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Published: March 15th 2017
The Shinkansen
Our train to HiroshimaAnother good night's sleep. Must have been the 20+ kms we walked yesterday that helped. Both of us were keen to leave so that there wouldn't be any stress catching the first Shinkansen train for the trip. These high speed trains are included on our JR Railpasses we bought before leaving Australia. We arrived at Tokyo Station via the subway train and a walk through about 500m of passages, before 0900hrs and a departure of 1003hrs. This gave us a relaxing time beforehand to have a good coffee at Starbucks and then make our way to the train. What a train! Very sleek and spacious seating. We travelled at over 200kph smoothly and quietly. On our arrival at Hiroshima Station we had no problems in following the photo directions, given by our host, to the AirBnb. In fact, Judy found it quite an adventure following the page by page clues to our destination. It was a reasonably sized (by Japanese standards) 2 bedroom unit with a kitchen/living area, bathroom and a separate toilet.
After unpacking some of our gear and setting ourselves up a bit we started wondering whether or not we had been told by
Our BnB
Very clean but only 1 chair, 1 stool and a lounge on the floor. Note bed on floor. Maybe we're getting a little old for this! our friends David and Helen, what time to expect them. Unfortunately the unit is so secure there was no way they could contact us from downstairs when they arrived. We therefore returned to the railway station to await their arrival. After about an hour the thought occurred that they may have gone past us and be waiting at the unit. Good thing we did, they were just getting out of a taxi as we returned! Hugs and kisses and it was as if it was only yesterday since we saw them, not over one years.
The rest of the afternoon was spent catching up with news and generally lounging around a bit. At dinnertime we got ourselves into some warm clothing and went out into the local shopping mall not far from us, the ladies checking out every shop in what must be the longest covered shopping mall in Japan. Here we finally settled on a small Japanese restaurant where we had a tasty selection of dishes.
We were home fairly early to a quiet after dinner drink before we all hit the sack. Be interesting how we all sleep as the beds are mattresses on the floor.
Itsukushima Shrine
This much-loved shrine on Miyajima Island Not at all what we expected from the photos when we booked it!
Monday 13th March We slept fairly reasonably, although Helen said she couldn't sleep and spent several hours reading in the middle of the night reading. The area is quiet and the temperature didn't get too low during the night. We woke up early as usual, and had finished our showers and started breakfast before Helen appeared. We both sang Happy Birthday to her as she came in, and so began her day!
Lunch on Miyajima Island was the day's mission and after a 30 minute train ride to the coast followed by a 15 minute ferry ride we were there. One of the first things we saw on the way out were the oyster racks, the island being renowned for their big oysters. That went down well with both of all of us being oyster lovers. Next thing was the vermilion coloured O-Torii Gate, the most known symbol of the island. When we arrived it was surrounded by water but later that afternoon the tide had gone down and people were walking around it.
On shore we came across the resident
Miyajima Island
Deer abound on the island deer, dozens of them were wandering around the harbour area, with several signs warning us not to feed them and deer sniffing everyone's bags to check for food. Lovely creatures, but after seeing one have a go at a dog that got too near, we were glad that all had their horns removed. As is usual on any beachfront there were souvenir shops and food stalls lining the street facing the water. The food shops had the most appealing aroma coming from them, most barbecuing oysters or other seafoods. We bought a couple of curry oyster buns to share, very tasty with a filling of a few oysters. We didn't want to spoil our appetites for lunch so pulled ourselves away from this area and walked to where the O-Torii Gate could be seen from the shore in front of the Itsukushima Shrine. We took some photos with the Gate in the background, the deer having to be pushed away as they tried to get into our discarded backpacks. From here we continued on up the mountain to the Buddhist Daisho-in Temple built in the12th century.
By now our stomachs told us it was lunchtime and we made our
Miyajima Island
The aroma of oysters predominate. way through the lines of stalls and cafes selling all sorts of wares and foods until we found one with available seating. Here we spent the next hour or so drinking cold beers or similar accompanied by fried oysters and scallops before the main course of 3 dishes - vegetable and pork pancakes with oysters, prawn, and scallops. Delicious!! We walked out of there feeling quite replete having had "ample sufficiency".
That said, we still found space for some red bean paste cookies made in automated machines you could see operating. Helen and Rags must have hollow legs because just before reaching the ferry they found a stall selling the oyster buns like we had before. These however, must have been the last made for the day as they were absolutely crammed with oysters. Both raved about them for some time.
Back at the Hiroshima station we went through the supermarket, the ladies looking for simple food for the evening, the guys finding all sorts of beers, Rags winning with a 'delicious' (his words) 9% strength lemon beer named 'Strong Zero'. The rest of the day and evening was spent resting, drinking and eating. A great finish to
The A-Dome
This building was immediately below the explosion and somehow "survived". It is now a memorial to the blast. an enjoyable day.
