After the temples, I attacked the castles! The most famous of them in Japan, Himeji Castle, was part of my program. Built in the late 16th century, it is called the White Heron Castle because of its color. Particularly impressive, it dominates the city of Himeji top of his tower with 5 floors. Its multiple roofs appear as entangled, giving the whole work a very, very careful. There are thick fortification walls, pierced with holes and other deadly sympathetic to boiling oil. The lower floors of the tower is reserved for storing food and weapons in case of siege. While the above can watch around and tease the attackers if necessary. Some other buildings are in the castle, including the areas of the wife of daimyo (lord) and her attendants. This famous set is unfortunately a victim of its success. As at Disneyland, you have to queue at least 30 minutes to buy a ticket and enter the attraction. And even then, we find ourselves in a second line where it seems to never move, forward or too short, you can not visit at their own pace. A little damage. 
Especially since the morning I visited the first castle, more modest but which was almost the only visitor. The latter, located in Hikone, just north of Kyoto does maybe 3 floors, but it is beautiful and overlooks a beautiful Japanese garden designed around a pond. The pond and mini-islands that have been arranged are the real lake that borders the city of Hikone. This complex dates from the 17th century. The visit was definitely more enjoyable than that of Himeji. For completeness, I also saw the Castle Okayama Castle said Crow. It also dates from the early 17th century, and has an architecture similar to the other two. Unfortunately the version that can be visited today is a concrete replica of the real castle razed during the Second World War ... And it feels when visiting the interior, more impersonal, less authentic than the other two. Nevertheless, the outside is beautiful, overlooking a famous garden located on the other side of the river that runs along the Asahi castle. In addition he has one thing in common with Himeji have been built under the leadership of Todoyomi Hideyoshi, the man who reunited the lords of Japan in the late 16th century. By late afternoon, I went to Osaka is one of the largest aquariums in the world, Kaiyukan. It is housed in a building of 7 storeys, in the middle of a shopping complex along Osaka Bay. The tour starts at the top, and descends gradually along
a slightly inclined plane which revolves around a giant aquarium. This aquarium includes thousands of fish that must really believe in the ocean, including giant manta rays, stars Kaiyukan, two whale sharks! We never tire of watching them walk around in the pool, followed by hundreds of other small fish. Outer side of the inclined plane, different ecosystems have been restored. It rises from the Japanese forest at the north pole, through the Great Barrier Reef. Each room has a portion above water, with land animals or amphibians, and a bottom water that can be observed through windows. In the mood North Pole, for example, you can admire a band of emperor penguins on the fake ice dozing or playing in the icy water. Yesterday, change of atmosphere with the arrival in Hiroshima. Incidentally he started to rain, a perfect time to get to the Peace Memorial. The less it was really funny that the aquarium, but provided an unforgettable visit. At first the museum begins gently, with the political aspects of the conflict, before the Hiroshima bomb, the various wars undertaken by Japan late 19ème/début 20th. Far more abstract. Then a giant model shows the city before and after August 6, 1945: a vast field of ruins with two or three frames of buildings that have survived somehow. Upstairs, it becomes downright scary. The exhibition chronicles the life and brutal death of children and adults who have died in the explosion or a few days later. These people had a name, you can see their clothes in tatters, their charred belongings, photos of their bodies and their faces mutilated. I found this way to narrate the catastrophe by recounting individual experiences particularly effective ... As I looked out the passenger tram differently, saying they had definitely lost family that day, or in the months that followed, succumbing to radiation. I also appreciated the objectivity of explanation, never taking part in Japan. It reveals also a Japan few friendly, very warlike, and during the war effort, inhumane toward his own people, including Chinese and Korean immigrant workers.
atmosphere a bit lighter today with a hike on the island of Miyajima, a half-hour ferry ride from Hiroshima. Like magic he did 
super nice:) The island is a small mountain, it takes 1 hour to get to the top. Many tourists go to watch on Miyajima its famous torii (Shinto gate vermilion as those of Fushimi-Inari) planted in the sea, a few hundred meters from the coast. Just opposite is a temple on stilts, where they attended a wedding ceremony clearly when I passed. The hike in the mountains was great peace, even if the steps are hard asses. Candidates for the climb are few. Small deer wander through here and there and hope we give them some food. At the top of Mount Mizen, a small observation tower you can admire a landscape worthy of the island of Finn Razel. Going down another slope, one can visit a beautiful Buddhist temple called Daisho-In. As I had a little time before my train to Hakama, I ironed in the Memorial Park. Just across from the "Atomic Bomb Dome" building protected witness - one of the few who
vaguely resisted the bomb - I talked for a little half-hour with an apprentice bomber of the Japanese army , 82, who was in his base a few miles away at the fatal moment. He spoke a few words of English which were enough to tell me about his life and ask me some questions about my trip. Shortly after I made some steps in the castle gardens Hiroshima to return to the guest house to get my bag. Another busy day tomorrow I continue my journey to the southern tip of Japan's Kyushu region. 
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