Day 18 Hiroshima - Osaka

Travelling day and a chance to rest our legs after the big bike ride. Riding the trains in Japan is always fun especially with a bento box to enjoy on the way.  After finding our cute little apartment in Osaka where the host presented Lilly with a bunch of flowers - very sweet - we found a great place to try the Osaka version of okonomiaki - delicious!  

Day 19 Osaka

Spent the day exploring the streets and subways of Osaka. Osaka has a slightly different vibe to it than the rest of Japan and there are SO MANY RESTAURANTS and places to eat. And SO MANY SHOPS!!!!  We found an area of town known as Denden town which sells all sorts of electronic goods including retro video games. I was very tempted to buy myself a Donkey Kong just like the one I used to own - but for over $200 I decided against it.  Next stop was an area famous for the lights and food and shopping. We had the most amazing lobster roll. Delicious. And then out for our last holiday night meal - another okonomiaki!  YUM! What a fabulous trip we have experienced. Japan is an incredible country.  But there is no place like home and we are all looking forward to arriving back in Canberra.🚆✈️🛬  

Day 17 Onomichi - Imabari

 What a huge day.  Can only be described with the following statistics - 76 kilometres; 8 islands; 6 bridges; 9.138km of bridges; 4 bikes; 30 degrees celsius; 85% humidiity; 1 ferry ride; 7 hours of riding; 4 lemon cakes; 4 gelatos; 2 snakes - 1 living 1 dead. Riding across these huge bridges was certainly an experience we will never forget - at the very least we will be reminded of it every time we sit down for the next few days!

Day 16 Miyajima - Hiroshima

Up and out and onto a train...and then a ferry to the Miyajima Island to see the Itsukushima shrine.  When we arrived at the island we noticed they had a cat cafe which was something we have been wanting to experience since we arrived in Japan, so we decided to give it a go. Chris chose to wait outside while the rest of us went in. These cats were all Bengal cats which were absolutely gorgeous and so placid and also playful as most of them looked as though they were quite young. After a while we gathered a crowd of cats around us and enjoyed their company while sipping on our tea. Only in Japan! After the cat cafe we also visited an owl exhibit which was fascinating although I did not really like the fact they had these magnificent birds chained to the branches so that we could just walk past and admire them and pat them. They looked very healthy so that was some consolation. Then we moved on to visit the shrine. This shrine is built on the seashore and the tide comes in and out underneath and around it. Beautiful place. We wandered around the island which is naturally beautiful on its own.  After catching ferry and train back to Hiroshima we had a short rest (!) back at the apartment. Then we headed out for a stroll around the shops and enjoyed the sunset by the river. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 15 Hiroshima

Up and onto the train to Hiroshima. After finding our apartment and dropping off our bags we set out to explore some of Hiroshima's most famous sites -the memorial peace park and the atomic bomb museum. Absolutely incredible to think about the devastation that was caused and to see the beautiful city that it is today - very moving. 

We also found a delicious dinner that Hiroshima is also famous for okonomiyaki - feeling very full of noodles and cabbage we headed back to base for another quiet night in. Inspired by the stories at the peace park we tried our hands at making origami including paper cranes. They say if you make 1000 you get a wish...we have a few to go...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 14 Okayama - Himeji

Up, out and onto the speed train back to Himeji to see Himeji castle which is an extremely well preserved and restored castle from the samurai period of Japan. It sits high on the hill overlooking the city and surrounding area. On the way to the castle we rented some bicycles from a vending machine which got us around the town a whole lot faster and was loads of fun. Basically the castle is a huge fort with all sorts of features designed to make it easy for the Warriors to defend the lord when under attack. This castle was never actually under attack and even survived close by bombings in WWII.  It is a very impressive castle. I managed to pick up a free tour guide along the way who explained lots of details and stories about the castle which was handy.

After riding all the way around the castle and enjoying some lunch we caught the train back to Okayama to visit the beautiful gardens.  The Japanese gardens are simply beautiful and so tranquil. 

A big day with sore feet all around.  Moving on to Hiroshima tomorrow morning. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

Day 13 Kyoto - Okayama

This was our last day in kyoto.  After packing up the house we set out to explore the Nishiki markets a little more and bought a few more souvenirs and tasted some more delicious food. We gave the sparrows on a stick a miss though. 
Then it was time to make our way to the train station for another awesome trip on the Shinkansen. We are really enjoying traveling by train here in Japan. Being able to grab a delicious bento box and even a beer and a sake to enjoy on the train just makes the whole trip way more relaxing.