[HIMEJI] To the older man who was working the toll station a couple of weeks ago:

This post is for you. Coincidentally, it’s also the first post I’m writing for my blog. I’ve spent the better part of a week (two weeks) agonizing over how to write the perfect first post and making sure everything is as interesting as it is seamless. I give up. Just now I’ve come to terms with the reality that it’ll take me some time to find my own style when writing in a new type of media. Anyways, readers, mother, friends, bear with me. 

It might seem a little strange to dedicate the first post of a blog for me to document travels, experiences, Japan related things, and non-Japan related things, to a random senior who happened to be working the toll station on the IC between Himeji and northern Hyogo prefecture this past weekend.

Well, did you think I was going to deny it? (I wish I could insert a crying face emoji here but that would be very un-blog like methinks).

Continuing with this unorthodox approach, I will attempt to give some background of what I want to accomplish with this blog, as well as the moment that inspired me to actually put effort into creating an entire website (and paying three dollars a month for the hosting platform). It connects back to the older man working the toll station, I promise. 

To begin, let me set the scene on yet another attempt I made in the realm of solo travel. 

Solo travel… I’ve come to realize that it takes one of my favorite parts of traveling out of the equation. I’m the kind of person that likes seeing other people’s reactions almost more than experiencing my own. And this time I was headed to the historically significant city of Himeji, located on Japan’s east coast, a little further down from Osaka. The start of my day, a Sunday, found myself sitting in bed at about nine in the morning. I had actually meant to wake up at seven thirty, but things don’t always work out the way you want them to in life.  

It was a three day weekend, just this past weekend if we’re being specific about it, and I was on my own for the first time in a month and a half or so since arriving to this small, rural corner of Japan for my job. Disclaimer, though, this blog will not be very work-focused, so I probably won’t discuss much to do with my job. Maybe that’ll change though. Honestly, don’t hold me to anything right now. I have zero idea what I’m doing. 

Either way, I hoped to have already been on the road for an hour by the time I woke up. Whatever. I wasn’t running on anyone’s time but my own. Honestly, that’s also been something that has been hard to get used to. Outside of work, I have no responsibilities. It’s strange. When I was in college, I couldn’t just ‘clock out’ of college. I had homework, and a lot more commitments. In Japan, my life started as a blank slate. I could literally do whatever I wanted with it. I still can do whatever I want with it. Being a recent college graduate is an interesting period of time.

I realize I have a hard time staying on track. Oh well, first post and all. Sorry older man from the toll station that I dedicated this post to, I’m getting to you soon. 

CONTINUING ON; I found myself getting in the car and starting the drive at about ten thirty that morning straight through to Himeji. One of my friends had actually recommended that I take a day trip there, with the disclaimer that it was ‘not worth staying overnight’ which surprised me. Himeji is an established enough city to warrant a stop on the bullet train route, about fifteen minutes out from the Kobe stop (by bullet train, obviously. By car it takes closer to fifty minutes). It’s known mostly for the amazingly well-preserved and scenic castle that sits in the northern corner of the city, which some even consider to be one of the most beautiful castles in the entire country. 

So why did my friend strongly recommend only going for the day? I needn’t have wondered so much, as my question would soon be answered. The drive to Himeji was uneventful, but still enjoyable. One of my favorite parts of traveling in Japan is the natural scenery as you drive or take the train. I’m based in a much more rural part of Japan, and I’m not even close to exaggerating when I say I’ve never been to a more beautiful area in terms of nature. I get the feeling I could stare at these mountains forever, and the way the clouds hang at lower altitudes in the morning and in the rain is insanely pretty. Other than nature, though, is the architecture. The classic tiled roofs and smaller villages and towns are a sight that I doubt will ever get old for me.

Another part of driving I very much enjoy in Japan is the availability of their internationally renowned convenience stores. I’m not even kidding when I say that if all else in Japan went horribly wrong, the idea of leaving these beautiful buildings behind, which were clearly brought into fruition by the conglomeration of ideas from greatest minds throughout generations, would give me pause. I will always stop in a Lawson or 7-11 to grab a coffee and a snack when I’m on the road, and this trip was no different. 

I finally arrived in Himeji at around an hour past noon.

