Wanderlust UK – September 2019

(Axel Boer) #1
wanderlust.co.uk September 2019 125

HIMEJI
LITTLE-KNOWN
CASTLES

KOBE
LAND&SEA

ThemomentIsetfootinKobe,
Ithought‘Icouldlivehereone
day’.Thissmallcityisjust
a40-minutetrainridefromits
bigbrother,Osaka,yetitgets
afractionofthevisitors,which
becomesmoresurprisingthe
longeryoustay.Sandwiched
betweenoceanandmountain,
thiscitywasoneofthefirstin
Japantoopenitsdoors(orport)
totheoutsideworldin1868,
resultinginacosmopolitanmix
ofcultures,cuisinesand
architecture.There’sthe
150-year-oldredandgold
Nankinmachi,orChinatown,
contrastingwiththeultra-slick
ocean-side‘Harbourland’,where
livemusicstreamsoutofglass-
frontedrestaurantsasthesun
goesdown.Atnight,theneon
lightsshineasbrightasTokyo's.
ButKobehassecretsfar
beyonditsshinycity:just

aten-minutewalkfromthe
mainstation,Isteppedintothe
forestthatshroudsNunobiki
Falls.Themainwaterfall,known
asOntaki,drops43mdownin
asinglepowerfulsweep,the
waterconsideredsopurethat
portsailorsusedtocollectitto
takeontheirships:atasteof
home,faroutatsea.
Icaughtsightofthefalls
againlaterthatdayasIfloated
towardsKobe’smountaintop
‘NunobikiHerbGarden’in
aglass-sidedcablecar.Thetall
towersbelowseemedtomelt
away,replacedwithtreesso
tightlypackedtheylookedlike
they’dbeenspongedonthe
mountainwithpaint.Atthe
top,thegardensoverflow
withover75,000different
kindsofflora,fromdelicate
lavendertoplumpwild
strawberries.Ilayinahammock
watchingabumblebeetwirl,
thinkinghowstrangeitwas
morepeopledidn’tknowsuch
aplaceexisted.

King of the castle
(left) Kikuchi Valley
in Kyushu; (above)
Ikuta shrine in the
centre of Kobe; (this)
the magni†icent
Himeji Castle

PROMOTIONAL FEATURE


Kei Suigimoto/ Kushu Tourism; Olivia Lee


DID YOU
KNOW?
From September to
November, both Kansai
and Kyushu will be hosting
games for the Rugby World
Cup, meaning the local
infrastructure is
better than ever...

the castle in 1868. At that time,
the flowers, which bloom only
a week in spring, were meant to
symbolise the lives of the
Meiji-era soldiers: young,
beautiful, but over too soon.
After exploring the zig-zagging
castle keep, deliberately
designed to confuse enemies
(unneccessary, in hindsight,
given the castle was
never attacked), it
was time for some
refreshment.
Kansai is
considered one
of the best
sake-producing
regions in the
country, thanks
to the high-quality local
rice and fresh mountain water:
the two main ingredients in sake
production. I wandered around
Himeji’s 100-year-old Nadagiku
brewery – still family-owned


  • before sitting down to a glass
    (or was it a bottle?) of the
    sweet rice wine.


The next morning, I took a train
an hour west to Himeji, Hyogo
prefecture’s second largest city
after Kobe. As soon as I stepped
out of the station, I saw it:
Himeji Castle, the
crown jewel of
Japan's castles,
standing on a hill
above the city
(by law, nothing
can be built
higher than its
92m). Dating
to 1609, it’s the only
UNESCO-listed castle
in Japan, described as ‘a white
heron taking flight’ by the locals.
The sun was beating down as
I walked across the stone bridge
and through the enormous
wooden gate. Once inside,
I found shade under the cherry
blossom trees, first planted at
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