Hogwarts to Gifu, via Hikone WTRD 30 & 31, October 3-4, 2017

We decided to take a break from Japanese history and do something really different on Tuesday.  We left Hikone and jumped on a train to Osaka to Universal Studios Japan.  We had high hopes that a cloudy Tuesday might not be so crowded.  Well, those hopes may have paid off because we don't know what the crowds are usually like, but it seemed pretty packed to us.  Halloween is big here in Japan and many folks were dressed in costumes for the occasion.  We had a lot of fun visiting the different areas of the park and loved the Harry Potter ride through Hogwarts.

This Dad doesn't want to lose his kid in the crowd.

This kid found some breathing room on the crowded train.

Covered Main Street

Harry Potter's Village of Witchcraft and Wizardry

All Aboard for Hogwarts

Reflection of Hogwarts

Perspective building makes this building look bigger and higher than it is.

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San Francisco

New York

We had fun watching people having lots of fun.

We returned from a day of fantasy back to Hikone by 9:30, totally exhilarated and exhausted.  

When we woke up this morning, the clouds were starting to thin and blow out of the area.  It was windy and cold as we walked back to the Hikone castle and Lake Biwa, the largest fresh water lake in Japan.  If you read Monday's post, it was raining so hard we postponed a visit to the castle until Wednesday when the forecast showed clearing skies.

Making our train reservations for Gifu at the station first thing in the morning, we checked out of the hotel, stored our bags at the desk, and walked to the castle.  We climbed the hill, walked around and enjoyed the views from the castle tower.  

The wind on Lake Biwa was stirring up the water with white caps. 

The Hikone castle is small compared to other castles, but still impressive.  Stairways from one level of the tower to the next are really, really steep, more like a ladder.   People were struggling going down the steep stairs.  Russ and I turned around like you do on a boat, and went down backwards.  A few people saw us and followed our example.

Our train left for Gifu at 1:30.  We picked up our bags at the hotel, bought some ready made sandwiches, and stopped at a bank to get some cash.  The ATM wouldn't take our debit cards.  This is the first time we have had this problem.  We were directed to see a teller.  From the lobby we walked into  the main part of the bank with many clerks and other employees working at their desks.  There were only a few customers in the bank.  

What surprised us the most was that all of the people working at their desks stood up and welcomed us with bow and a verbal greeting "Irasshaimase", and a representative came out from behind the tellers window to talk with us.  We thought at first it was because we were obviously foreigners, but it was a greeting they extended to each customer who comes in. 

The staff was very pleasant and helpful, but could not help us with the debit cards.  Their bank was not setup to take cards even though the machine had an English option.  Russ finally pulled out some of our emergency dollars and exchanged a few hundred.  All was good.  Tomorrow is the last day of our two week Japan Rail pass.  We have enjoyed having this pass and traveling on the trains.  We arrived in Gifu about 2:30, and walked to our hotel a few blocks away.  It's a lovely city from what we can see so far.

Large, sweet smell of a non-smoking room.

We will spend the night here, and tomorrow morning will take a train to Kanayama to meet our Friendship Force Hosts for the coming week.

All is Well with the Worrall Travel R's in Gifu, Japan.

Hikone and Lake Biwa, WTRD 29, October 2, 2017

It's raining.  We dash to the train station as we do not have rain covers for the luggage.  We say goodbye to Himeji.  Here are a few final shots of Himeji we took at the train station last night while looking foe a geocache. (Yes, we found the geocache, too)

Himeji Castle in nightime magenta

This is someone's little camping castle...a little too small for us.

We arrived in Hikone after changing trains three times about noon.  Our hotel was across from the train station.  It was too early for us to check in so we dropped the bags at the hotel, borrowed a second umbrella (we already had one), and struck out to do some exploring despite the rain.

Our first stop was a large supermarket.  We've been doing our shopping in convenience stores close to the train station.  They have little in the way of fresh vegetables and fruits, so we were happy to see that the supermarket did.  After exploring the aisles for products unfamiliar to us, we bought some sweet red apples and headed toward the castle.

Lotus Root

Green onions with 2 foot stems

Beautiful apples

Not sure what these are?

High Fat Marbled Beef - Ohmi is popular here.

Sandwich spread in tubes, maybe egg, tuna, something green?

Sashimi

Americans love cheese - small selection of  cheeses in the convenience and supermarkets

About a quarter of the way around the castle, we came to a street with several restaurants and decided it was time to eat lunch.  The street looked like downtown Santa Barbara.  The rain was clearing the sidewalks of people.

W We tried the Ohmi beef and chicken and really enjoyed our lunch.

The Ohmi-Gyu Beef

The rain had still not let up by the time we finished lunch, and we lost our enthusiasm for the castle and the grounds, postponing this part of our trip until Wednesday morning when it should be clearing.  Instead we just walked all the way to the lake Biwa and 360 degrees around the perimeter of the castle.

The land around the castle is extensive with a 4 km circumference and two moats

 Neighborhood Shrine

Lake Biwa

We returned to our hotel pretty damp after we had walked about 5 miles , and checked in.  Our hotel rooms have gotten smaller and smaller.  This one was billed as a non-smoking, standard double.  Sounded good, but they forgot to tell us it was for Thumbelina! 

The double bed was pushed tight against the window wall with less than a foot of space between the foot of the bed and the foot wall.  There was a sliver of real estate about two feet wide between the bed and the desk.  A skinny hallway with the door to tiny bathroom, and a doorless slot closet big enough for a broom.  There was literally no space for people and luggage in this room.  It was smaller than our bedroom on our boat.  Geez!  

Russ went down to the front desk to enquire if there were any larger rooms available.  There was one, but it was a smoking room.  We decided to see how bad it smelled.  It didn't smell great, but holy smokes there was enough room for two of us to stand up and walk around at the same time without one of us being on the bed or in the bathroom,  and floor space for the luggage too, and places to hang our damp clothing; so we booked it and changed rooms.  The air conditioner and dehumidifier are keeping the air circulating and it feels fresher.

The little restaurant downstairs looked good for dinner, so we gave it a try and it was excellent.  Again we tried the Ohmi beef burger patty.  It melts in the mouth there is so much fat.  It is served seared and raw in the middle.  If it were cooked the fat would totally melt out.  We also tried the roast pork.

So tomorrow, we are taking a break from sight seeing, and I'm skipping the blog.  We've decided to go to Osaka and enjoy a day at Universal Studios.  It's supposed to rain part of the day and then clear in the afternoon.  We are hoping that the rain will keep the crowds low.

All is well with the Worrall Travel R's in Hikone, Japan.