Hiroshima
& Miyajima
Getting
the only direct train our pass lets us take (means we can only take the 285 kph
bullet, not the 300 kph one) meant an early start but Kyoto in rush-hour is
still very polite & calm so no real hardship. We were in Hiroshima by
mid-morning, ready to stash our packs in the train station lockers & head
out into the torrential rain. Our $5 brollies just about stood up to the
job but by the time we reached the A-bomb museum our trousers had absorbed rain
to calf height & my shoes squelched.
Seeing
the only remaining building (others survived the blast (parts of them at least)
but have been demolished since) that stands as a 'lest we forget' site in the
pouring rain felt apt. The grounds are now beautiful with memorials &
lush gardens in stark contrast to the images shown inside the museum.
It's every bit as horrible as we expected it to be but we learnt a lot.
My overwhelming feeling, after seeing pictures of and testimony's from the
survivors is that you'd be lucky to be killed in the first impact rather than
suffer as they did.
Subdued
we retraced our steps then headed to the port where we got a short boat ride
over to Miyajima, a tiny island best known for the Itsukushima-jinja
shrine and 'floating' torii gate.
Accommodation
for the night was a traditional rokyan guest house- very pretty but largely
impractical for giant sized westerners so we hit the town ready for a night of
revelry. In reality, of the 3 venues open beyond 7 pm, only one offered
options other than oysters or eel so we opted for tempura, red wine & an
early night. Finally, around 9pm the rain stopped.
As
well as a change of scenery from cities, staying on the island gave us the
chance to get sight-seeing before the ferry loads of day trippers arrived. We
were at the shrines with the first pack of cheeky deer (we had nothing for
them- having read of their thieving ways our map, passport's & money were
well hidden and the notion of 'spare food' is an oxymoron to us) and then
hot-assed up the Mount Misen to see the views before hundreds of people arrived
via the cable car.
Turns
out it's a big old climb straight after breakfast. 2.5km of steep steps broken
up by the odd metre of flat (normally accompanied by a 'watch out
for deadly snakes' sign along with the crucial advice not to poke them
with a stick) but the view was worth it. As were the smug-points we added to
our imaginary score board as we gasped for breathe & dripped sweat in the
path of the sweet-smelling cable-car cheats.
By
the time we reached sea-level again the island was heaving & had we arrived
to that, we'd have got a very different view of things. Might even have
done a U-turn. After shuffling through the single street to the harbour
we grabbed the non-oyster/eel lunch option* collected our kit & headed back
to mainland.
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