Miyajima and Onomichi Day 6

We woke up on Saturday and headed to the train station where we Rob proudly tetrused our giant bags into one locker.  Or was it 2.  Either way it was a marvel to behold. 

We took a short train to catch a ferry to the Island of Miyajima which is across from Hiroshima (all included on the JR pass, woot).  We walked past this pottery shop on our way to the ferry and as someone OBSESSED with Japanses pottery I reallllly wanted to go in, but alas, we had a ferry to catch. 

Miyajima is an island in the inland Seto Sea and it was such a pretty ride out to the island.

We were all so surprised by the very tame deer.  They were charming until they were a bit aggressive. 

Loved the traditional boats!  The Torii gate is the part of the Itsukushima shrine, a really cool temple complex right on the water.  We were worried about it being a fine Saturday and the crowds but I think our timing was good.  By the end of the day when we were leaving it seemed swarmed but we beat the mega crowds. 

This guy was kinda aggressive. 

By this point we were pros at the cleansing ritual. 

There was a wedding take place which was interesting to watch.  Kind of felt bad we were gawking. 

The bride is on the very far left with a sort of white bathrobe looking thing with a giant hood.

We left the shrine and meandered up through the charming (but highly touristy) town towards the cable car to take us up the mountain.

Up, up we went and the views were stunning.  And Clara loved shouting "Konichiwa" to all the passing cars and getting giggles, waves, and "Konichiwa"s shouted back to her. 

The Seto sea was incredible and the view from the top was amazing.

From the cable car station we did about a mile and a half hike to the tippy top.  It was muggy and hot, but not too bad.  And all along the way were shrines and temples.  A lot of them were for things like fertility, marriage, etc.  Lots of cans of pineapple left at the shrines which we later found out is a prayer for fertility. 

Some of the best Engrish was found on this hike.

Soph and Tucker bending gender.

There was a cool resting station at the tippy tippy top and because the Japanese are so clean you must take your shoes off, which makes it a deligthful place to lounge without being grossed out.  I love how clean everything in Japan is.

Always grateful for the instructions.

A cooling breeze.

On our way down we hit up the Daisho-in Temple, which was really quite stunning.  There was a vendor out front who gave all kinds of free stuff to the kids.  She was super nice. 

Once back in the little town we got some street food, which was pretty good, but this one deer was so aggressive we had to work hard to keep our food safe.

We took the ferry back, retrieved our bags and trained to the town of Onomichi.  Rob served in Onomichi and it isn't really a tourist destination and it was maybe one of my favorite places we went. 

We split up with the Montezes and went to find our airbnb, a charming restored guest house that was way up up up up up on the hillside.  So many nice old ladies cheered us on as we ascended the hill exhausted with our heavy packs.  We first walked through this giant covered market.  When we first went through it looked like they were setting it up for a festival or something. 

The guest house was awesome.  The guy who ran it was Japanese but had lived in Seattle for years.  Then he got involved with this non-profit that was preserving old Japanses houses, something that is far to expensive for just an ordinary person to do, because they are required by law to also restore the land around it.  Anyway, the non-profit buys these historic abandoned houses and renovates them.  It was such a cool place and the guy was super cool too. 

Our room had incredible views. 

From the guest house we went exploring.  It was golden hour and WOW.

Rob and I ditched the kids who continued to explore (Anders and Clara found a temple with a ton of cats) and we went back into town to get dinner. The market was even more festive.  Rob asked someone what the occasion was and they said, "Saturday night."  How cool is that?  

We got Okonomiyaki to take back to the kids and met back up with Shannon and Dave at the market.  They came back up to the guest house with us to hang out in the bar/lounge of the guest house. 

What a grand day!!!

Hiroshima Day 5

We had to leave Tokyo during rush hour and we were nervous with our giant backpacks, so we got up super early and headed to the train station.  We had reservations on a Shinkansen to Hiroshima.  We got breakfast at the train station and it was quite the collection of backpacks on the platform as we waited for our train. 

When we arrived in Hiroshima it was a little bit before this Okonomyaki place Rob read about in the guide book closed.  So we hustled through the streets, backpacks in tow to try and make it before closing.  Wow, this place was awesome.  These ladies were super nice.  And the Okonomyaki was AMAZING.  They told Rob they didn't know they were in the guidebook at first but they were getting so so so many tourists and then they found out and it's been really good for their business.  They have a fun map where you pin your hometown and sign your name, so we left our little mark there.  They gave us directions to the Peace Museum where we headed next. 

It was sunny when we got to the Peace Museum but by the end it was pouring.  Also the Peace Museum was super sad and sobering.  Also it was weird how they portrayed Japan's role in the war so innocuously.  To be honest it bothered me.  Japan has a strange relationship to taking ownership of their horrific wartime crimes.  Anyway, not that nuclear bombs are ever a good idea....  The main focus of the museum was making sure nuclear threats are illiminated, it just seems one has to grapple with one's own role in the whole thing before you can get there, right?  I mean Germany has taken full ownership of how they got to where they got.  Again, just really interesting. 

Obama made a stop at the museum a few years back.  What a sad thing that our current clown in chief probably hasn't a clue about what happened in WWII.   Anyway, I digress. 

We prepped for the rain as best we could and headed to our respective airbnb's.  Ours was about a block from the museum and it was super clean and nice with plenty of room for all.  

We Hastings' dropped our stuff off and then went to explore the Peace Park and to find the Hiroshima Castle.  The Montezes met up with us near the Castle later that evening. 

The rain stopped and this incredible rainbow appeared.  All the bike commuters stopped to take pics.  We joined them. 

Somehow along the way we lost both Tucker and Lucy.  I was a bit concerned, but Rob figured they would find us and worst case scenario they'd find McD's and free wi-fi and be in touch.  Wish I wasn't such a worry wort.  And he was right.  They did find us and they both said if they didn't they would have found free wi-fi and called us.   Anyway the orignial Castle was destroyed by the bomb, but the rebuilt castle was awesome. 

The sun went down, we met up with the Montezes and went in search of dinner.  We ended up at a curry chain and it was great.  Matt ordered the hottest and he was sweating from his eyeballs. Pretty funny.