Iwakuni is a small, mainly fishing and petroleum town these days, but historically, was one of the main castle towns, founded by a banished lord who had supported a defeated shogun.Remnants of the town's history can still be seen, and today we left Hiroshima and traveled about an hour west.
We spent the early parts of the afternoon wandering around the modernised parts of the town, just looking at the large river flowing through the town, eating McFlurry's (which are still mixed in Japan) until we found a small sports bar called "Poems" where we had some cheap drinks, free popcorn and a great chat with the sole barman.
Eventually we headed to the day's main attraction - the castle built by the lord, and a huge bridge, Kintai Bridge.
It was freezing cold, but we bore the elements and saw some huge Koi fish, and stayed late enough to see the bridge lit up from all sides.
For some reason, there were a heap of cats in the area, and I have no idea why.
Tomorrow, staying local in Hiroshima xx