We covered a fair bit of ground today. We took the bullet train and an express train to Nagasaki in the far west of Japan.

We made a stopover in Himeji and visited Himeji-jō, the White Egret Castle. It was recently finished after years of restoration and now shines in its white glory again. Some Japanese people even reckon it’s too white now.

We arrived in Nagasaki late in the evening. Our hotel is near Chinatown. A simple business hotel, needs a bit of a refurb, and we were hit by the stench of cigarette smoke right in the corridor - despite having a non-smoking room. The whole area feels gloomy and a bit run-down. It was actually the first time we found it a bit creepy wandering the streets so late looking for something to eat. Nothing happened, of course. Japan is one of the safest countries in the world to travel in, even at night.