Himeji Castle is largest and finest surviving example of feudal Japanese castle architecture. It's just about a one hour ride on the Shinkansen from Kyoto and we were very glad we made the trip!

Japan's extensive rail network makes traveling there simple. The Shinkansen train makes traveling fast! I clocked it today at 172.7mph. But what will the future bring?

Today we visited Nijo Castle, and I found some of the buildings and gardens even more impressive than those we saw at the Imperial Palace yesterday. That may reflect the fact that the Japanese shogunates were extraordinarily powerful.