Hiroshima, Miyajima Island and Tokyo
We took our next shinkansen train from Osaka to Hiroshima, treating ourselves to a stay in a nice 4 star hotel – oh the luxury! 🙂
Our first day there we actually took the train and the ferry out of the city to the nearby island of Miyajima island. This island has been revered for thousands of years and is covered with shrine and temples and is most famous for the huge ‘floating’ Tori gate that lies in the entrance of the bay to the island. It is also known for its very cute, tame deer that are wild and roam the island freely, usually following tourists and locals in pursuit of food!
We decided to walk to the top of the island’s mountain through the national park which was stunning. There is a cable car at the top of the mountain but we had visited on a day when it was closed for maintenance – this was perfect as it was soon obvious that very few tourists could be bothered to walk the 1.5 hours up to the top. Hard work at times, it was completely worth it for a 360 view at the top. We were rewarded with stunning views of the surroundings including, many islands, small bays and hiroshima in the distance.
We walked back down past numerous beautiful shrines and temples and decided to indulge in the local delicacy that Hiroshima and Miyajima are famous for – oysters. We had a tasting menu with 10 huge oysters cooked in different ways – bbq’d, oiled, boiled and crumbed – delicious!
The next day we wandered down to the Hiroshima Peace Park and museum. The park has been beautifully put together as a memorial and space to reflect on the victims of the atomic bomb. The museum was fascinating with info not only on what happened but also on the development of the atomic bomb and where we are today with the nuclear weapons debate. A real sobering and thought provoking morning, in which we both also learnt lots about this important and world changing chapter in history.
We then jumped on our final shinkansen for the 6 hour journey back to Tokyo. Throughout our time in Japan the rail service, as expected, was amazing and surely the envy of the world. Punctual, easy to understand, comfortable and fast!
The final few days of our trip were upon us and Tokyo and Hakone were the last places on our itinerary.
We had a morning at the famous Tsukiji fish market, where people often arrive at 3am in order to watch the tuna auction. We decided that was far too early so arrived at 9:30am when they let tourists into the wholesale section of the market. After a wander round spying all sorts of fishy wonders we went for a breakfast of fresh sushi – delicious!
We had a full day shopping for gifts and took in the Harajuku area, watching the very cool, colourful and funky young Japanese walking by. An afternoon was spent in Akihabara, or ‘electric town’ as it’s known – neon streets full of arcade centres, shops dedicated to all things anime and manga, as well as robot and gadget stores showing off the latest futurist products. Dan tried his hand at the incredibly popular Japanese gambling game of Pachinko in one of the countless number of incredibly loud and bright Pachinko centres. A game and an experience that is difficult to accurately explain to anyone who hasn’t been to Japan.
Our final splurge meal was in Kaikaya By the Sea, a very good fish restaurant recommended to us by an American backpacker we met in Uno. A beautiful 10 course meal of fish, shellfish, sashimi and chicken (with an amazing tuna rib dish) was served to us by a cheery waiter and was finished off with a beautiful cherry blossom ice cream. An experience we would highly recommend to anyone visiting the capital.
We were staying in Shinjuku/Shibuya – a vibrant entertainment area so on our final day we decided to head to Asakusa a quieter district along the river, known for its small independent shops and huge Sensoji temple. We bought a final few gifts and headed out for dinner. We found a small local restaurant that specialised in delicious gyozas, where you ordered everything by ipad.
Our final destination was Hakone, famous for its natural spring onsens and being a great place to see Mount Fuji.
We arrived at our traditional ryokan with tatami beds and a private outdoor onsen. We were given local yukata (cotton kimonos) to wear and enjoyed yet another amazing multi course meal before soaking the aches away in our 65 degree F natural spring hot tub.
Hakone is a large area with the small villages connected by a small mountain train system and buses and we spent a wonderful few hours walking through the Hakone Open Air Museum – a huge park area with over a hundred sculptures and a large museum dedicated to Picasso. The sculptures took on a whole different meaning within the natural landscape and it was beautifully put together.
Our final day saw us take the cable car up to get a spectacular view of Mount Fuji. It is renowned for being a sight that is often covered in cloud and difficult to see so our expectations were low as it was a cloudy day but we were astounded by the sight of the beautiful mountain closer than we both expected, as we reached the top of the cable car. A simply stunning and the perfect way to end our trip.
Our 2 weeks in Japan were everything we had hoped for and more. Everything they do just seems to be the right way to do it. Excellent transport systems, toilets with heated seats (!), accommodation with full amenities and facilities, fantastic food (even simple cafes produced good meals – we really only had one so so meal the whole time we were there) and extremely friendly, polite, helpful people. The only negative I can think of is that they still allow smoking in restaurants. The culture and way they do everything was fantastic to experience. A simply wonderful country to visit.
Tiredbuthappytravels 