This morning we caught the bullet train from Kyoto to Hiroshima with one important stop into the city of Himeji. This is a modern city because it was almost entirely destroyed during WWII. The attraction we came here to see was spared in the bombing and is visible immediately on exiting the train station. A long beautiful boulevard adorned on both sides with sculptures leads straight to Himeji Castle, sitting high on a hill in the distance.
The castle is regarded as the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, comprising a network of 83 rooms with advanced defensive systems from the feudal period. Common known as the “White Heron Castle” because of its brilliant white exterior and supposed resemblance to a bird taking flight, it is a 7-story pagoda style structure and we climbed the narrow stairs all the way to the top. Coming down was just as tiring on the legs and they were a bit shaky as we made our way back to the train station, shopping for souvenirs along the way.
Continuing on, we arrived at Hiroshima in the early afternoon. Our hotel rooms were not quite ready so our guide, Shizuka, took us on a walk to the nearby Peace Park to see a few of the major monuments. We will return here later but the impact of the historical importance is evident all around. Only a few buildings in this city survived the nuclear blast and we saw a couple of them. One in particular tells the story of a man who survived in the basement. He was there just by chance as his 37 workmates above all perished. Very moving.
After checking in, our Canadian party walked to a nearby skyscraper and to the 17th floor rooftop bar where we enjoyed the panoramic views over Hiroshima all the way to the mountains. We sipped our cocktails to a beautiful sunset.
Supper was a group experience at a nearby teppanyaki restaurant where we were introduced to a traditional Hiroshima delight called okonomyiaki. It is a double pancake filled with whatever you like (mine had shrimp and scallops). It arrives to your table and is placed on the hot grill in the middle where you cut and hack it apart and spoon it onto your plate. Very delicious and fun for the whole group.
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