Himeji-Jo, the Grandest of Japan's 15 remaining feudal castles.
There are many way to go to Himeji, but I would recommend Shinkansen. From the station, there is a information desk that will give you English Map and other information if needed. So, from the station just walk straight on the main road (Otemae Street) for 10-15 minutes till the end of the road. Very easy even for the one who get lost easily like me. :)
I reached Himeji around lunch time, so, a little lunch break wouldn't hurt. After all the Army march by stomachs. I asked the information desk about where's to eat the Ramen (yeah I'm a Ramen Whore) and she wrote the direction on the map and looks very easy to follow and then off I went. From the station, walk on Oemae Street past 2 small lanes and turn right. Keep going straight for 100 metre. It'll take less than 3 minutes from the station.
The shop looks like an average ramen shop. I got in and again, had to order from the machine. But this time it's better with pictures for each Ramen. I picked the most obvious one heheeh. After picking the what and pay at the machine, less than 5 minutes the Ramen was served. The stock was think and tasteful and sophisticating, Noodle was just right and very nice and tender pork. The owner was very friendly and at one stage came to sit down with me. He told me that his Ramen shop is in "lonely planet" recommended place to eat in Himeji. :)
It's time to finally go to the castle. Instead of getting back to Otemae Street, I was stopped by this endless shops mall on Miyuki Street (parallel to Otemae Street). From the Station til the castle, this mall was filled with shops, all kinds of shops. It's also in shades, so, any one who likes to walk little cooler and, this street is a must.
Then I've arrived at the entrance of the castle, tickets can be bought from the vending machines or at the counter. It'll take at least another 10-15 minutes walk to reach inside the main tower from the gate, map and suggested route will be provided whey you buy the ticket.
The reason why this is the only Castle in my trip that I want to get in is simple, it's been unharmed. Somehow this castle can dodge all the wars or natural disaster and maintain its greatness until today. It's also got the nick name of the White Egret Castle (Shirasagi-Jo).
There are a lot of section within the castle wall for you to explore before the main tower. It will take at least 30 minutes out from you. Walking around to see and imagine what these will be like back then is very fun.
The main tower of the castle really stand out with it's white plaster like colour outside. Going inside is almost the opposite. It's quite dark inside even with all windows opened. Almost all the timber floor are original from when it first built, creates very authentic looks and feel. On each floor, there are the show cupboard showing some items such as original armour, weapons or painting from the old time.
The main tower has six floors and a basement, climbing up from floor to floor is very challenging as the stair is very steep.
I made my way slowly floor by floor til I reach the top. But before that, there're a lot of "Am I there yet"
At the top, they opened all the windows on every side for people to enjoy the 360 degree view and scenery. There are chairs for people to sit down resting and recover from those steep stairs.
After absorbing all the experiences in this castle, it's time to head to the station for Kyoto. But before that... those steep stairs were even more scary going down....
Lets explore the Miyajima Island in the day light!
But wellllll lets start with breakfast. hehehe
The Japanese style breakfast at the hotel was served very promptly and the looked and tasted wonderful especially the egg dish. Highly recommend.
My Miyajima walkaround plan is very short as I had to rush to Himeji Castle next. I started from the Otorii Gate again. And as you can see from the pictures that there're deers around. So, watch out for your map or anything paper.
Next stop is Itsukushima Shrine. The whole shrine was painted with colour red/orange. And it looks very standout when you see from afar. There's entry fee, just pay for the ticket at the counter. :)
There are a few staffs of the shrine around doing some ceremony. They wore these Japanese tradition clothes. To be very honest with you... it's a nice shrine beautiful to take pictures both inside and outside... but nothing more. You can walk thru another side of the shrine for more places to visit.
There are 5 or more attractions that you can visit on the east side, however, I was running out of time and cut thru many of them, during this route, I walked thru the "Natural Promanade Walk" (asebi walk). It was very nice and quiet filled with tall trees esp Maples. I'm sure it will look very nice when they change the colour. :)
I came out to Tahoto Pagoda which located quite high from the sea level. The view is beautiful from there but the Pagoda is quite small.
Then I made my way back to the westside of Itsukushima Shrine to see Five-Storied Pagoda and Senjyoukaku and they're standing next to each other.
At Senjyoukaku, there's an entry fee for 100 Yen. Inside this old building there are a lot of old paintings hanging close to the roof. The building is quite big as they said you can put 1000 tatami mat inside, so, it'll take 10 minutes at least to walk around. :)
The time was up and I had to run back to my hotel. On my way back I found this giant object and made me wonder what the hell is it... Turned out it's the Miyajima's Giant Rice Scoop, the biggest rice scoop in the world. It's the symbol of Miyajima, the birth place of rice scoop. It's 7.7m in Length, 2.7m width and weight 2.5 tons. Do I hear some Green people screaming? :P
Then it's time to say goodbye to Miyajima, I had a great fun on this Island and wish to re-visit one day with more time. :)
The beautiful and peaceful island....
