Himeji and Shikoku - Castles and Gardens and Gorges
Spring time in Japan is glorious (unless you have allergies). We planned to visit Himeji Castle and Shikoku in December 2024, but our Christmas plans changed so we moved this trip to April. It was perfect timing with the Sakura season!! But poor Kimball SUFFERED terribly throughout the trip due to his allergies to Cyprus and Cedar. So take all these beautiful pictures with a grain of salt, knowing it was just about killing Kimball to be outside, all day, everyday! We had a grand plan to use almost every kind of transportation available - Shinkansen, regular trains, buses, rental car, boats, and airplanes. Amazingly all the plans and reservations worked out without a hitch. We started off taking the Shinkansen to Hamamatsu to visit the famous garden there. It was the high seasons for tulips AND sakura. The garden was absolutely beautiful! (side note - Kimball took this pic of Mt. Fuji from the Shinkansen window. Its crazy that we are going so fast yet the picture turns out!) ...