The reason most travelers visit Himeji is to visit Himeji Castle, a World Heritage Site and one of Japan's most beautiful (and beautifully preserved) seventeenth century castles. Imagine Lee's surprise, then, when -- having arrived in Himeji by shinkansen from Kyoto -- he looked down the street and saw that the entire main turret was encased in cloth!
Clearly, the computer-generated black-and-white image just wouldn't do as a substitute for "the real thing" we had come all this way to see.
Interestingly, however, it did "do" and quite nicely at that.
We still were able to visit and appreciate aspects of the castle not under restoration. The outer walls and numerous smaller structures were still intact; many had recently been repainted.
To keep visitors coming, a room that had not been seen by the public since castle construction was completed in the sixteen hundreds was also open for public viewing and housed a collection of recently uncovered artifacts and a nicely-lit selection from the castle's collection of traditional Japanese armor.
The best feature, however, was the completely new structure incorporated into the restoration process (which won't be completed until 2015) of an external elevator and viewing platform allowing visitors to view the restoration process "up close and personal"! A glass window looks out at the work in progress as one assends in the elevator; and, from the viewing level, one can look out over the city without having to climb six flights of ladder-like stairs as usually has been the case in the past.
There's lots of explanatory material on display as well, explaining the process behind the roof replacement and the re-plastering of the exterior.
Sean, Ted and Lee all found the entire experience a real highlight of the entire trip to date.
After spending nearly three hours at the castle(!), we ate a quick lunch (local specialties, including squid and octopus), then caught a second shinkansen for the one hour trip further south to Hiroshima where (after a brief hassle over an erroneous reservation) we settled into two (rather than one) rooms at the ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel Hiroshima for our one night stay.
The hotel is almost adjacent to Peace Park (which we'll visit tomorrow) and within easy walking distance of the okonomiyaki restaurant palace Lee discovered when last in Hiroshima with Friends of Lee in 2007. We ate there again this evening, then added desert at a nearby Starbucks.
What surprises Lee most about Hiroshima 2012 is how transformed it seems from just four years ago -- the place is strikingly up-to-date and sophisticated, so much so that Ted wondered if the atomic bombing had done any damage at all!
Interestingly, however, it did "do" and quite nicely at that.
We still were able to visit and appreciate aspects of the castle not under restoration. The outer walls and numerous smaller structures were still intact; many had recently been repainted.
To keep visitors coming, a room that had not been seen by the public since castle construction was completed in the sixteen hundreds was also open for public viewing and housed a collection of recently uncovered artifacts and a nicely-lit selection from the castle's collection of traditional Japanese armor.
The best feature, however, was the completely new structure incorporated into the restoration process (which won't be completed until 2015) of an external elevator and viewing platform allowing visitors to view the restoration process "up close and personal"! A glass window looks out at the work in progress as one assends in the elevator; and, from the viewing level, one can look out over the city without having to climb six flights of ladder-like stairs as usually has been the case in the past.
There's lots of explanatory material on display as well, explaining the process behind the roof replacement and the re-plastering of the exterior.
Sean, Ted and Lee all found the entire experience a real highlight of the entire trip to date.
The hotel is almost adjacent to Peace Park (which we'll visit tomorrow) and within easy walking distance of the okonomiyaki restaurant palace Lee discovered when last in Hiroshima with Friends of Lee in 2007. We ate there again this evening, then added desert at a nearby Starbucks.
What surprises Lee most about Hiroshima 2012 is how transformed it seems from just four years ago -- the place is strikingly up-to-date and sophisticated, so much so that Ted wondered if the atomic bombing had done any damage at all!
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