The Heralds of Himeji

Written by Charlie Kleban

Early on a morning in late October, I woke up to meet with the rest of my group so we could depart from our hotel on time. It was 3:30 AM and it was the earliest I ever woke up during my time in Japan. I was in Himeji, a city near Kobe, and I was waking up for an experience on Mt.Shosha, a local mountain known for its beauty, spiritual tranquillity, and for being a location shown in the movie The Last Samurai, which I have not seen. I had spent the previous night in an izakaya with my tour group, which actually outnumbered the actual tourists, the tourists being me and a girl from a couple of my classes. 

While both this girl and I were fascinated by Japanese culture, history, and religion, neither of us spoke much Japanese. I got by with keywords and gestures to get my point across, and while I was worried this would distance myself from the friendly tour staff, I found that they only tried harder to speak with me once they saw that I was genuinely trying to speak their language, and that I was truly interested in what they were to show me the following day. None of them spoke much English, except the tour leader, Hiro-san, but that only made our conversations funnier. Any information of actual importance was communicated with google translate, but the rest of the time we just used our broken speaking to make each other laugh. They loved that I knew what Japanese I did know, and they loved that I tried to make jokes in Japanese even more. We drank and ate until Hiro-san (very wisely) suggested we get some rest in preparation for the morning. Even on the walk back to hotel, which was no more than 10 minutes, me and the tour staff kept laughing at whatever broken Japanese or English the other drunkenly slurred. Before we reached the hotel, the staff suggested we go into a konbini, and were very attentively suggesting the best snacks for me. The following morning, which was about 5 hours after we finished eating dinner, we met up in the hotel lobby with refreshed spirits, if tired bodies. That day, we hiked Mt.Shosha, and I was shown all the majesty and temperance of its breadth. I only saw my expression at that time in photos sent to me later by the staff, but I remember seeing the faces of the tour group throughout the trip. I saw pride, love, and while diminished with repeated trips to this mountain, fascination. 

The previous night, the staff conversed to me, this being in English as they really wanted me to understand, that their main goal was to bring more people to Himeji, for something beyond the famous Himeji castle. They spoke on end of how much more there was in Himeji, only if people would take a bit more time to see it. I spent around 2 days in Himeji during my time in Japan, and while I wish I could’ve spent more, I got more in those two days than I had anywhere else in that amount of time. 

I was shown the locals pride and joy, as they gave me their time and kindness that came from sharing it with me. It was, in the greatest way possible, the least touristy thing I did in Japan, because I did it with those who lived that life, that life they so clearly loved and valued and chose to share with me.

 It was the most authentic experience I have ever had in a place other than my home, and I had it with people who spoke as much English as I know Japanese. I will find my way back to Himeji at some point, that much I am certain, for it was shown to me by people who loved to show it. They loved it so much that, if only for a moment, I grew to love it as a home I had never been to.