Hiroshima, Chugoku, Japan
Saturday, January 7, 2017

*ASH*
Our day started early as we packed and headed off to the Kyoto station to get the Shinkansen to Hiroshima. Only time for a quick brekky on the go so we got some goods from a bakery to eat on the train.

Another nice train ride and we arrived in Hiroshima around 10am. After tripping up and hopping on a train going the opposite direction to what we needed, we eventually were on the right track (literally) and headed to the ferry for Miyajima. Miyajima could be described as Japans Rottnest-except replace quokka with adorable friendly deer and take out the aussie turbos. Instead of Pinkies beach is a bay that hosts the Great Torii gate...sitting in the water- very pretty and we are told it is one of the top scenic spots in Japan.

After leaving our luggage at the hotel and seeing a grown man eating grilled corn get chased down by a hangry deer, we had a quick wander, ate some beef and eel buns, then went to a hipster looking coffee place. Don't know whether we were charged for it but all of us ended up with a curry and rice meal with our beverages. With full bellies, we followed our tour guides Maj AKA Svetlana and Dyl AKA Yuri who were to lead us to the Hiroshima Peace Museum. We hopped back on the ferry, then a train, then onto a handy free sightseeing bus which took us there. We spent a good hour in the museum - was really interesting and very sad. The museum had a lot of clothing, jewellery, materials etc. from people's loved ones that were found after the Atomic Bomb. What surprised me most was I didn't realise that Hiroshima was preparing for some type of air raid at the time and had school children preparing fire breaks by demolishing buildings- almost all these children passed away in the explosion.

After the museum we wandered the Peace Memorial Park which had a few really good memorials and statues. We then went to the dome - a building that remains from the A-Bomb- half destroyed with a few supports in it to keep it standing.

We headed for the entertainment district and stumbled upon a classy establishment called Jenny's- known for their authentic Japanese snacks of Fries and Nachos (which was more just a plate of chips with a small bowl of salsa).... It did the job though with us having a couple of rounds here.

Lonely Planet guide Cal stepped in and took us to this building which has a few floors of little restaurants where u pull up a seat and they cook in front of you. Having not had it yet, Cal was keen for some Okonomiyaki- Japanese pancake and cabbage type dish. We found a place that looked good and pulled up six stools. A lady prepared us our meal in front of us and even gave the boys a tutorial on how to use their chopsticks. She eventually realised they lacked basic co-ordination and laughed, gave up to move onto new customers. Lou & I decided to share but the lady said no sharing which made things uncomfortable as we weren't sure if she meant Lou couldn't eat? Safe to say she discretely had some of mine. With bellies full we headed back to see the Dome at night - even more haunting and solemn. On the way, ash got some Nikes, we stopped at a few trinket shops, then caught the worlds slowest and most frequently stopping tram to the train station. The frustration on the boys faces was priceless while I sat back and enjoyed the heated seats.

For the second time for the day, we missed a train by a few seconds. This left us with 17minutes at the train station. Us girls were devastated as this meant we had to get ice cream and treats, bummer!

Once back at the island of Miyajima, We whispered goodnight to the sleepy deer, checked in and went up to our rooms. Excitement all round as we finally had our own rooms and proper beds....or at least we thought....We opened our doors to discover we again had to sleep on the floor- our futons here were nicer though and more comfortable than the last, it was good to be able to spread out a bit more and have our own toilets per couple.

We met up for a public bath before bed. There was one room for the girls and one for the boys. Our first experience in such a thing and was very interesting- you have to take clothes off in a room before the bath, and then wash yourself before you can get in. It was really warm and us girls didn't last longer than 15minutes. The boys however were quite comfortable with their Asahis in hand.

Off for a well earnt sleep!