Tuesday 14th March Today's agenda was to visit Peace Memorial Park and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. Using our JR railpass we were able to access the circular bus service which covered the destinations we intended visiting. First stop was the the A-bomb Dome. This building was designed by a Czech architect and built in 1915. It was almost directly underneath the exploding bomb when it exploded at an altitude of 600 metres. Everyone in the building died instantly but most of the building remained standing, unlike almost everything else within a 2kms radius. The remains have been kept as they were and is now on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
From here we walked into the Peace Memorial Park and saw the memorial dedicated to Sadako Sasaki, the young girl who escaped death as a 2 year old in the blast only to die from leukemia in 1955 aged 12. Just before her death she started making origami cranes, following the Japanese legend that by making 1000 cranes your wish would come true. It is said that she made 664 and her classmates made 1000 before she died. Children from all
Children Peace Memorial
To commemorate Sadoko and other children killed by the bomb. over the world continue making and sending these cranes to commemorate her death and to further world peace.
From here we walked past the Cenotaph memorial with the eternal flame surrounded by water. Here we came across many groups of schoolchildren on visits, as well as groups who came with rakes and brooms to clean the gardens and areas around the memorial. A group of young girls joined us, practising their English on us and having their photos taken.
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum is dedicated to the 140 000 people who died on April 6th, 1945. Many more died or were seriously affected in the years that followed. The photos in the museum were quite graphic and very much emphasised that many of the victims were children. This was brought about because of the many schools in that area and also that all the boys were being used to clear fire-breaks and other preparations for the war effort. Little mention was made of the Korean prisoners of war and military personnel who were also there and perished. It does however make a strong plea for the abolishment of nuclear weapons in all countries.
Back on the
bus and a stop for lunch followed and we then went to the Hiroshima Museum of Art. Our age was a bonus here, we had free entry. A quick look around the gallery was followed by a visit to the connected garden here. This garden centred on a lake filled with koi and surrounded by trimmed trees and bushes. Most of these were just coming out of winter dormancy and new shoots and buds were in abundance. We saw several of the famed cherry blossom trees here.
Back at the bustop awaiting our bus when Judy used her Maps.me app on her phone and found we were only 850 metres from our unit. This we walked, stopping at "Freds" supermarket where we bought nibbles and drinks to bide us through the evening, no-one having the inclination to go out again after getting into the unit. The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent as it usually is, with Judy doing her work, the others reading or doing something with their computers, interspersed with drink, chat and nibble breaks.
Judy and Rags did have an enjoyable 30 minutes or so, FaceBook video messaging Judy's mother and then two
Mazda Museum
After motorbikes the company graduated to 3 wheel trucks. lots of grandchildren. The quality of the visual and voice was excellent, technology has come so far since we first started using it.
So ended another good day.
Wednesday 15th March Today we split up and did different things. Judy and Helen were off to see a castle, Rags and David to the Mazda factory and museum.
Rags and David left the unit first and after a short trip on the local line found they had time to kill before the 1000hrs conducted tour. Luckily for them there was a coffee shop right in front of the station with a morning special. A delicious cup of coffee with a cake of our choice with a scoop of ice-cream on the side had both of us feeling coming earlier was worth it.
The tour itself was well organised and interesting, a bus taking us some distance from the front office to the museum and production line area. Mazda owns a huge area of land and on it they have factories assembling specific parts, the assembly line, the harbour transport area, offices, recreation areas for employees and a hospital owned by Mazda but open
Mazda Museum
Hydrogen hybrid rotary engine to the locals. Over 37 000 people are employed, many living in dormitories in the area.
We learned that Mazda originated in Hiroshima, building motorcycles before WW2 and expanding to trucks and later to the passenger vehicles of today. The museum was fairly sparse with only a limited number of displays, the emphasis seemed to be on the current models. No photography was allowed in the factory or factory grounds, only in the museum. The production line we saw was interesting, each car body was on a conveyor belt and as it came into a station 1 or 2 people there fitted parts before it moved onto the next station. We watched them fit seatbelts and floor coverings in one, then move on to a dashboard fitting, then lights, then windows and so on. Very efficient but quite boring for the workers. Different models with different specifications were all on the same assembly line, the relevant parts coming together through a programming system. We were given a chance to view and sit in a range of current vehicles, Rags very impressed with the new CX9 SUV.
Lunch was back in Hiroshima at a small cafe where the meal
was cooked in front of you. A meal of noodles with a curried meat topping and spring onions, followed by a dish of dried squid crackers, washed down with a few beers had both replete. The enjoyment was dampened a bit by Rags being given a beer with something floating in it, but otherwise all was enjoyed. A nap had both ready to go before the ladies returned.
Meanwhile the ladies had a quiet morning chatting and washing before heading out to the Hiroshima Castle.This showed an amazing, historical picture of early Hiroshima. It is one of few castles built on a plain and completely surrounded by a moat. The castle survived when many other castles were demolished but it could not survive the atomic bomb which was dropped in 1945! However the castle keep has now been rebuilt as a museum and at the top we were afforded wondrous views over Hiroshima! From here we had a quick visit to the shrine nearby before having to run for the loop bus. We alighted near the department store Sogo - our first mission was to find food - especially udon noodles! We did so on the 7th floor. Judy
had a udon with a variety of toppings and Helen had shrimp and egg and boy were the shrimps shrimpie! They were the smallest I've ever seen! We then ordered a side serve of tempura prawns and vegetables - yum! But we were both full when we left. however, it took us a long time to make our way down through the various floors of Sogo, looking at everything as we went. Helen managed a few purchases on the way! Once we left, we discovered the bus would be quite some time so out came the Maps.Me app which told us "home" was only 1.1kilometre away so we set off, arriving home just before 5 pm!
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