Himeji Castle: Outlasting Time
Most people instinctively correlate Japanese castles with Osaka Castle, and for good reason because well it's stunning. But did you know it was a replica? Allied forces bombed it in WW2. So with my limited time in the region, I hopped on the Shinkansen in Osaka and took a 40 minute trip to Himeji for their castle because it is the REAL DEAL. The castle is regarded as the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, comprising a network of 83 rooms with advanced defensive systems from the feudal period and one of the very few castles in the country that hasn't been destroyed or heavily damaged by fire, weather, or war. It's also the most visited castle in Japan.
Getting the shot required some walking and logistics. I made a bit of a trek to a different park on an opposing hill that required climbing 200 steep steps. Not a big deal under normal circumstances, but I had injured my back working out in Osaka the day before. When I woke up that morning it took every ounce of willpower and some prayers to every God in the pantheon to get out of bed. I almost cried putting on my socks and tying my shoes. Every step I took was sheer agony. Sitting for too long, such as on a train turned the whole thing into rigor mortis, and carrying my 40lb camera bag didn't exactly make things easier. At the base of the steps I encountered an older man who I figured to be about 60 and was pleasantly surprised when he spoke to me in English as I was pretty deep into a part of town where only locals seemed to gather, and my experience in Japan taught me to expect English only in areas of high concentration of tourists. The man was in great spirits and bragging about all the exercise he'd already done that day and that he was going to run another kilometer just for the hell of it. Meanwhile, there I was, half his age terrified of a staircase .
This injury occured right in the middle of my trip, and I spent my last two weeks in the country hobbling around, likely weirding out the locals as the grunting, cursing "gaijin." I went through a great deal of physical pain to get this shot, but if you want comfort, hug your dog. In my civilian life, I spare no opportunity to be lazy af. But when you put a shot on the line, I conjure a sense of grit and pain tolerance I can't will myself to replicate if I am not jacked up on adrenaline.
My suffering was rewarded with low lying fog and an illuminated castle framed by a dramatic twilight sky.
Most people instinctively correlate Japanese castles with Osaka Castle, and for good reason because well it's stunning. But did you know it was a replica? Allied forces bombed it in WW2. So with my limited time in the region, I hopped on the Shinkansen in Osaka and took a 40 minute trip to Himeji for their castle because it is the REAL DEAL. The castle is regarded as the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, comprising a network of 83 rooms with advanced defensive systems from the feudal period and one of the very few castles in the country that hasn't been destroyed or heavily damaged by fire, weather, or war. It's also the most visited castle in Japan.
Getting the shot required some walking and logistics. I made a bit of a trek to a different park on an opposing hill that required climbing 200 steep steps. Not a big deal under normal circumstances, but I had injured my back working out in Osaka the day before. When I woke up that morning it took every ounce of willpower and some prayers to every God in the pantheon to get out of bed. I almost cried putting on my socks and tying my shoes. Every step I took was sheer agony. Sitting for too long, such as on a train turned the whole thing into rigor mortis, and carrying my 40lb camera bag didn't exactly make things easier. At the base of the steps I encountered an older man who I figured to be about 60 and was pleasantly surprised when he spoke to me in English as I was pretty deep into a part of town where only locals seemed to gather, and my experience in Japan taught me to expect English only in areas of high concentration of tourists. The man was in great spirits and bragging about all the exercise he'd already done that day and that he was going to run another kilometer just for the hell of it. Meanwhile, there I was, half his age terrified of a staircase .
This injury occured right in the middle of my trip, and I spent my last two weeks in the country hobbling around, likely weirding out the locals as the grunting, cursing "gaijin." I went through a great deal of physical pain to get this shot, but if you want comfort, hug your dog. In my civilian life, I spare no opportunity to be lazy af. But when you put a shot on the line, I conjure a sense of grit and pain tolerance I can't will myself to replicate if I am not jacked up on adrenaline.
My suffering was rewarded with low lying fog and an illuminated castle framed by a dramatic twilight sky.
Most people instinctively correlate Japanese castles with Osaka Castle, and for good reason because well it's stunning. But did you know it was a replica? Allied forces bombed it in WW2. So with my limited time in the region, I hopped on the Shinkansen in Osaka and took a 40 minute trip to Himeji for their castle because it is the REAL DEAL. The castle is regarded as the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, comprising a network of 83 rooms with advanced defensive systems from the feudal period and one of the very few castles in the country that hasn't been destroyed or heavily damaged by fire, weather, or war. It's also the most visited castle in Japan.
Getting the shot required some walking and logistics. I made a bit of a trek to a different park on an opposing hill that required climbing 200 steep steps. Not a big deal under normal circumstances, but I had injured my back working out in Osaka the day before. When I woke up that morning it took every ounce of willpower and some prayers to every God in the pantheon to get out of bed. I almost cried putting on my socks and tying my shoes. Every step I took was sheer agony. Sitting for too long, such as on a train turned the whole thing into rigor mortis, and carrying my 40lb camera bag didn't exactly make things easier. At the base of the steps I encountered an older man who I figured to be about 60 and was pleasantly surprised when he spoke to me in English as I was pretty deep into a part of town where only locals seemed to gather, and my experience in Japan taught me to expect English only in areas of high concentration of tourists. The man was in great spirits and bragging about all the exercise he'd already done that day and that he was going to run another kilometer just for the hell of it. Meanwhile, there I was, half his age terrified of a staircase .
This injury occured right in the middle of my trip, and I spent my last two weeks in the country hobbling around, likely weirding out the locals as the grunting, cursing "gaijin." I went through a great deal of physical pain to get this shot, but if you want comfort, hug your dog. In my civilian life, I spare no opportunity to be lazy af. But when you put a shot on the line, I conjure a sense of grit and pain tolerance I can't will myself to replicate if I am not jacked up on adrenaline.
My suffering was rewarded with low lying fog and an illuminated castle framed by a dramatic twilight sky.
