A dozen temples are situated on Mt Futaba overlooking Hiroshima. At one, a woman invited me inside. As a rule NO ONE goes inside a temple. She lit candles and incense. She invited me to sprinkle aromatic pellets in the incense container (Fortunately Namiyo and Saburo taught me this procedure). Upon leaving she gave me a small model of the Peace Pagoda. I got choked up from this emotional moment.
I entered Hiroshima City Museum of History and Traditional Crafts to the shock of all. Apparently no foreigner ever comes. A volunteer offered to escort me. He told charming stories of his family’s roll in Hiroshima’s beef butchering industry. Oysters were a second area industry. Hiroshima’s delta of fresh and salt water is ideal for oyster farming.
Stroll through the garden with many water features shaped like cranes and turtles for long life. Cherry blossoms are captivating.
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park vicinity.
SHUTTLE: from hotel @9:00 to Tadanoumi Port @9:05
FERRY: from Ōkunoshima Port @ 9:15 to Tadanoumi Port @ 9:30
TRAIN: from Tadanouri Station @ 9:40 on Kure Line to Mihara Station @ 10:00
TRAIN: from Mihara Station @ 11:38 on Kodama 847 on Shinkansen High Speed Train to Hiroshima Station @ 12:07
WALK: from Hiroshima Station to hotel @ 12:20
Hiroshima Castle vicinity.
Store room key in locker. Attach locker key to wrist. Clothing and towel go in the basket. Sit on stool to clean and shower. Shampoo, conditioner, and soap provided. Soak in Onsen. Men and women separated. Nude.
Every girl’s dream…
Like cats, rabbits purr when content and relaxed. Their babies are called kittens. What would Juju think?
Who gets credit for me buying a Tokyo Sea World and Tokyo Disneyland ticket on my rest day in Ōkunoshima? Justin who carries a Disney points credit card. I weathered 2 challenging hours using a device physically in Japan but with USA information to make the purchase.
On this trip, I wanted to include the Japanese’s Japan. Places where there isn’t English subtext and not the post card version of Japan. As Ōkunoshima Island is only 2.5 miles in circumference, it provides lots of time with the Japanese as we interact with 900 rabbits. With rabbits, who needs English subtext?
Linda Scandore 