After our fantastic visit to Hakone, it was time to carry on towards the west of Japan; to Hiroshima. So we jumped on the Shinkansen from Odawara to Osaka; where we were meeting up with Chie and Geoff (friends of ours from London, who were joining us for the remainder of our stay) and taking another train to Hiroshima.
We had time for a quick lunch at the Osaka train station – again I feel obliged to comment about how good value for money eating out in Japan can be. This time, we had Japanese fast food. The concept is quite interesting – you select your dish at a sort of vending machine (thankfully there are pictures for the dishes, our Kanji/hiragana/katakana skills not being quite up to the job for reading menus just yet…), pay and out comes a ticket. You give it to the waitress and 5 minutes later you have your meal. Quick, efficient, good value for money – and very Japanese.
This being Japan, Chie and Geoff were both on time, we met up as planned, and got on our Shinkansen to Hiroshima, which was naturally on time as well. A few hours later, we arrived in Hiroshima. After checking in at our hotel (conveniently located near the train station), we quickly set off for a spot of sightseeing (we only had half a day in Hiroshima, due to our tight schedule). A tram ride later, we arrived at the A-Dome, located near the Hiroshima memorial park. A-Dome serves as a poignant reminder of the terrible event for which Hiroshima is known; which took place on August 6, 1945. A-Dome is what remains of the Hiroshima Prefectural Products Exhibition Hall, located just below where the atomic bomb detonated (it survived relatively intact since it was nearly directly underneath the point of impact).
We then carried on to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and the adjacent Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. The museum was a very sad place to visit; but a good reminder of the madness mankind is capable of (considering the devastation this one bomb caused, it’s hard to imagine what destruction the much more powerful nuclear weapons of today would cause, if ever used…). I think it’s the kind of place everybody should visit at least once in their lives, just so the lessons of what happened here are never forgotten. Visiting this place made me feel similar as when I went to the Auschwitz concentration camp near Cracow, a few years ago…
Thankfully, Hiroshima has recovered quite well from that terrible event; it is now a thriving and lively city with a population of over 1 million people. For obvious reasons, there aren’t many historical monuments to visit, but we had a nice walk around the place anyway, before having dinner. Chie had very kindly booked as a place where we could sample the traditional cuisine of Hiroshima. The concept was great, the food is cooked in front of you on a hot metal plate. We tried quite a few different dishes, for example Okonomiyaki (a sort of savory pancake) as well as oysters – both Hiroshima specialties. Afterwards we headed out to check out Nagerakawa – the seedy night life district. We resisted the strip joints and hostess bars, and ended up in a pretty nice “European-style” bar, where we had a few drinks, catching up on the latest gossip from the UK.
The next day, after a filling buffet breakfast (with the choice of Japanese & western fare), it was time to head on to Miyajima island (first taking a local train, then a ferry to the island); the other major sight in the area. Miyajima Island is mostly known for Itsukushima Shrine, and especially its red-painted Torii (gate), actually partly covered in water during high-tide (giving making it look like it floats on water, almost). It’s one of THE iconic images of Japan (apparently, it’s one of the “Three views of Japan”). Well, the torii most certainly is very beautiful, and the shrine itself is very interesting as well, with its pier-like construction (the shrine itself is also partly enclosed by water during high-tide). Having checked out the shrine (and acquainted ourselves with the local deer, who were trying to scrounge a meal off us gullible tourists), we walked up to Daishō-in, a Buddhist temple located on the slopes of Mt. Misen (the holy mountain of Miyajima). I really liked this particular temple, with its amusing statues, idyllic location and nice views over the island. And it wasn’t overrun by tourists…
After this short but very fascinating visit, it was time to get back on the train and start our trek back eastwards, towards Kyoto. The next stop on our tour was Kurashiki, a historic city located near Okayama. Kurashiki is famous for hosting the 1st western art museum in Japan (with works from painters like Monet, Renoir, El Greco…), as well as the historical Bikan district (famous for its 17th century wooden warehouses). Unfortunately it was nearly dark when we arrived, so we were really in a hurry to do our sightseeing, again. So we quickly checked into our lodgings (another Ryokan), very nicely located right in the centre of the Bikan district. After a welcome tea, we still had some time to check out the town. The Bikan district is very pictersque indeed, with the traditional white-painted wooden warehouse buildings and the canal going through the area (giving it a feel almost similar to Venice). It’s very different from anything we’ve seen so far – the Japanese cities we’ve seen so far have had very few historic buildings remaining, apart from temples and shrines (a lot of it is due to World War II bombings and the earthquakes that plague the country).
