Hemiji & Hiroshima

We took the train to Hemiji to visit the White Castle, a very large timber structure built on a very high stone base. The area is quite short of stone and so stone was scrounged from a wide area and included parts of other buildings even some coffins and cemetery stones. The castle has a large storage basement above the battlement area and six storeys above with a great view over the gardens and town.

Back on the bullet train to Hiroshima then we catch the tram referred to as the street car to our hotel which is located in a shopping area with more covered shopping streets. For dinner we found a very small restaurant which had a hot counter and stoolswere you sat while your food was cooked in front of you - Okonomi-yaki (savoury pancake), which were delicious(you could eat directly off the hot counter with a sharp spatula - different!). Next day we took a train to Miyajima and ferry across to see the Itsukushima-jinja Shrine, a vermillion painted timber Japanese style gate, located in the bay with a large complex built over the water behind. Unfortunately it was low tide so it was all out of water but nevertheless spectacular with temple buildings and mountains behind. We saw the end of a traditional wedding, the bride and groom came out of the service to get into a rickshaw - the bride was so beautiful in her wedding dress with hair up high Mal wept.

Back on the ferry we returned on the street car about 30 stops, a lot slower than the train but different and interesting and we got off at the A Bomb site or hypocenter.We all know the image of the Atomic Bomb Dome - it now stands in a park on the edge of the river and the park is now called Peace Park. There is good interpretation, many memorials and statues, the National Peace Memorial Hall and Peace Memorial Museum, all moving and very good. On our way out of the park we heard a didgeridoo and tracked it down to an area opposite the A bomb site where there was a group of Aussies doing a promo for a new English Language International School. They had hot freshly made Aussie meat pies to share so we had a pie and stayed for a chat!! and an Aboriginal spiritual blessing. The Aboriginal chap travelling with them was quite a character - what a good gig, ten days in Japan and a couple of didgeridoo performances!!

Dinner that night was another 'experience' - across the road was a traditional restaurant with Japanese style BBQ which you cook yourself. Shoes off at the front door and then to our table which had a plate-sized gasburner set into the tabletop. The meat (beef & pork) was cut very thinly and with seafood - prawns, scallops, octopus - we cooked our own over a fine wire grill, all very delicious!

We had booked bicycles for a couple of hours in the morning and set off to explore the city - very easy as it is pretty flat and there was no-one out on the streets at 9.00am. We checked out Hiroshima Castle, rode down through Peace Park again and then right along Peace Boulevard, cycled through the malls (what a great way to shop!) and Mal found the "love hotel" area!! Here you can rent a room on an hourly basis - we saw an ad for a room at about $16 per hour, don't think an Aussie male would require the room for that long!! anyway the area was lively and had lots of restaurants.

Very safe country evidenced by the lack of Police - there are far more "stop go" men on construction sites than police; in a week in Japan we hardly heard any sirens of any sort - such a contrast to London and New York.