Japan Himeji Castle and Home

A lovely final day, except for rolling my ankle rather badly. We took the bullet train to Himeji to see the castle. It is one of the few remaining original castles in Japan. Most were destroyed in the shogun wars in the 1500s. 

When we got in there was a guide giving tours in English. These are volunteers who just love the castle and enjoy practicing their English. He asked if we would like him to be our tour guide and we jumped at the chance. A great experience and he really made the tour. We thank you so much Mr Katsu.  And yes, the castle is amazing. 

Our guide Mr Katsu at the castle. He’s a retired 4th grade math teacher. 

After that we had lunch and then went to the garden adjacent to the castle. My heart, or more accurately, my ankle, wasn't in it, so we changed our tickets to an earlier train and headed back, abandoning our original plan to go to a shrine in the mountains. 

I rolled my ankle on a small uneven piece of metal when I was trying to turn and take a picture at the same time on arrival at the castle. I should know better. I am not that coordinated. It immediately didn’t look right, but except for going downstairs, and there are hundreds in the castle, it really didn’t hurt that much. So, I walked on it all day. As expected it looked even worse that afternoon. Next day we headed home. I feared it was more than a stay off it for a day or two problem and I was not happy about it being the peak of flower season at home.  It turns out my ankle was broken.  Yes, I went flowering peeping, including several small hikes on it, but eventually even I had to admit, it wasn't right, so I went to the doctor.  I now have an ankle brace and am not to walk on it too much.  Two months into this, I can finally do a bit of hiking, but the tendon and ligaments are not up to scratch yet.  There is even more PT in my future.

The day of

The next day

Poor sad me at the airport

Poor sad me at another airport

The hated ankle brace

What I did when we got home before I went to the doctor.  Yep, I went flower peeping and did a bit of hiking before even I had to admit things just weren't right. Ok, so maybe it was three weeks or so of trying to hike on it before I gave up, but the flowers were calling and I had to answer.  I am finally starting to hike on nice smooth trails again.  Ligaments and tendons do not heal as quickly as bone. I am two months into the healing process, and can finally walk 10,000 steps a day on flat smooth surfaces.  Not happy.