After our pleasant evening stroll, we made our way back to the Ryokan for our Kaiseki dinner. Like last time; the meal was absolutely delicious (I have to admit I didn’t eat the fish eyes that were on the menu). Geoff, with his English palate, had some difficulties with some of the dishes, but struggled bravely through the meal ;-). Unfortunately; there was no onsen in this Ryokan, but it was still a delightful place to stay (and less painful on the wallet!).
The next day, we continued our journey, the next destination being Himeji. This was one of the places in Japan I was really keen to see. The main reason for this is that the most famous and well-preserved castle in Japan is located there – and I’m a big fan of medieval castles. Himeji certainly didn’t disappoint. We were lucky enough to even get a private guide; and a very knowledgeable one at that – and what’s best it was all free! (the guy is actually a retired business man with an interest in history, and is now a volunteer guide). The three hour-tour of the castle was extremely fascinating; all the imagery from Kurosawa’s movies (some of which were shot here) all came back to me. And our excellent guide brought it all very much alive for us, with his knowledgeable explanations about the architecture & history of the castle, mixing facts with interesting anecdotes. So all in all, a great visit (we felt obliged to give a rather healthy tip to our brilliant guide)!
The other well-known tourist sight near Himeji is Engyō-ji, a Buddhist temple located on Mt. Shosha. It’s gotten some recent fame due to the fact that some scenes from the Last Samurai were filmed here. I was again very impressed by the fact that this quite inaccessible temple can be reached by public transport (first we took the local bus, then a cable car) – only in Japan… The temple itself was very nice, peacefully surrounded by lush forest, and peaceful due to the lack of tourists! Unfortunately we didn’t really have the time to visit all the buildings – the temple area is actually quite spread out. But at least we got to see the buildings where the film was shot ;-).
Very pleased with another very busy, yet fulfilling day off sight-seeing, we carried on to Kobe by train, where we stopped for dinner. There was really only one option for food tonight – Kobe beef! The Kobe beef is actually a registered trademark, apparently, and any meat called Kobe beef must fulfill a list of strict criteria (it must be bread locally to Kobe, and slaughtered locally, also). Apparently the cattle is fed (in addition to very high-quality grain) beer and massaged daily with warm sake (??)… Anyways, thanks to our trusty Lonely Planet guide, we managed to locate and dine in a proper Kobe beef restaurant. As often in Japan, the dinner was quite an experience, with the chef cooking the delicious meat in front of us (and an Australian couple). And oh boy was the beef delicious, I’d be tempted to say it’s the best meat I ever had in my life. The dinner was quite heavy on the wallet, but I say it was worth every penny!
Very satisfied after a very filling meat, it was time to catch our train to Kyoto, for the last leg of our fabulous journey…
We had time for a quick lunch at the Osaka train station – again I feel obliged to comment about how good value for money eating out in Japan can be. This time, we had Japanese fast food. The concept is quite interesting – you select your dish at a sort of vending machine (thankfully there are pictures for the dishes, our Kanji/hiragana/katakana skills not being quite up to the job for reading menus just yet…), pay and out comes a ticket. You give it to the waitress and 5 minutes later you have your meal. Quick, efficient, good value for money – and very Japanese.
This being Japan, Chie and Geoff were both on time, we met up as planned, and got on our Shinkansen to Hiroshima, which was naturally on time as well. A few hours later, we arrived in Hiroshima. After checking in at our hotel (conveniently located near the train station), we quickly set off for a spot of sightseeing (we only had half a day in Hiroshima, due to our tight schedule). A tram ride later, we arrived at the A-Dome, located near the Hiroshima memorial park. A-Dome serves as a poignant reminder of the terrible event for which Hiroshima is known; which took place on August 6, 1945. A-Dome is what remains of the Hiroshima Prefectural Products Exhibition Hall, located just below where the atomic bomb detonated (it survived relatively intact since it was nearly directly underneath the point of impact). We then carried on to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and the adjacent Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. The museum was a very sad place to visit; but a good reminder of the madness mankind is capable of (considering the devastation this one bomb caused, it’s hard to imagine what destruction the much more powerful nuclear weapons of today would cause, if ever used…). I think it’s the kind of place everybody should visit at least once in their lives, just so the lessons of what happened here are never forgotten. Visiting this place made me feel similar as when I went to the Auschwitz concentration camp near Cracow, a few years ago…
Thankfully, Hiroshima has recovered quite well from that terrible event; it is now a thriving and lively city with a population of over 1 million people. For obvious reasons, there aren’t many historical monuments to visit, but we had a nice walk around the place anyway, before having dinner. Chie had very kindly booked as a place where we could sample the traditional cuisine of Hiroshima. The concept was great, the food is cooked in front of you on a hot metal plate. We tried quite a few different dishes, for example Okonomiyaki (a sort of savory pancake) as well as oysters – both Hiroshima specialties. Afterwards we headed out to check out Nagerakawa – the seedy night life district. We resisted the strip joints and hostess bars, and ended up in a pretty nice “European-style” bar, where we had a few drinks, catching up on the latest gossip from the UK.
