Himeji and Mt. Shosha

On October 27th we went to Himeji and Mount Shosha. It was a really neat experience but I think it was the most expensive trip I made. Although, now that I think about it, it wasn't that bad, I loved both places but I wish we would've had more time to enjoy it completely. We had to rush Shosha because the castle at Himeji closed at 5pm. Anyway, took a bunch of pics. I've forgotten the names of the temples and such and I'm sleepy...sorry.

The ticket from Umeda station to Himeji. about $14, one way. overall i spent about $40 round trip to Himeji, it's about a 2 hr trip. But it was definitely worth it.

Umeda station, so many people! It's crazy because it gets so crowded everytime a train arrives, it's kind of interesting because everyone looks the same. There's so little individuality here.

Ciesta. I think they had partied the night before. It was a pretty long ride though so maybe they just wanted time to pass by quickly. It's funny because Jean-Phi (this guy) and Francois(the other Belgian) were all afraid when we (Mexicans) greeted them with a hug at the beginning of the semester but now they'll do it on their own. I think they'll miss it once they go back home. I know I will...

ocean!

Francois!!

This is the longest bridge in Japan. I forgot where it goes and what it's called

Himejoi station

On the bus towards Mt. Shosha

Mt. Shosha bus station

Jean-Phi and I were pretending that our umbrellas were swords, Majo pulled hers out and it broke, hahaha. poor majo

the three musketeers?

map Mt. Shosha. Part of the movie The Last Samurai with Tom Cruise was filmed here. I don't remember any scene from the movie so I'm not sure where it was. Since we were rushing we didn't get to see everything so it's possible that we didn't even see the place where they filmed. If that's the case I'll be a little disappointed.

My first time on one of these. They called them ropeway here I don't know its name in the U.S. or Mexico. Shame on me...

Finally in Mt. Shosha

These fountains are so cool!

At the top of that huge temple. The inside wasn't so big, it looked bigger from outside.

Cool tree

Majo bought one of those prayer signs, they usually hang outside temples

Ijozosan, they are children dieties.

Some ladies picking plants. I'm guessing they are medicinal or something. Reminded me of the Mexican tradition of making medicinal teas; reminded me of my grandmas.

This place used to be a retreat for monks a long time ago. It's a museum now.

the way back

outside Himeji Castle

It's huge! The weather was prefect this day.

more cool trees

we had to take our shoes off on the way in. They gave us a plastic bag to put our shoes in.

On top of the castle. It was really windy and it felt really good when we got near the windows.

this is where people committed seppuku (suicide) in order to die an honorable death. I believe they also killed prisoners here. Their heads were cut where that rock in the center is.

we walked by a kimono shop. I thought this was really cute

Found some Mexico shoes at a soccer shop