Hiroshima-jo, or Hiroshima Castle, was an importanat power base in South Japan. It was entirely obliterated by the A-Bomb, but the government rebuilt part of it in the 1950s.
Here is Kim with the castle moat and castle wall behind her. This part of the castle is the outer area where soldiers were housed.
Here is Peter at the castle gate. We actually went into the area above the gate where we saw lots of gun slits and gun holes for defenders of the gate.
Inside the outer pavilion area around the castle, we encountered a very friendly park ranger-type guy in a uniform who looked a bit bored. He lit up upon our arrival and began giving us a personal 30 minute tour. He asked us if we spoke Japanese, and we replied "sukoshi dake" (just a little), which he took to mean that we had near-perfect comprehension. His explanations were 100% relatively fast Japanese, so we didn't understand much; however, we really appreciated his kindness. The kindly gentleman also let us into one of the outer courtyard towers, which was roped-off. At the top was this large drum--probably for warning purposes.
From the tower we could get a good view of the inner courtyard. You can see the foundations of some buildings that weren't rebuilt. This was also an area where cavalry gathered in order to make defensive forrays against the enemy.
This is the quintessential Japan experience picture--the castle tower with sakura (and Kim). The castle tower was rebuilt as a museum to explain local history. Of course, photography was forbidden, but we learned a lot.
From the top of the castle tower, you could see a panorama of Hiroshima. This view is towards the river were we took our boat trip. The large building is a swimming pool or something of that manner.
Here is a view out across the castle grounds.
Here you can see a good deal of modern Hiroshima. What struck us about Hiroshima was a feeling of space. It wasn't nearly as cramped and claustrophobic as Kyouto. The streets seemed to be actually designed for automobiles!
Later we looked out from a nearby terrace onto the castle grounds. You can see the castle tower in the upper left and the smaller tower with the drum in the lower right.