Turns out, besides the castle and the surrounding grounds, Himeji doesn’t exactly have much else to offer.

It was alright, though, I was able to revel in the ‘city’ life and all for a bit. Also, the main station was cool. I hadn’t seen a bullet train pass by in a while. Upon arrival, I pretty much beelined for the castle, and the walk around the grounds was actually very nice. 

You could see a lot of the old walls, the restored towers, and surrounding moats that were meant to protect not only the castle but also the surrounding neighborhoods; it was all very historical. So, you could imagine my surprise as I was gazing up at the castle, fully immersed in the moment, when out of the corner of my ear I was suddenly able to make out the chorus of *NSYNC’s Bye Bye Bye. 

Curious as I was, I decided to walk toward the music, eventually coming across a local park that was overlooked by Himeji Castle itself (it was actually kind of cool). 

As I got closer, I started seeing groups of twelve year olds dressed in what was reminiscent of 2010s Dance Moms style. My confusion grew, but not for much longer, as I turned the corner and stumbled upon some kind of dance competition that was being held in an outdoor amphitheater, and at least two hundred people were watching it. The accompanying music ranged from Spice Girls to Ado, One Direction to BTS. I watched for a couple of minutes before heading back in the direction I came, kids with fake dreads and braids woven into their pony tails practicing in every open space surrounding the competition area.

Continuing on my journey through Himeji, I walked back around the castle one more time, opting not to go inside (as it turns out it was a national holiday; Culture Day no less. I don’t have the patience to wait in an hours-long line, especially by myself). I felt vindicated in my decision after checking online, though, as most people said it wasn’t worth it. Or maybe you could interpret my choice as laziness… Either way, I will be ranking my trip at the end of this article so stay tuned, and keep in mind the vehement subjectivity my rating system is built on. 

Also, I only ended up staying in Himeji for the better part of four hours. So keep that in mind too. 

After making the executive decision to not enter the castle, I walked back along the main street towards the station. A couple of covered shopping streets later I realized there wasn’t much else for me to do outside of browsing and/or eating, so, I made my way into the main station to take the local train one stop away to where my car was parked (it was 300 yen (~$2 USD) a day parking which is an absolute steal when you’re used to US prices.). As I was walking through the station I battled intrusive thoughts that kept popping up and telling me to take the bullet train to Kobe for $25 USD and spend the night. The reality that I’m also on a budget managed to hit me at the same moment. So, it was back to my car for me. Maybe one day I’ll be financially stable enough for a decision like that.

The solo part of solo traveling was quickly catching up with me. One thing I’ve noticed, is when you’re in a city like that, alone, surrounded by a bunch of people that are not, it can feel slightly isolating. In those moments, I like to rely on the tried and true walking into an older looking souvenir shop, or a less frequented, smaller restaurant, in order to have a conversation. hose places are run by older owners, and if you know at least a bit of Japanese, they’re often keen to have a conversation. 

That day, though, I forewent the conversation starter option and decided instead to leave as soon as possible to catch as much sunlight as possible on the way home. But because of that choice, my mood was weighing a bit heavy.

So there I was, driving home on the toll road, going through (another) post-college life crisis (featuring thoughts such as “what are you even doing with your life?” paired with a general agonization over the future). It was also getting a bit dark and I still had about an hour left of the drive. My mood was definitely what you would call a slump. So, when I finally hit the toll station to transfer back onto the highway I was very much ready to be back home. 

I rolled down the window and slowed my car to a stop. The older man working the toll station leaned out to greet me.

“Cash or card?” he asked in Japanese; making sure to enunciate each word very clearly. Definitely due to my very non-Japanese appearance. There is a tone that you can sense some people have here when they need to speak to someone that doesn’t look like they’ll understand the language. It’s a bit of ‘aw fuck’  mixed with an equal pinch of frustration and anxiety, all packaged together in the most polite way possible. 

Sensing that tone, and also not being in the best mood of my life, I answered with a bit of an attitude; yet, for some reason, the words came out in the most confident way I’d ever spoken the language.

“Cash, please.”

