Japan isn?t one of Asia?s cheap travel destinations, quite the opposite, it can be very expensive. This is evident in the cost of domestic travel. Cheap flights like those you might find in Europe are non-existent, the famous Shinkansen-trains are fast, but very pricey, and the buses aren?t much better. However, there is one alternative for the thrifty traveler that comes around twice a year; the Seishun Juu-hachi Kippu, or ?cheap youth ticket?. This ticket is available during the two month-long school holidays to anyone who wants it. The ticket allows you unlimited train travel on any 5 days during the holiday period; the price works out to about $20 (CAD) per day.

I obviously wanted to take full advantage of this opportunity; the only catch is that the pass only allows you to take local (basically slow) trains. Foreigners have been known to embark on grueling treks across the country to get the fullest value for their money. I read about a trip one could do from Tokyo to Nagasaki (pretty much the entire country from east to west) that took 23+ hours and involved 16 train transfers; a bit daunting perhaps, but hey, you get to see a lot of the countryside and save yourself a whack of money. My adventure wasn?t quite this extreme, but would qualify as an impressive trek nonetheless. Mine was a 6-day tour of west Japan, starting in Nagoya and reaching as far as Hiroshima.

I set out early one Friday morning with the intention of reaching Hiroshima by the end of that day, with a brief stop in Himeji along the way. Himeji is known for its castle, said to be the most beautiful in all of Japan (and that?s saying a fair bit because, as you may have seen from my previous journals, Japan has a lot of impressive castles). In spite of a mild case of castle-fatigue (the slight boredom that comes from seeing so many), I figured I may as well make a stop, seeing as it was on the way anyhow.

Nagoya to Himeji took about 3.5 hours, a piece of cake really (only 2 transfers). I got off at the station into the sweltering heat (I don?t think it got below 30 degrees for the entire trip) and headed towards the castle. This place had noticeably more foreigners than I was accustomed to, a theme that continued for the rest of the trip; its strange to see a lot of other Westerners on the street when you are used to seeing so few in daily life.

Anywho, I reached the castle after a short walk, very impressive indeed. It?s known as the ?white castle? due to the colour of its turrets and donjons. Once inside I joined a small group of French people having a guided tour in English. An interesting tour guide, Yoshiko, who spoke phenomenal English, gave us an detailed tour and shared some interesting stories, including one about giving a tour to President Clinton (and also the Duke of Kent); she also pointed out a spot on the castle grounds where parts of the James Bond movie ?You only Live Twice? where filmed.

Although it may not have lived up to its title as the best in Japan, Himeji Castle was still pretty impressive. Following my visit there I had a walk through the accompanying garden, done in traditional Japanese style, very nice.

By the time I got back to the station I had long missed the train I?d planned on taking, so I ended up having to wait for over an hour for the next one?and then make one more transfer after that. But, eventually, I made it to Hiroshima?after about 10 hours of train travel, not bad for $20.