Day 1 - Himeji
We left Motomiya on the 3.37 train bound for Koriyama, and met Pete, Steve, and Paul on the train. After arriving in Koriyama, we left for Tokyo on the Shinkansen. While we were on the way down to Tokyo, we played a little Gyakuten Saiban on the DS. We had a 50 minute transfer in Tokyo, which turned out to be remarkably short, and then proceeded onto Himeji. I was really surprised how empty the trains were as we moved around. We had no problems grabbing adjacent seats in the non-reserved section. We passed the time by playing BS, scum and hearts. I did rather well at scum, namely I was never the scum. Woooooo! I rather underestimated how long a 3 hour train ride actually is.
We arrived at Himeji station a little after 10 at night, and it was time for my first duty, of guiding our little band to the hotel (which was very close by). I was a bit worried about what our hotel might be like (I’ve had some weird experiences in really cheap hotels and really cheap rooms), but I forgot that this is Japan. I also forgot that I booked through a travel agent, so it wouldn’t be in their best interests to offer me scummy accommodations. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the hotel, though I had wished we were staying at the Nikko Hotel which was right in front of our hotel… that Nikko hotel sure was big and shiny… But anyways, it was very easy to check in (it mainly consisted of me handing the clerk the reservation sheet that the travel agency gave to me). Room was decent sized, well lit, and clean!
After inquiring the whereabouts of a nearby restaurant, we headed off to find Dom, the family steak restaurant, not to mean that the steak was made of families. Anyways, it was a 5 minute walk, and that was the first time that I really got worried about the weather. It was very pleasant, and even a little warm… warm on the first day with 2 layers on. Not good. Once again, I had packed a whole lot more that I would be wearing on this trip. And once again, since I didn’t pack shorts, I would probably end up wearing some pretty dirty pants… Dom turned out to be Tomato Onion just with a different name on the front. It had the same type of food, same Dixieland music, etc. I had a nice salad and soup (shock!!!) and we were all set to get some sleep for the next day.