Last Wednesday, I left Hiroshima by the shinkansen bullet train. Heading east, my next destination was a city called Himeji. I'd wanted to visit there for a long time.
Himeji is home to Japan's largest and most important castle. White in color, it's known as the swan castle. The Japanese city I used to live in, Matsumoto, was home to the country's second most important castle. Painted black, it's known as the crow castle. I just had to visit Matsumoto castle's only rival!
Himeji Castle viewed through some trees. It was huge and impressive. I enjoyed walking around the grounds and up inside to the top floor.
On my way out of the grounds, I passed an older Japanese man going wild on an electric guitar. He was hooked up to a mini amp that sat next to him on a park bench. He strummed away, improvising like a happy carefree child, while all around him sat older Japanese men looking disapprovingly his way. He couldn't play at all!
However, he was wildly enthusiastic and had a fantastic smile. I sat next to him and listened, then gave him a round of applause. When he saw me clapping, he beamed and said arigato gozaimasu!
Having broken the ice, I began taking a lot of pictures from different angles all through his next song. Here are two that I feel captured his smile and personality best.
I like the expression of happiness of the guitarist