiet little road…it all felt a bit cold and lonely.

Perfection does not mean kindness.

Perhaps kindness even disturbs perfection.

Finally, the bus arrived.

Now, for those coming in from Tokyo, it is important to note that people from Tokyo and people from the south detest each other.

They do many things differently, even though Japan is a country that prizes conformity above all else.

In Tokyo, you get on the bus at the front and swipe your Suica transport card and it will deduct the fee from your card (alternatively, you can also pay using cash, but no change will be provided).

In southern Japan, you get on the bus through the back (the middle door). Upon boarding the bus, you pull a ticket from the machine on your left-hand side. This ticket will have a number on it, indicating the zone from which you boarded the bus.

Keep this ticket. It’s very important.

At the front of the bus, there is a screen that will show the price you have to pay depending on the zone you boarded when you get off. These prices will increase as you travel further and further.

In the end, I paid around 370 yen (if I remember correctly).

The buses in the south are usually quite old and very well maintained. It really felt like stepping into the past.

I remember the very first time I boarded a bus in the south, it was in Kagoshima with a friend. Neither of us took a ticket because we had no idea that such a system existed. We assumed it would just be like in Tokyo (both in Hong Kong and Singapore, you board at the front and swipe your card).

In the end, we just dumped a bunch of coins into the cash machine when we got off the bus and hoped it would be enough. The bus driver back then in Kagoshima probably thought we were a bunch of dumb foreigners and let us go – and in truth, we were two dumb foreigners.

Anyway, let’s get on with the Himeji story. The Kagoshima trip from 2019 will get its own blog post one day.

After making it back to Himeji city, I had eel rice at the local shopping arcade.

It cost over 2500 yen since eel rice is quite expensive. It even came with an eel egg roll. It was really delicious!

After that, I was ready to go back to the hotel and sleep. But I had one more thing to do!

Himeji Castle.

I’ve already covered Himeji Castle in a different blog post.

While walking around Himeji Castle, I couldn’t help but think that thousands of years ago, for the people living back then, this castle was real. It was the seat of power and not a tourist attraction. To them, it was “real” the same way the White House and Westminster in London are “real” to us. And now, it is no longer “real.” Its “realness” washed away in a world that is completely divorced from the world that existed back then.

Imagine if a thousand years from now, people toured the White House and the Oval Office as a tourist attraction, going in and out with a simple ticket purchase, the society having completely moved on – and moved on so far that it almost has no more relation with the society that had the White House as its seat of power.

And yet, the main roads that stretch out from Himeji Castle are the same ones that existed all those centuries ago. Everything was different, and yet some things remained.

Funny enough, the ancient walls of the city are scattered throughout the area surrounding the castle. Just sitting there, like a constant rock in the river of time.

Regardless, the castle was breathtaking.

After Himeji Castle, it was time to go to the hotel and shower. After a brief nap, I went to Freshness Burger inside Himeji Station for a quick dinner.

Japanese hamburgers are something else.

Next time: Exploring Kobe!

– Oniisanbomber