Today we started the long drive from Osaka to Hiroshima, about six hours total. Hidesan broke up the ride by stopping at important places along the way. The first stop was the Himeji Castle. Japan has approximately 100 castles, but most of them are reconstructions from the Meiji Period. Only twelve of those castles are original from feudal times, and Himeji is one of those. Amazingly, the castle was largely unharmed even though the remainder of the city was destroyed by bombs in World War II.
Himeji Castle is about 400 years old. The main castle is currently undergoing an extensive renovation that started in 2009 and is scheduled to be completed in 2014. It is nicknamed "White Heron Castle" because the white walls that stretch from either side of the main castle resemble a white heron poised for flight over the area inside the moat below.
The castle started as a fort in the 14th century but was transformed into a castle by Toyotomi during his 1581 military campaign to the area. The castle has one of the most sophisticated defense systems in Japan, with three moats, extensive gates and a secret entrance.
Hide-san explained to us that the gates became progressively smaller as you worked your way through the the maze of road ways to get to the main castle to make it more difficult for any enemy attacks that may have penetrated the moat.
Hide-san also pointed out small holes in the walls where stones could be dropped on the enemy bellow, holes in the floor where spears could be be jabbed into the enemy on the paths below and cutouts where bowman could take aim.
Since the castle was under renovation, a special exhibit called "Egret's Eye View" was temporarily erected to allow visitors to witness the conservation project. We took an elevator up to the top floor, which was even with the roof. We were able to view the entire castle complex and surrounding city from here. We then started our decent down, where we could see plaster work being completed.
On our way out of the castle, there was a group of approaching ninjas. Evidently, you could schedule this tour in which you dressed up as a ninja and learned some combat moves, then walked through the castle to put on a show together with the professional actors.
Our lunch in Himeji was a type of surf and turf. The beefsteak came from Hokkaido. It was super tender and served in a delicious sauce. The surf portion was a prawn that was about the size of a lobster tail. Since Kevin won't eat seafood, I traded him some of my beef for his prawn. I think that I got the better end of the deal. He disagrees.
After lunch it was back on the bus and back into the mountains on our way to Kurashiki. The word "kurashiki" means "warehouse village". The village served as an administrative center of a 17th Century shogunate and became a prosperous market town where rice, sake and cotton where collected and shipped back to Osaka. In 17th century Japan, wealth was measured in rice, and larger granaries were constructed to store rice. Canals were also dug so that barges could transport the goods between the town and the ships anchored in the Seto Inland Sea.
The old historic district is preserved, and the buildings must maintain their 17th century appearance on the exterior but have been transformed into charming little restaurants and shops. Kurashiki is also home to several important museums. Kevin and I decided to spend half of our time exploring a museum and the remainder of our time shopping.
We choose the Japan Rural Toy Museum which had a colorful display of traditional and antique toys from all over Japan. Toys were crammed into every inch of the four rooms of the museum while 200 kites were suspended from the ceiling. In some ways it reminded me of the Toy Train Museum in Lancaster. Almost all of the descriptions were in Japanese, but Kevin and I were still able to appreciate the fine craftsmanship and delicate details of the toys. I particularly liked the doll which came with an assortment of different wigs with traditional hairstyles for girls and women of all ages. As we were getting ready to leave, Kevin spotted a Guinness Book of World Records certificate sitting next to a very large top. The owner of the museum, Ohga Hiroyuki, gained entry into the Guinness Book by spinning the top for 1 hour, 8 minutes and 57 seconds. When we looked at the date of the certificate, it read June 22, 1983. Without even trying, we were able to see the top on the 30th anniversary of the record.
We left the museum and headed back to the bus, walking along the canal lined with willow trees. I had spotted some artists who had set up ad hoc stands near the river and I was hopping to find a unique souvenir to bring home. We found a man who made amazing jewelry from broken watch and camera pieces. Everything was so beautiful that it was difficult to pick just one thing.
The final leg of our trip took us into Hiroshima. Sunday was devoted to touring Hiroshima, so Saturday night we just went to a shopping mall for dinner. In Japan, nearly all of the malls have restaurants on the top floor. Dinner tonight was okonomiyaki. Okyonomiyaki is made on a hot griddle. First a type of pancake batter is spooned onto the grill. That's followed with layers of cabbage, bean sprouts, meat, Chinese noodles and finally an egg on top. Finally, it's drenched with a sweet sauce and mayonnaise and brought to a hot griddle in the middle of the table to finish cooking. The serving is enormous and absolutely delicious.
Our final hotel was the Hiroshima Sheraton. Hide-san had talked this hotel up to us for most of the day, so I was expecting to be wowed. He said it was opened just a few years ago. But while the hotel is beautiful to look at, it's completely impractical. The sink is on an island about one third of the way into the room. The shower and toilet rooms open directly into the room and are translucent glass, so if everyone else is sleeping, you feel bad turning the lights on. Kevin pointed out that the only good thing about the arrangement is that you can watch the TV from the bathroom. Needless to say, this is my least favorite hotel.
No comments:
Post a Comment