2015 Golden Week travel from Miyajima to Awaji⑤

2015/05/03 - 2015/05/06

Because of traveling some prefectures, I devided to report this trip (I like to see my map with more colors!). For our final destination, Awaji, we drove through the highway again, and before Awaji we stopped at Himeji Castle, the world heritage.
There was a flower festival in Awaji, so many people stayed in that hotel (especially with family, grandpa, grandma with grandchildren). I had only quiet impression to this hotel, so this in unexpected, though it gave us nice friendly atmosphere still.

エリア 兵庫

• 同行者: カップル・夫婦
• 交通手段: レンタカー スカイマーク
• 旅行の手配内容: 個別手配

We arrived at Himeji just before the lunch time. It was a small traffic jam there and many cars waiting for parking. We gave up to park close to the castle and drove around without thinking where to park, but really difficult to find. I almost gave up, fortunately we found a car was leaving and immediately I changed my direction and got the parking space. So we worried not to find the restaurant around the castle, and we ate Udon in this local restaurant.

My husband ate Udon with canard, and I chose Udon with meat (beef, maybe). They were different type Udon from yesterday, but also taste good.

Himeji castle.
On the way, there were some guardsmen and said "No stop for taking pictures". Many tourists came long way and expected to take nice photos.... It is a bit not nice to yelled like this. Pity. I understand what they want us to do (maybe interrupt others to walk), but still I did not hear it, sounded not generous.

This castle gave us the impression "white", completely different from Matsumoto and Kumamoto castle (with black walls). This castle has nickname as "Shirasagijo" (A White Egret Castle), oh sounds similar to Schloss Neuschwainstein (image of swan). It was too crowded to enter this time, so we walked around the castle.

We arrived at Westin Hotel Awaji before 4pm. After getting out of the highway, there was a traffic jam for the flower festival. I wanted to come this hotel in private with my husband. I have been here 4 times before in business, and I loved this facility and their great food.

The room has nice friendly color with nice balcony.

There is a "Hyakudannen" (A hundred stairs flower garden). There were too many cars to drive around the island and we decided to go for walk around the hotel. Those complex including hotel was designed by an architecture Tadao Ando.

The water flows on the stairs and shined with afternoon sunlight.

Kinsenka (Pot marigold) with bright yellow color.

Lupinus (Lupin).

Salvia Nemorosa. Nice color.

Wasurenagusa (Forget-me-not) Bluemutze.

It looks like onion flower.

Yagurumagiku (Centaurea cyanus), there were those flowers with different colors, like blue, pale pink and white.

Fennel. They also grow vegetables and herbs, not only flowers.

We had beer on the balcony after walking. We bought at the shop in notel, they changed shop layout from last July I visited.

The evening view from our balcony.

We had dinner and breakfast in the buffet restaurant "Coccolare". They prepared most of food from Hyogo prefecture, and it was so fresh and good taste, only for this I would love to visit again.

Foccacia. A little salty taste and olive oil taste. I usually ate them from this breakfast buffet. Yammy.

A spanish omelette with Awaji onion demi-glace sauce.

We booked the flight from Kobe at 1pm and we did not have enough time to visit somewhere in the island, so we went to the souvenir shop close to the hotel. I bought 3 boxes of Awaji onion for me, my sister and my mother. I wanted to buy them at the hotel (every year I visited for business trip there in July or June, they selled at their shop) but they did not have yet, so I was contented to get them!

We backed to Haneda with Skymark airline. This travel finished... I am really happy to drive all the way safely. My husband did not have a valid drivers license in Japan anymore, so I needed to be responsible to do it. I like driving but mostly we needed to drive on the highway and it was a bit stressful for me. I am not good at speed...
I would like to say thanks for my husband to be patient while my driving!
I am looking forward to report another trip soon:)