I left Hiroshima for Miyajima Island in the afternoon. Please checked the time table for your plan but you do not have to worry much for connections between train and ferry as the ferries come quite often. The train will take around 26 minutes from Hiroshima to Miyajima-Gochi station and you have to walk for only 5 minutes to reach the ferry.
The ferry service is under JR so, you can use your JR pass. The ferry is quite big, it will carry cars across as well. The traveling time to Miyajima Island is only 10 minutes, so no need for seasickness medicine.
Along the way you'll see some Oyster Farming which really made me hungry.... and could not wait to have my dinner. I pre-booked this hotel called Yamaichi-Bekkan which I heard from my friend that it is a Restaurant as well. I also pre-booked the 5000 Yen dinner (They have 3000, 5000 and 8000 Yen options) and 1000 Yen breakfast.
The hotel is sooooo close to the station. But it's got no English sigh that can be seen easily. I struggled to find this place a bit before I asked the local who was very kind and took me there. I was greeted and took care quite nicely, the staffs are very warm and welcome. After checking in and everything I went up to the room... It's half of the size of the one in Beppu but I did not really mind at all. It's only a place for me to sleep, as long as it's clean and safe :)
And now, it's feasting time! The dinner was served promptly as the time I told them at the check in.
The presentation was great and so as the taste for the first two sets. :)
When the lady served me the Tempura, she was trying to tell me about the radish needed to be put in the sauce... she's mistaken me for a newbie of Japanese Food hehehehe
And now the last set arrived, some kind of fish dish, clear soup and Unagi. After I finished everything I was thinking..... it's a big expensive for 5000 Yen.... hmmmm BUT I found out later on that the tiny fish dish was very special and seasonal. The tiny bowl alone can cost 1500-2000 Yen. Opps... And I didn't even like it. But over all everything was great. :)
Then it's time for a walk around. Just only 5 minutes from the hotel you can reach the Otorii Gate which is one of the most photographed site in Japan. Along the way there are a lot of shops which still open quite late.
And then there it was...
It's amazing to see the real thing!
And since I was trapped on the Island and have no place to go, I could spent as much time as I wanted to photographed it. hehe HOWEVER, during the time that I enjoyed taking photographed... the bloody deer (there are a lot of them around the island) went to my bag and
ATE my map! So, you guys just becareful for this though look cute and harmless creature. You're warned. sighhhhhhh
Not far from the Gate, you'll see the Itsukushima Shrine which is very beautiful at night too.
After pressing the shutter for hundreds of times, it's time to go back to the hotel and rest. I will continue more of Miyajima Island soon.
Hiroshima, a peaceful city.
I slowly made my way up and back to Western Honshu. And the more I went up, the more tourists I saw. During my Fukuoka - Beppu, I didn't really see many tourists at all. In my original plan, Hiroshima city is only the passage way to go to Miyajima Island, but since I was there quite early I made a brief stop and browse around the city a bit.
Hiroshima was a well known city but not for a good reason... It was the first city that experienced the horror of the Atomic bomb during WWII causing hundreds of thousand death. So, I decided to go visit the peace memorial not far from the station.
Again, do not forget to pay a visit at information centre at the station as they will provide English Map, the best way on how to get to the places that you want. As I will go to Miyajima Island next, they also provided the time table for trains and ferries in and out of Miyajima Island... Perfect!
For Large Version: Click Here
The best way to commune around Hiroshima city is by tram service. The fee paying system is just like the general bus system around Japan. And you can catch it just infront of the station. The city map will also show where the tram will stop. And again, every stops at the light, the drivers will turn the engine off, so don't be alarmed. :)
Only 10 minutes the tram will arrive at the Peace memorial site. The park is huge and very quiet and peaceful, even with a lot of group tourists. The first thing you'll see is the "A-bomb Dome", it's all that remains of the old bombed city.
Less than 5 minutes walk across the bridge to reach "The Cenotaph", erected in memory of the victims of the bombing.
Children peace monument also not far. Japanese made a lot of Paper Cranes surrounded it at one point and they're all kept in the show boxes as you can see in the background.
During that time, there's a Japanese kid handed me this postcard of peace and I'm very touched and I promised him to spread his message around. :)
As I still had a bit of time left, I walked out of the Peace Memorial site to have a glimpse of Hiroshima Castle. I knew that I could not go up close and personal so, I settle with a few pictures from a far.
Just a few notes here: this castle was completely destroyed during WWII and it was reconstructed and completed in 1958.
I was glad that I made this detour at Hiroshima. Now it's time to move on to Miyajima Island.