Wanderlust UK – September 2019

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