Himeji and Kobe day trip- 29 Dec 2017

After purchasing the 1-day Kansai Day pass, it enabled us to visit Himeji and Kobe via the JR Kobe-Sannomiya Line. We didn't require any reservation on the JR Line as it wasn't a bullet train. So it's first come basis where everyone rushed to find a seat in the train. Took nearly 30 minutes to arrive at Himeji. Wow! It's been several years since I last visited Himeji before the major renovation began not long ago.



Upon arriving at Himeji, we felt weird as it wasn't packed with tourists only to realize 29th and 30th Dec- the castle is closed and we could only walk around the park. What a bummer!
Damn! After all the trouble and wasting our time arriving at Himeji only to realize it's shut. Fortunately we can still snap some photos of the main castle and grounds. It's still beautiful but cold. Locals with tourists are still taking photographs of the main castle.
                           
We took an hour or less strolling the castle grounds before we headed back to Himeji station. My parents bought some matcha ice cream and souvenirs along the way. We are on our way to Kobe where we stopped at Kobe Harbourtown Plaza. We then took the subway to Minamoto station where there's the Chinatown serving lots of Chinese delicacies and dishes.

                          

Kobe Motomachi is a long walking street covered- so need to worry for rain or shine. But the problem is finding the washroom and dustbins are a major problem! We cannot find rubbish bins everywhere we go. Seems that the locals take their rubbish home with them and nobody litters in the public. Wow!