Hiroshima

Arrived at our $60 a night budget business hotel which you could barely turn around in. Note the fantastic view of a cement wall. You get what you pay for. It was even better the next night when they had to move us to a "smoking" room...they provide you with a bottle of "Febreeze"...we sprayed everything from the walls to the A/C venting.

Hiroshima is famous for okonomiyaki... savory pancakes with vegetables/meat/seafood cooked on a griddle. They then add some noodles and a sweet dark sauce on top. Mine had egg, octopus, squid and shrimp. We were STUFFED...and had only a half order.

The A-Bomb Dome at night. The bomb exploded almost directly above this building, which served as the Industrial Promotion Hall. Everyone inside was killed, but the building itself was one of the few left standing. It has been declared a Unesco World Heritage Site. The next morning we toured the Peace Memorial Museum. An overwhelming experience as you can well imagine. The museum provides all the facts and details. Very worthwhile...There is a flame of Peace which will only be extinguished once the last nuclear weapon on earth has been destroyed...

Found some lunch at the train station...Takayaki....or octopus balls....not literally! It is actually a dough with boiled octopus in the center. Very much like the Abel skivers (Scandanavian pancakes) that I grew up with! Only instead of apple butter, they have octopus in the center. Hmmmmm......

We took a ferry over to the island of Miyajima. The vermilion torii (shrine gate) of the temple is one of the most photographed sites in Japan. At high tide it seems to float on the waves. Commoners were not allowed to set foot on the island and had to approach the shrine by boat through the floating torii.

Locals gathering oysters. Note in the far background how many people are digging for them!

The deer on the island are practically tame...you can pet them. They will do anything to get a snack off you. One poor guy was trying to eat his ice cream cone, and had to hide behind a pole as a cheeky stag was after him!

At the temple we encountered another wedding. The wedding party was being entertained by the dancer above with a traditional live band. (no electric slide, "Celebration", "Who Let the Dogs Out", etc)

Senjo-kaku, which is a huge pavilion built in 1587. The ceiling is hung with paintings. Across from it is another five-story pagoda (which I love!).

We took the "ropeway" up Mt. Misen...I was expecting a tow rope, like you would see at a ski resort...and was pleasantly surprised to find an actual gondola! ;)

The view at the top was amazing...Hiroshima is actually part of a series of sandy islands. We hiked further up the mountain to find a temple that has a flame that's been burning continually since Kobo Daishi lit it 1200 yrs ago! (they used this flame to light the Flame of Peace in Hiroshima).

They build shrines in the most unlikely places! We spotted this one at the summit..Next stop- Kyoto!