Himeji and Hiroshima

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As a fan of castles, I had been looking forward to a visit to Himeji, which claims the most spectacular of Japan's originals. I arrived relatively late, and failing to find a hostel ended up shelling out for a business hotel (not that it was very expensive really!) At least breakfast was complimentary, but sadly it was Japanese style, so no bacon or toast in sight. I arrived at the castle at opening time in the hope of avoiding the tour groups, which was sort of successful (there was one, but by the time I came out the crowds were streaming in). The castle was indeed impressive, but it was the beautiful and spacious grounds which really set it apart from others I had seen.

Next up a trip to Hiroshima, where I made a bee-line for the Peace Park and museum. I found the latter to be absolutely fascinating, though obviously upsetting, and in the end spent a total of three hours there in two trips. It is clear that the prefecture of Hiroshima is genuinely committed to it's message of world peace, with strongly worded telegraphs sent to offending world powers every time a nuclear test is carried out. There was only a token charge for the museum, and my publicly run accommodation (Aster Plaza) even offered a big discount to foreign visitors with an interest in the Peace Park.

Hiroshima, however, offers much more than a history lesson - it's wide selection of bars and eateries were a real surprise. On the first night I went to an Indonesian restaurant called Warung Matahari, where the Balinese chef served me "beef spicy" (I couldn't read the menu). It was one of the most delicious dishes I've ever tasted, and only cost a fiver. On another occasion, I tried the local speciality - okonomiyaki - at Reichan, in the wonderfully named Asse department store. The mess of pancake, pork, egg, noodles and veg was tasty indeed.

Now, a few of my friends were hoping I would bring back some good stories, and this one could be hard to beat! On my first night I met a crowd of English teachers in a random bar, and one of them (Jamie) invited me to his stag party the following day (which, incredibly, happened to be Valentine's Day!) Having never been to a stag do, I warned him that I would probably turn up, which I duly did. It was nothing too raucous, just a few beers. I got chatting to another English teacher (David) who was massively into Mah-Jong. He persuaded me to join him and another of the group to play a round of "Hiroshima-rules Japanese Three-Handed Mah-Jong", which was great fun. Unfortunately it left me with ten minutes to make my midnight curfew, but I was thirty minutes away at a stride. So I ran. Fast. With the hotel just metres away I ran through a dark car park... and at full pelt slammed into a thigh-high metal barrier. My blag flew open and sprayed my stuff all over the pavement, leaving me bent double over the barrier in hysterics. Luckily neither myself nor my belongings seem to have suffered any lasting damage, although I was walking a little slower than usual today! Incidentally I was three minutes late, but fortunately was grudgingly let in by a disgruntled guard.

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Photos

"A-bomb Dome"
This building was previously called the "Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall". It was located almost directly below the hypocentre of the blast, and is the only ruin to have been preserved.

Monkey!
A popular side trip from Hiroshima is a visit to Miyajima island. A beautiful hike to the highest point (Mt Misen, 535m) culminated in close encounters with the island's resident cheeky monkeys.

Himeji Castle
The castle features in classic Bond film "You Only Live Twice" apparently.

Himeji View
This is a view from the top of the castle. You can see a decorative "dolphin" - a popular addition to Japanese castles, although they look more like fearsome dragon-fish.