The next day, after a filling buffet breakfast (with the choice of Japanese & western fare), it was time to head on to Miyajima island (first taking a local train, then a ferry to the island); the other major sight in the area. Miyajima Island is mostly known for Itsukushima Shrine, and especially its red-painted Torii (gate), actually partly covered in water during high-tide (giving making it look like it floats on water, almost). It’s one of THE iconic images of Japan (apparently, it’s one of the “Three views of Japan”). Well, the torii most certainly is very beautiful, and the shrine itself is very interesting as well, with its pier-like construction (the shrine itself is also partly enclosed by water during high-tide). Having checked out the shrine (and acquainted ourselves with the local deer, who were trying to scrounge a meal off us gullible tourists), we walked up to Daishō-in, a Buddhist temple located on the slopes of Mt. Misen (the holy mountain of Miyajima). I really liked this particular temple, with its amusing statues, idyllic location and nice views over the island. And it wasn’t overrun by tourists…
After this short but very fascinating visit, it was time to get back on the train and start our trek back eastwards, towards Kyoto. The next stop on our tour was Kurashiki, a historic city located near Okayama. Kurashiki is famous for hosting the 1st western art museum in Japan (with works from painters like Monet, Renoir, El Greco…), as well as the historical Bikan district (famous for its 17th century wooden warehouses). Unfortunately it was nearly dark when we arrived, so we were really in a hurry to do our sightseeing, again. So we quickly checked into our lodgings (another Ryokan), very nicely located right in the centre of the Bikan district. After a welcome tea, we still had some time to check out the town. The Bikan district is very pictersque indeed, with the traditional white-painted wooden warehouse buildings and the canal going through the area (giving it a feel almost similar to Venice). It’s very different from anything we’ve seen so far – the Japanese cities we’ve seen so far have had very few historic buildings remaining, apart from temples and shrines (a lot of it is due to World War II bombings and the earthquakes that plague the country). After our pleasant evening stroll, we made our way back to the Ryokan for our Kaiseki dinner. Like last time; the meal was absolutely delicious (I have to admit I didn’t eat the fish eyes that were on the menu). Geoff, with his English palate, had some difficulties with some of the dishes, but struggled bravely through the meal ;-). Unfortunately; there was no onsen in this Ryokan, but it was still a delightful place to stay (and less painful on the wallet!).
The next day, we continued our journey, the next destination being Himeji. This was one of the places in Japan I was really keen to see. The main reason for this is that the most famous and well-preserved castle in Japan is located there – and I’m a big fan of medieval castles. Himeji certainly didn’t disappoint. We were lucky enough to even get a private guide; and a very knowledgeable one at that – and what’s best it was all free! (the guy is actually a retired business man with an interest in history, and is now a volunteer guide). The three hour-tour of the castle was extremely fascinating; all the imagery from Kurosawa’s movies (some of which were shot here) all came back to me. And our excellent guide brought it all very much alive for us, with his knowledgeable explanations about the architecture & history of the castle, mixing facts with interesting anecdotes. So all in all, a great visit (we felt obliged to give a rather healthy tip to our brilliant guide)!
The other well-known tourist sight near Himeji is Engyō-ji, a Buddhist temple located on Mt. Shosha. It’s gotten some recent fame due to the fact that some scenes from the Last Samurai were filmed here. I was again very impressed by the fact that this quite inaccessible temple can be reached by public transport (first we took the local bus, then a cable car) – only in Japan… The temple itself was very nice, peacefully surrounded by lush forest, and peaceful due to the lack of tourists! Unfortunately we didn’t really have the time to visit all the buildings – the temple area is actually quite spread out. But at least we got to see the buildings where the film was shot ;-).
Very pleased with another very busy, yet fulfilling day off sight-seeing, we carried on to Kobe by train, where we stopped for dinner. There was really only one option for food tonight – Kobe beef! The Kobe beef is actually a registered trademark, apparently, and any meat called Kobe beef must fulfill a list of strict criteria (it must be bread locally to Kobe, and slaughtered locally, also). Apparently the cattle is fed (in addition to very high-quality grain) beer and massaged daily with warm sake (??)… Anyways, thanks to our trusty Lonely Planet guide, we managed to locate and dine in a proper Kobe beef restaurant. As often in Japan, the dinner was quite an experience, with the chef cooking the delicious meat in front of us (and an Australian couple). And oh boy was the beef delicious, I’d be tempted to say it’s the best meat I ever had in my life. The dinner was quite heavy on the wallet, but I say it was worth every penny! Very satisfied after a very filling meat, it was time to catch our train to Kyoto, for the last leg of our fabulous journey…
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