Adventures in Himeji

Hiroshima

The sky got grey. And it seems like it chose to rain everywhere I'm going. But I'll have to live with it.

Should have trusted my instinct, when I got in Hiroshima under the sun, and should have gone directly to Miyajima, where is the famous Floating Tori. From there, I wanted to climb a mountain, the Misen, to appreciate the view.

But I decided to push it back to the next day. One afternoon would be too short... But the next day, it was raining. I waited under a small roof, in front of the Floating Tori (covered for renovations), but it wouldn't stop. So I traveled back to Hiroshima.

One day later, I left for Himeji. The only directions I had to get to my hostel : from the train station, walk for 20 minutes.

So I took a taxi, hoping not to get lost. It was 9 PM. But the driver didn't know where was my hostel.

He decided to stop randomly in the middle of an alley. Rang one house door bell. The people living there got out and gave him directions. But it didn't look like he understood. So one woman got in the car with us and helped us get to the destination.

There, it wasn't really a hostel, but more of a guesthouse. A real japanese house, a 100 years old, where you sleep on the floor in the most traditionnal way. It looks like they are Japenese welcoming people in their house.

You know you're not in a commercial hostel when the owner hugs you before you go, and when he waits on the sidewalk, waving at you while you walk away.

Other than that, Himeji has nothing very special. Especially (that is my luck) since its castle, the real attraction there, is closed for renovations until 2015. Scaffolds again. Not allowed to walk in.

After, I got in Kyoto, where it should rain for two days. And like everywhere else, I was told I should visit the aquarium. They are obsessed with aquariums in here. 

Getting in Japon

Like in New Zealand, you need to have bought a ticket to get out of Japan to be allowed in. Having had trouble at the beggining of this trip, I had everything with me. But nobody asked for it.

Vietnam visa

A visa is necessary to get in Vietnam and you need to obtain it before arriving in the airport. So I used the website myvietnamvisa.com. Very efficient, for a small fee, you get a letter which confirms the visa was granted. You then need to exchange that letter against the visa itself once you get in the airport. Crossing my fingers for everything to work well.

The Golden Week

My luck! Don't buy any lottery ticket for the week-end. Without even choosing the numbers, I know I'll win. Because I have an incredible luck. Really!

You might remember the Melbourne Grand Prix? Here I am in a similar situation, in Japan, because of the Golden week. In fact, the Japanese have holidays on April 29 th and May 3, 4 and 5. Most take the whole week off and travel, get to tourist attractions and use transportation... in their own country. And to top it all, the prices get higher because of it.

Guess who is gonna get in Japan and will be stuck somewhere because of the Golden week? Meeee!

It takes what it takes. I fortunately found out about that two days ago. Using my time while the rain was falling over Beijing, I rushed to the non-censored internet to book hostels.

My original plan holds : two days in Osaka, one night in Hiroshima and one night in Himeji. No problem there. Where I am getting in trouble is Kyoto, where I wanted to spend 5 or 6 days. Everything goes for the first two. But the next two days : nothing. No hostel anywhere. Except in female dorms. Not good for me.

So I booked in Osaka, less than 40 minutes away by train, and I will take a return trip in the morning and in the evening to go back to Kyoto. Unless someone from Couchsurfing answers my request. But for now, everybody declined... because Japanese won't be home on these dates, obviously.

I just take a deep breath, I wait, and I'll see.

On another subject, I am now thinking about the flight I need to book to get back home in August. Because the one-way ticket from Argentina or Brazil, to Montreal, has a long stopover. I'm thinking of taking some "vacations" for four or five days on my way back home. Maybe in Cuba. Maybe in Puerto Rico. Suggestions?