As likely as it was that the man could have taken my tone of voice the wrong way, something strange happened instead. His features immediately softened, and he looked infinitely more like someone’s grandfather than a toll station worker. I handed him the cash for the toll, and he didn’t even bother to count it in the meticulous way I’ve noticed retail workers here do. Instead, he glanced at the coins, put them in the machine, took a long look at the darkening sky, and handed me my receipt. 

“Take care,” he said, 「気を付けて」, with a soft smile on his face and in his voice. 

“I will,” I responded; that same smile had taken over my own complexion. 

And I drove off. I was in a completely different emotional state than when I had left Himeji. I didn’t even end up having my weekly existential crisis when I got home! (well, on that particular night at least). I also came to the realization that I immediately wanted to tell my mom about my experience. And my dad. And my sister. And my cousins. And my friends. 

On the other hand, it’s a little bit difficult to fully flesh out moments like that in conversation, at least for those who are not extremely conversationally gifted (of which box I put myself in). Writing has always been a much easier outlet. So, the idea kind of just hit me. How can I share these moments with everyone I want to share them with, in a way that actually conveys my feelings and impressions in the way I want them to be understood?

A blog, obviously. 

Well, making the decision to start blogging was all fine and great, but I was soon hit with another problem.

Help. How do I make a website. Web design… agh. The bane of my existence. What am I even supposed to name it?? 

Upon writing those sentences I got a little blue ‘wrong grammar’ mark under ‘website’ for using a period instead of a question mark. Unfortunately, I am of the school of thought that touts using punctuation in whatever way I see fit, in order to achieve the exact tone and feeling to the words that I want to achieve, and grammar may or may not be left on the sidelines. Please let me know if I ever go off the rails, though.

As of the time I’m writing this, I actually haven’t even started the website part of this blog endeavor yet, so future Marie please write between the following two brackets when you’re about to post this so we can all have your current thoughts and feelings on the world of web design [].

Anyways, I will be henceforth rating my travel experiences using a very complex and definitely completely objective system I meticulously thought and developed for several minutes. It will be right at the end of this post (under this excerpt). Also, shout out to my friend Hannah who thought of this idea, but there will also be a ‘Japanese phrase/word of the week’ section after the rating. If you noticed, I assumed you did or you definitely were not paying attention, I used exactly one Japanese phrase in this post that was relevant to my experience. I will explain that phrase underneath my travel rating.

Marie’s Official Travel Experience Rating of Himeji (or Himeji’s MOTER):

General Vibes (very subjective): Okay I guess. Normal city. Okayama castle garden/grounds were better. 4/10

Historical/Cultural Relevance: The walls were cool and there was more than just the main castle. The town is built around the old moats. 8/10

Relevance to FUN (also very subjective) (was it fun?): Finding the dance competition was a highlight. Honestly no more than 4/10

Good for Travelers (on the go)?: Yes. There’s a cluster of restaurants, and traditional looking shops you can browse and buy souvenirs in as you walk towards the castle from the station. Also There are workshops you seem to be able to do nearby too. Plus the castle’s interior itself if you’re motivated to pay the money take the tour. 7.5/10

Good for Vacationers (just wanna relax)?: If you’re looking to chill,, behind the castle are these super nice benches that face the moat, and the vibes were immaculate. That was the only place though, so 6/10

Revisitability: Himeji is a day trip at most. 2.5/10

Accessibility: On the bullet train route, and drivable from Kobe if you decide to journey outside of the ‘Golden Route’ (which consists of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka for first-time travelers). I just had to drive because I live in the middle of nowhere, but could have taken the train if I wanted to. 9/10

Would I take my friends there?: Maybe. Probably not. If we were spending a lot of time in Kobe or Osaka maybe. 3/10

Would I take my family there?: This is much more likely. 6/10

Final notes (wild card points): I didn’t get into it too much in the post but this place gets a couple extra points, specifically for the atmosphere surrounding the benches facing the moat behind the castle. Koi fish and all. 3/10

Final Rating out of 100: 53/100 (take that as you will) 

Japanese Word/Phrase of the Week: 

気を付けて (key-oh-tsu-keh-teh)

Meaning: “take care” or “be careful”. You hear adults saying this to kids that are getting a little too rowdy, but it can also be used as a more endearing way to wish someone safe travels when they leave.

Anyways, thanks, older man who was working the toll station last weekend.