Osaka Marathon 2019- Post Marathon @ Kobe & Himeji Castle (3rd December)

For the second day of post marathon touring, I'm heading further away to Kobe region to the famous Himeji castle. I woke up a bit later today and I was glad the weather was much better when I was finally out after onsen around 11am. I finally found the Komeda's coffee which was actually really just next to our hotel. I tried it in Nagoya and had good impression of getting a really nice breakfast at this chain. Anyway, it was already after their breakfast time so I had to go for the lunch menu. I took the combo below as I loved their bread with red bean (azuki) paste. Komeda originated from Nagoya and I think the bread in Nagoya tasted better as it was toasted, anyway three of those breads with bean paste was really too filling for me and I could only finish two.

Found my Komeda's

The brunch

Saw this with Himeji Castle as the backdrop

Nice and magnificient castle

It was already past 3pm when I finally got to the castle. It took me around 2 h or so to get there by train as I got a bit lost and the journey took longer than usual. There was another 20 min or so of walking from the station, but I could already see the castle once I stepped out of the station so it was easy to find my way there. The castle closes at 5pm during winter and the last entrance was an hour before that so I really got there just in time. However, the trip was worth it and it was nice to tour when there was no crowd and the sun was setting so I could see it in different lightings.

The main entrance to the castle

Another shot with the autumn bare trees

Bought my tickets to go in 

A closer look with paid entrance

Quite well maintained

I've been to the vicinity of Osaka and Nagoya castles during my races but I've not went into those as a visiting tourist. Himeji is worth a visit for me as it is the most spectacular castle in the country. I've visited Shuri castle in Naha a few years ago but the whole design and layout is really different, Shuri castle design is very much influenced by Chinese close to the region so it looked very different from the typical Japanese castles. Anyways, I love to visit these sites alone and not with a group, I did not really take my time to read all the info at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial museum as it was quite crowded and I had to more or less follow the pace of my friends. But this time, I could explore the place slowly on my own. There was a big group of high school students and quite a few tourists when I entered the castle grounds, but it was not that crowded.

I'm inspired by how neatly they presented the shoe covers

Photos from the top level as the sun is setting

Another view from the top

I slowly climbed up to the topmost level while reading all the signage boards about the history of the castle on every level. Some of the steps were very steep but I was impressed by the elderly who managed to go up with me. It was quite an enjoyable thing to do and slowly take in the knowledge when I'm alone. The sun was setting when I reached the highest level so I could see the skyline of the city area in a different glow, so it was really nice.

Another neat presentation of toilet rolls by the Japanese

One last look at the magnificient castle in the setting sun

After I got down from the top levels, I visited the washroom and bade farewell to the castle. I must say it's quite well maintained inside and from the info provided, the maintenance works are ongoing to keep the 400 years old building looking so good. As I was walking back to the station, the sky was already getting dark as nightfall is at 4.30pm during winter times. As I would pass Kobe on my way back to Osaka, I plan to visit the city area around the Motomachi station and get my dinner there.

Looks good but the taste was disappointing, too sweet!

 Nankinmachi

Another entrance

The central area of nankinmachi street

I have seen from some Youtube channels there are some interesting food at Nankinmachi and I was rather disappointed to see that all the stores were closing when I finally reached the area as it was almost 7pm. There were hardly any patrons around the place. Another Otaru experience! I kept forgetting that in Japan most places are clearing up by 7pm except for the main cities and I always got to these places too late. I checked out several eateries on Tripadvisor as I wanted to try the famous Kobe beef but quite a few of these places were also closing by the time I navigated my way there. Whatttt...

Had beef for dinner but not kobe beef

Honestly, I feel disappointed due to the anticipation for good beef dinner and I was tired from all the walking around the place. I did not want to pay $100 SGD just to try the top notch Kobe beef but I thought I'll get a taste of it from one of the shops here. Anyway, it was close to 9pm when I finally got dinner, I ended up in a shop closer to the station after looking at the shopfront and some random reviews. At least the place was selling beef steak, though it wasnt kobe beef. I guess there might be a chance I'll be back in Kobe again since there is this 遗憾 this time round. No biggie though.

Decided to get one of those since it's apparently famous

Piping hot and it was real good!

As I was looking for dinner, I saw groups of people gathered around this store. After dinner, I realised the store is just next to my dinner place so I walked closer to get a look. Apparently, this shop is famous for selling Taiyaki, Japanese fish shaped pancake with azuki bean paste inside. I decided to stop and get one although there was a queue (Singaporeans are trained to follow the crowd in such situation). Once I got the snack in my hand, I had to walk and eat at the same time as it was getting late and I did not want to miss the next train. I know Japanese would frown at that but I must say the taste of the Taiyaki against the cold chilly wind was really really good, it was worth all the effort waiting for it. The azuki bean paste was so sweet and tasty and it was bursting out from the pancake dough, melting in my mouth...