It had been 41 years since I first experienced Hiroshima, "the international city of peace and culture," and a sister city of Honolulu. In four trips to Japan, my wife, Marie, and I visited Kyoto, Osaka and Tokyo, learning more about our heritage in the country of our grandparents. In May, we made our first visit to Hiroshima, to pay our respects.

KYOTO, OUR HOME BASE

Kyoto was our first destination. We stayed at the New Miyako Hotel directly across from Kyoto Station, convenient because we would be commuting on the Japan Rail Shinkansen Express ("bullet train") to Hiroshima, as well as other destinations.

We bought a seven-day Japan Rail Pass but reserved that the first day, instead taking the airport limousine bus to Kyoto (a one hour, 50-minute ride). It's Bus No. 8, right outside the Kansai Airport baggage area; purchase a ticket from the vending machines for $23 per person.

As is usual in Japan, we were bowed into the hotel, just two blocks from the bus station, and our eighth-floor room included amenities from kimono to toothbrush. With the room came breakfast, too — Western or Japanese.

JAPAN BY RAIL

The Japan Rail Pass is the best means of travel in Japan. Getting reserved seating in advance was no problem. Foreigners must purchase these passes outside of Japan and redeem them at the rail station; you'll need your passport to do this.

We traveled mostly on the Hikari and Haruka trains. They arrived at exactly the scheduled times.

Don't let yourself be bothered by the masses of humanity in every station. Just check the monitor for your track number; then look for your car number on the track platform and wait in that area.

Our rail trip to Hiroshima took us just one hour and 48 minutes, and the ride and view were worth the cost of the rail pass. Because we decided to take the 11:48 a.m. express, we each bought a beautifully boxed bento lunch at Kyoto Station.

From Hiroshima Station, we took the local tram (trolley) No. 2. The tram cars are a version of our old Honolulu Rapid Transit trolley cars, an electric bus system running down the middle of the main streets. For 150 yen ($1.40), we were in the heart of town in 10 minutes.

CITY OF PEACE

We were very impressed with the Rihga Royal Hotel Hiroshima (6-78 Motomachi, Naka-ku), very modern and probably the tallest building in Hiroshima at 33 stories. In contrast to the stereotype, our room on the 21st floor was large, with two queen-size beds and a roomy bathroom, and came with breakfast.

Directly across the street is the Hiroshima Museum of Modern Art, and on the next block is the Hiroshima Castle.

We visited the museum, and for the first time, I saw paintings by Picasso and Van Gogh. The Hiroshima Castle grounds are an enjoyable place to take photos. Many locals do oils and water-color paintings there.

Just around the corner from the hotel is the Hiroshima Municipal Stadium, where the professional Hiroshima Carp baseball team plays. This brought back fond memories for me; it's the stadium where my team played the Hiroshima All-Star softball team during a three-week goodwill tour in 1964.

Nearby is the famed Genbaku Dome, the shell left standing after the bombing of Hiroshima. The beloved landmark originally was designed by Czech architect Jan Letzel, completed in 1915. In 1944, it was the Office of the Interior Ministry and the Hiroshima District Lumber Control Corp.

A short distance away, crossing a bridge, you enter the Peace Memorial Park with its Cenotaph, and the Memorial Hall of Peace Museum. The Peace Memorial Park is bounded by rivers, the Motoyasu and the Honkawa, and includes more than 50 different buildings, memorials, monuments and statues.

We arrived in Hiroshima late in the afternoon, checked our baggage and made it to the museum a half hour before closing. Reading the descriptions and looking at the pictures, you quickly begin to feel sad and emotional. Kleenex is definitely a must. At the Cenotaph Memorial, the ashes of more than 70,000 people are buried.

It so affected my wife and me that no words were said during our visit to the museum. The next day we bought two bouquets of roses to lay at one of the memorials, and it was just as emotional again. Our grandparents came from Hiroshima and near Nagasaki.

In 1996, the Peace Memorial Park and the A-Bomb Dome were registered as World Heritage sites. Next Saturday marks the 60th anniversary of the bombing.

Today, the city is a vibrant metropolis of 1.1 million people. Six rivers flow through the city nicknamed "Water City." The city boasts many types of museums. For shopping, there are numerous malls, and there were three large department stores just a few blocks from our hotel.

The maple is Hiroshima prefecture's official tree, and pastries shaped like maple leaves abound in every sweet shop. Also associated with Hiroshima: oyster dishes and the okonomiyaki pancake.

One early evening, returning from Peace Memorial Park, we noticed that there was a ballgame at the stadium. We were able to watch the game for free — a good game between teams in the Japan Amateur Baseball Association.

SHRINE ISLAND

Our next visit was to Miyajima Island, just a short train and ferry ride from Hiroshima. There, you can walk along the coastline and pass small villages with shops selling souvenirs and sweets.

We saw many deer on the island and our goal — Itsukushima Shrine — proved to be a photographer's delight. This shrine is on the World Heritage list. A few hundred feet in front of the sea is the famous vermilion torii or Otorii (Grand Gate). No question, this is one of the more beautiful places in Japan.

Nearby is a temple and the five-storied pagoda of Senjokoku. Climb the stairway to the top for a beautiful view.

During the highest tide, the water rises to the floor of the shrine and makes it look as though it is floating on water, as does the Otorii. This was something we wanted to see, but we later learned that only during autumn does the water rise to the floor of the shrine.

Later, we walked about a mile to the Miyajima Aquarium and saw some sea creatures you don't even see in Hawai'i, then walked through the small village and had lunch at a corner inn. As we left, I told the waitress that the food was "oishi" (delicious) and she smiled and bowed, as did the cook. It made my day, and I hope it made theirs.

Over the next few days, we would catch trains to Kobe — where we discovered that Kobe beef was too expensive and ate a very good Australian steak instead — and to Expo 2005 in Aichi (see accompanying report).

Now we're looking forward to our return to Hiroshima next month.