Japan Tour: Hiroshima

Sunday, March 22-Monday, March 23: Pottery, History, Beautiful Island

We had lots of bus time on Sunday as we made our way from Osaka to Hiroshima, along with a very early start at 7:50am. Yawn! Mr. E snagged some breakfast items for me to eat surreptitiously on the bus! And we didn't understand why normal-sized bags couldn't come on the bus with us, so we had to pay an extra fee again for Mr. E's new Rimowa. Grr.

Our first stop was at the lovely and serene Kenrokuen garden, where I purchased an adorable Marlene-ish clay kitty from a local artisan and had a three-corgi sighting! We enjoyed strolling around the small lakes and seeing the birds, turtles, and artwork.

Next we went to Kurashiki to visit the historic Bikan area with its lovely canals. This was also our spot for lunch, and we managed to find Mikuku, a very small restaurant, with great fish for lunch. Thanks goodness for Google Translate camera since there were no English menus available!

We did finally see some cherry trees in bloom, although we obviously were a bit too early for the majority of the blossoms. 

Our hotel in Hiroshima was the best so far, and our bags had arrived before us this time, so we were able to unpack and settle in right away. I had noticed a nearby Sheraton, right next to the train station just a couple of blocks from our hotel, so we headed over there and had a lovely time at the bar with a view out over the city towards the station. As we walked, we noticed lots of bicycles and mask use in this city, which was a bit different from other places we'd been so far.

On Monday we had a reasonable departure at 8:15am to catch the ferry to Miyajima Island. We had a great breakfast buffet with beautiful views out over Hiroshima, which is a lovely city with lots of trees, flowers, and five rivers that are lined with pedestrian pathways and pretty landscaping. My favorite place so far, for sure! Miyajima Island is the site of the famous "floating" Shinto shrine, and we loved strolling around the breathtaking coastline (with all of the local deer) but didn't have nearly enough time to explore as much as we wanted to. We definitely want to come back here the next time we visit Japan!

We had enough time for a Starbucks stop on our way back to the ferry, and the staff complimented me on my hair colour because it sort of matches the Sakura trees! When we returned to Hiroshima, we went to a spot near the train station for our Otonomiyaki experience, where we got to make our own versions of this local specialty with noodles, veges, and seafood or pork enclosed in two thin airy crepes. So fun!

The afternoon was spent visiting the A-Bomb Dome and the Peace Memorial Museum and surrounding areas. So very sad and intense and moving to bear witness to the awful first atomic bombing that devastated this city. But also incredibly inspirational to see the resilience and recovery of the city, which managed to rebuild relatively quickly yet continues to honor and memorialize these horrible events as a way to urge people to seek peace and avoid anything similar in the future. 

The main exhibition in the Museum was so crowded and hot and had such devastating pictures and items that I couldn't stay in it and had to power my way through the crowds to the exit to wait for Mr. E, and we were both crying at the end.

We returned to the Sheraton for Happy Hour and dinner, and I had a delicious seared tuna salad. Mr. E won our round of Rummy 500 before we called it a night and returned to our hotel to prep for the early morning departure the next day. At least the early time provided a lovely sunrise view over the city!

Japan Tour: Osaka Part 2

Saturday, March 21: Open-Air Farmhouses, Osaka Castle, Crowds, Another Sky Garden

Our departure time was 9am today, so we could have a more leisurely morning. The buffet breakfast included fresh grapes and hard-boiled eggs -- yay! I also had time to drop off some laundry at the front desk since we were at the mid-point of our journey and getting it taken care of now would get me through the remainder of the trip with sufficient clean clothes.

This was our least favorite hotel so far, though, because we couldn't control the individual room climate controls, which were still set for heating rather than a/c, so the rooms were quite stuffy and warm. This was particularly challenging because we also couldn't open the window at all and our rooms were west-facing, meaning that the late day sun was blinding and we had to be sure to pull the shades before heading out to avoid having the rooms heat up even more during the afternoon. The Tokyo hotel had the same issue with the room climate controls, but at least there we could open the window and the orientation was better for natural heat and light variation.

Our first stop of the day was at the lovely Open-Air Farmhouse Museum that featured examples of different styles of regional farmhouses from across the country. We enjoyed strolling around and then popped over to the nearby Lawson's to re-stock on plain popcorn for me (after a failed attempt with the 7-11 brand the day before).

We then headed to Osaka Castle, where we opted for the stairs instead of the elevator but still found too many crowds to make our way up to the top for the Observation Deck. This is also the day that I hit my limit with the crowds and just needed to take a break away from all of the people!

Mr. E grabbed some food at one of the spots near the Castle, and I headed back closer to the bus and found some yummy soft-serve ice cream for my lunch. The snack was created by taking a cup of pre-made ice cream and then running it through a special machine to create the typical soft-serve style on top of a cone. Ingenious! No need for the typical big soft-serve machine that we're used to seeing at ice cream shops here in the US.

Our tour director had asked if anyone wanted to the Umeda Sky Building during our afternoon free time, and enough of us were interested (including Mr. E and me) that she asked the bus drive to make a special drop-off there before heading back to the hotel with the rest of the group. Very convenient! Before going all the way up to the outdoor viewing deck, we stopped at the cafe for coffee, tea, and additional snacks with a pretty nice panorama over the city. We also took our time learning about the design, architecture, and engineering involved in creating the building along with the long-term vision for the site, which hasn't yet been fully realized.

We eventually went up to the highest level for some more amazing views, including the unique structure of the building itself.

In the gift store, we procured some more souvenirs and also found a large bottle of the Roku Sakura gin to add to our items for the checked bag. Yay!

On our way back to the hotel, we decided to try to find the special Starbucks Japan-themed mug trio and struck out on our first two attempts. Guess we should have bought them the day before in Dotonbori?? But no! Third time truly is the charm! We'll somehow figure out how to fit them safely into our carry-on bags to make sure they arrive intact...

We took the subway back to the hotel, which was a pretty quick and direct trip with the station right across from where we were staying.

For dinner, we decided to try Volk's restaurant after taking a look at the menu and seeing good protein options for both of us along with an all-you-can-eat salad bar. Vegetables at last! Not quite as many as we would have liked, but Mr. E did manage to get some broccoli as the side for this steak, and I had a delicious sea bream dish with asparagus and mushrooms.

 

This was also the moment that I finally discovered the Google Translate camera function to help us decipher the menu. Whoa. Mind blown! We hit up a 7-11 on the way back to the hotel for the ATM, snacks, and additional beverages and then watched two more episodes of "Young Sherlock" before I went to bed. Mr. E returned to Shot Bar, which he had discovered the evening before, for more drinks and socializing with the bartender via Google Translate. Sometimes technology really is a value-add!!!