8:12am Japan:

We’re on a train headed for Himeji, to see Himeji castle (Himeji-jo) which is a worldwide historic site or somesuch. We were running late to catch the train, I had a head start and got to the station on my own from Alex’s (proud moment!) And Alex caught up with me there and we ran for the train. We’re meeting a teacher Alex works with named Mr. Takei, who was kind enough to offer a tour. We’re debating between going to the Gion Matsuri festival in Kyoto or wandering Osaka.