TR EN D I NG DE S T I N AT I O NS
H I R O SHIMA , OKAYAMA , A O MO R I, YAMA G ATA , N A R A , F UKUI, H YO G O, ISH I KAWA
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ll of Japan’s upcoming destinations are easily accessible by Shinkansen (bullet train) and local trains or cars from Tokyo or Osaka. Upon arriving at international airports with a direct flight from the middle east, you will surely access many attractive destinations with beautiful nature and tradition.
History and Culture HIROSHIMA
TIME FOR REFLECTION Believed to date back to 593, Itsukushima Shrine has been revered as a guardian deity of the nation and seafarers for more than 1,400 years. In 1996, this ancient shrine was designated a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site, and nowadays tourists come from around the world to gaze at the awe-inspiring Grand Torii Gate rising from the sea. 8
Itsukushima Shrine is said to grant worshippers various kinds of blessings, including traffic safety, good fortune, academic success, and matrimonial bliss. A one-hour ferry ride from Hiroshima Station, this majestic shrine gives you not only breathtaking scenery, but also a still tranquility to soothe your mind. Hiroshima is well-known throughout the world as one of two Japanese cities to suffer catastrophic atomic bombings in the last days of World War II. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial – commonly known as the “Atomic Bomb Dome” – symbolizes the hope that such a tragedy will
never be repeated, and has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park was designed by internationally renowned architect TANGE Kenzo. The monument clock at the Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims faces the direction of the atomic blast’s epicentre and is frozen at 8:15, the moment the bomb fell. These memorials are sacred places where you can take a moment to reflect and pray for peace at the site of one of the most horrific tragedies in human history.
OKAYAMA
HISTORICAL CHARM TO FEEL Okayama Castle’s long history dates back more than 400 years to the Edo period (1603–1868). Over the
