En route to Hiroshima

Wednesday 23rd January

Before heading off to Hiroshima there were still a few sites that I still wanted to see in Kyoto, especially the Nijojo castle, which had been shut yesterday. The castle with its double moats, massive walls and watch towers took 23 years to complete and is quite an impressive building to look around.

It would have been more pleasurable however if it hadn`t been raining. OK I know I moaned about being cold yesterday but it is better than being soggy. One amusing sight to behold is that a large majority of the Japanese cycle to get from one place to another and due to the amount of traffic on the roads and the size of the roads themselves, they opt for the pavement, weaving in and out of the pedestrians. However when its raining they try and juggle riding the bike in one hand, with holding an umbrella in another - very amusing. Even those guys who think they are too cool for school possess an umbrella but its clear (as if that makes it any more manly).

After the castle I headed to the Kiyomizu temple built next to a waterfall which when you take a sip cures all illnesses according to the legend. The final stop of the morning was the Toji temple famous for its 5 storey pagoda (the tallest in Japan).

Trains weren`t quite as frequent as I would have liked as the rail pass is only valid on certain trains, which unfortunately meant an hours wait. Thus arriving in Hiroshima after the tourist info had shut damn!

Nevermind I managed to locate a map and navigate my way to the main shopping district where some lady took pity on me struggling to work out what street I was on and directed me to a hotel. The only downside was there were only smoking rooms left. Bring on the smoking ban is all I can say.