Engyouji and Himeji in Japan

[Shima]

So I realized after my several posts from my trip to Japan this past March, that there was still I had left over to post...

Engyouji is a really neat temple on the top of one of the hills in Himeji, you have to take a skyway car up to get there... and on top are areas where the Last Samurai was filmed. Himeji itself is best known for the castle, as it is one of the best preserved old castles in Japan.

Climbing Engyuoji there were a lot of these:
http://photos.cathoffman.com/photos/262616008_8wKsU-M-1.jpg

I love this statue of Jizo:
http://photos.cathoffman.com/photos/262624728_pzz92-M-1.jpg

This you may recognize from the Last Samurai movie:
http://photos.cathoffman.com/photos/262630437_jhifD-M-1.jpg

After our climb up Engyouji we headed over to Himeji Castle:
http://photos.cathoffman.com/photos/262650000_YhuCM-M-1.jpg

The castle from another angle:
http://photos.cathoffman.com/photos/262655845_RvuKL-M-1.jpg

Looking up can make a person feel rather small:
http://photos.cathoffman.com/photos/262662153_yX6AS-M-1.jpg

And then lastly, I would like to end on an amusing note. The grounds at Himeji Castle are flooded with cherry blossom trees (I missed cherry blossom season) but next to all the trees at the time I was there was the following sign:
http://photos.cathoffman.com/photos/262671359_wqDLN-M-1.jpg

Which translated roughly to: "The cherry blossoms are tired. Let's give them a little break." Basically, normally people sit under the trees, but the sign (and rope around the sitting areas) indicated they didn't want anyone sitting their presently, as it's not good for the roots for long periods of time.

More photos from our day in Himeji can be seen here: http://photos.cathoffman.com/Japan_March_2008/471366

Thanks for looking :)

[Spagbag]

What a fantastic castle.

Looking upwards at the eaves, it starts to resemble an iced wedding cake. :-)

[manda]

Looks like we both like visiting Japan, nice photos.

[schmoo]

I love the light in the first one. The shadows make it look so serene!

That is one impressive castle. The roof lines really add to the "stacked" features of the building itself. I'd love to see this in person sometime, maybe with a sweet colorful sunset, too.

Love the sign :thumb

[Elaine]

Love your shots of Himeji! That place is so impressive. Wish I could go back, armed with better gear and little more photo knowledge. Thanks for sharing your views!

[Shima]

Looks like we both like visiting Japan, nice photos.

Yup yup! My favorite country to visit, though I only have China and Canada to compare it with so far in regards to other countries I've been to outside the US.... :)

Your post reminded me that I still had other adventures from my trip this past March that I hadn't shared on here yet ^_^



Thanks for the lovely comments everyone! I always hate leaving Japan...

[vaio2006]

nice photos!
I checked out your galleries and i love how you put up pics of Yodobashi and Bic. (I'm more of a Yodobashi kinda guy cuz most of my points are from there)

[Awais Yaqub]

These are cool Shima !! enjoyed the trip