Heart of Hiroshima

Tourists get a view from the top of Mt Misen.[Photo by Sun Ye/China Daily]

However, one has to go up Mount Misen to really enjoy the view of the gods.

The 500 meters climb is not daunting at all. There is the 20-minute two-stop ropeway that lands at Shishiiwa station. To ascend on foot, it is as much as a three-hour trek, depending on which road you take. Along the road, there will be plaques that proudly explain Misen's resident botanic family－for laymen, the mountain will be covered in snowy-colored cherry blossoms in spring and electrifying red-maple leaves during autumn. There are also announcements in the typical Kawaii (cute) tone that give you the distance to the top with "Ganbatte! Only 8 minutes to the stop, if you step up, we'll make it in 5!"

There, even at the Shishiiwa Observatory, you grow to understand why Japanese gods have chosen this place to be their timeless retreat. The cobalt Seto Inland Sea with its islets makes such a breathtaking scene that a joyful exclamation of "Aww" tends to come from all directions.

Another few hundred meters more and you're at the top of Mt Misen.

Japan's former premier Itoh Hirobumi once said: "The No 1 of Japan's three most beautiful spots is in the view from the (Misen) top".

He's not the only one to hold that belief.

After making that call to her beloved ("Just wish you were here"), taking a deep breath at the breathtaking sea and skyline, a veteran traveler who's been to all of Europe, much of Asia and America said to her friend, who was still holding her breath: "This is the best place I've been."