Himeji Castle

• Go all the way to the top. You will appreciate the thick wooden pillars and beams on which this massive palace is built from ground up.
• The armoury on the third floor is amazing with a collection of Japanese Katana Swords from Samurai era.
• Try to walk around the castle. The beauty from inside is architectural, from outside Himeji Castle is a giant work of art.

We covered Himeji Castle on our penultimate day in Japan. It would have been big miss had we not decided to go for it. The architecture, construction and accessibility is unparalleled even by the open standards of Japan. Given that it is in opposite direction to Tokyo from Osaka, we took some effort and it paid off handsomely. While the castle is visible from railway station itself, it hardly justifies what's inside.

Himeji Castle, Himeji

Kyoto

• Kyoto is huge. Plan ahead on what are the top sites you want to visit. Top three in my list were Kiyomizu-dera, Kinkaku-ji & Fushimi Inari-Taisha.
• Expect a lot of walk. Even if you reach the gates of one of the attractions, the walk inside will be tiring but worth it.
• Take Kyoto Day Pass which includes transport and entry to some of the main shrines. For food, the restaurants near the river are best.

Kyoto is beautiful. At the heart of Japan, nestled with temples, spotted with shrines and bifurcated by a river, the city is duly called the spiritual capital of Japan. We reached Kyoto through a super fast train from Osaka early morning and immediately started moving towards the Kinkaku-ji Temple. It is one of the showstoppers among the famous temples of Kyoto. Known for the gold-leaf structure and located at the centre of a placid lake, the temple was indeed teeming with selfie lovers as we arrived.

Kinkaku-ji Temple

Universal Studios Japan (USJ)

First thing first. You cannot cover all at Universal Studios Japan (USJ) without a plan. So here is step by step guide to help you.

1. Reach USJ by 8.30AM. Based on inbound crowd, the entry time changes between 8AM and 9AM. Avoid weekends & holidays because they attract both tourists and locals. Best days are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Buy tickets in advance through www.usj.co.jp or in worse case counter. There are two tickets. One is the Studio Pass for entry, the other is Express Pass (optional but strongly recommended) for selective rides.

Universal Studios Japan Map

Atomic Bomb Dome, Hiroshima

• If you have a JR Pass, traveling in Hiroshima is not a problem. The hop-on-hop-off is part of the pass.
• Most visited place is of course Atomic Bomb Dome but you can start walking from station and cover some other attractions in the same direction.
• The city of Hiroshima buzzes as if to defy the existence of bomb attack. Malls and high streets are a treat to visit and restaurants are abundant.

A grim reminder of human ineptitude to be the dominant species on this planet, the Atomic Bomb Dome of Hiroshima was nothing but graceful in its presence. We were in Hiroshima on a sunny Sunday afternoon without much fuss or spend. A distance of more than 200 miles was covered in a bullet train in less than two hours and then a loop bus took us to the Imperial Palace for free thanks to our JR Pass.

Atomic Bomb Dome, Hiroshima