I got to visit Himeji city by using my Japan rail pass and see my old friend there. Himeji city has this beautiful castle built in the early 17th century and it is registered as the World Cultural Heritage. It is simply amazing.

From my hometown Takamatsu, I first got on Marin Liner which goes across the Great Seto Bridge (Seto Ohashi) to go to Okayama prefecture. I used to ride this train everyday to go to high school.

From the window:

Marin Liner goes under the bridge:

In this Seto Inland Sea (Seto Naikai), almost 3,000 islands are located! It might be hard to see in these pictures, but you can see many of them from the train.

I love seeing ocean:

From Okayama, I rode Shinkansen again:

and here I was, in Himeji.

Around castle:

Himeji Castle:

Going into the Castle area:

Panoramic picture (click to see a larger image)

You can go all the way to the top of the castle, but I didn’t have time this time…