Looking at the map, we thought the Imperial Palace would be about a 15-20 minute walk from Nijojo Castle. Unfortunately, our estimate was way off. The streets were longer than we expected. Once we reached the palace grounds, there was still a LOT more walking to do. I sent D to go ahead so we would have some chance of making the appointment for our tour. Luckily, the tour starts with an introduction while you sit in a room, so the group was still there when we arrived.

This was the only official tour we went on during our trip. It was still raining, but our tour guide said some people think the gardens are even prettier in the rain. We were not allowed inside any of the buildings, but the structures themselves were impressive. I felt like I was on a movie set.

The Emperor’s Garden

I never realized that Japanese gardens are set up to resemble landscapes. The trees in the background are supposed to be the mountains. The rock in the foreground is an island.

By this time, we were pretty wet, but we had one more stop on our whirlwind tour of Kyoto…

We stopped for a quick snack of momiji manju (maple leaf shaped cake with red bean filling). Miyajima is known for these, and there were tons of different shops selling them. The momiji manju machines were fascinating. We were able buy a couple of manju hot off the press.

This place was cute. There was a tiny seating area, and they had free tea.

There were two choices, skin on and skinless bean filling. I thought I would like skinless, but it turns out I like the texture of the skin on better.

Other places had other fillings like chocolate and custard. There was also a place that sold deep fried momiji manju on a stick, which my sister and BIL tried.

Hello Kitty Momiji Manju!

Next we took the ropeway up Mt. Misen. We bought a one way ticket and planned to hike down.

Whaddayouknow? Another pictorial map!

I had read there were wild monkeys at the top of the mountain. These signs would certainly indicate that is the case.


And my personal favorite:

However, no monkeys were to be seen 🙁 There was a nice view of the Seto Inland Sea, however.

We started the trek down and realized maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to do the one way trip. I especially felt bad for K, who had j on his back! Fortunately, it was not a hot day. After tons of stairs (some of which were a bit treacherous), we finally made it down the mountain. Someone told us it would take about an hour, and I think that was about how long it took!

j was a trooper!

Having worked up a good appetite, we were ready for lunch. We found a place serving Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki, so we thought we should give it a try.

Here is the front window display complete with a diagram and felt model. Love it!

Unlike regular okonomiyaki, which has all of the ingredients all mixed up, Hiroshima-style is carefully cooked in layers. It takes some skillz!

The final result was delicious, all the more so because we were so hungry. We split two among the four of us.

I also appreciated that they didn’t cover it in kewpie mayo as I have had on previous occasions. I think we have a new food truck concept!

After we finished, we saw a place selling Hiroshima buns right across the way, so we gave them a try too. Beef or conger eel? Beef, please.

These were very hot, temperature-wise. I imagine they would be really good on a cold winter day.

To top it all off…one green tea soft serve. D really liked this one.

Finally, we saw the world’s largest rice paddle:

Impressive.

I think we returned back to my sister’s place around 3 p.m. My sister and I then headed back out for a brief visit to a nearby fabric store. (Very exciting, about five floors of sewing/craft supplies). My BIL showed us his Japanese cooking by making beef-rice bowls for dinner. Yum. Also, we learned that Lawson’s (a popular convenience store chain) makes a mean tiramisu. Who knew? We briefly considered going out on the town after dinner, but decided to take it easy. This was probably our most relaxed day of the trip, and we needed it.

After the Mazda tour, we ate at Chikara, which was recommended by one of D’s co-workers. (Others laughed when D told them the recommendation, but the recommender knew we were on a budget). Turns out that a few of the other people on our tour had the same idea. The food was simple, but good. We had udon and bought a roll of futomaki to go.

After returning to Hiroshima station, my sis and her family went back home while D and I caught the trolley to the Peace Memorial Park and Museum.

At the entrance we saw this memorial with water bottles, which I believe were in honor of the earthquake/tsunami victims.

The A-Bomb Dome, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

This was a chilling reminder of the destruction that this city experienced.

Children’s Peace Monument

There were tons of school kids on field trips that day.

1,000 Origami Cranes in honor of Sadako Sasaki

I thought these bush-trees were interesting:

Peace Flame

The flame has burned continuously since it was lit in 1964, and will remain lit until all nuclear bombs on the planet are destroyed and the planet is free from the threat of nuclear annihilation. (-Wikipedia)

Peace Memorial Hall

No pictures were allowed inside and admission is free. It feels modern and somber at the same time.

Our last stop in the park was the actual Peace Memorial Museum.

The exhibits were educational and well done. Talking it over with my sister, we were struck by how the people of Hiroshima do not just see themselves as helpless victims. Instead, they continue to take an active role in seeking to end the possession/use of nuclear weapons around the world. For example, the current mayor of Hiroshima writes a letter to the president of foreign countries each time they engage in nuclear weapons testing, pleading with them to stop (there were copies of all of the letters on display). The whole topic seemed more relevant with the current reminder that even nuclear power that is used for good (energy) can be very dangerous.

After the museum, D bought an iced coffee from a vending machine and we sat down on a bench. A couple of school kids on a field trip approached us and asked if they could practice their English with us. They asked us our names, our favorite animals, etc., and they told us theirs. Then they asked us where wer were from and told us to put a sticker to mark the location on their map. They had a lot of stickers, but we were the first ones from the United States. This was consistent with our observations, since we didn’t run into too many Americans during our trip, except at Narita when we were going home. D, who likes to start conversations with strangers, ended up talking to people from the UK and Canada, but no Americans. Anyway, back to the story, the kids gave us a couple of origami bookmarks as a present. Very sweet.

It was so nice to be able to stay at my sister’s place for three nights.

We had our own room (this was actually bigger than our room in Kyoto, if you can believe it). The built in storage (which they have in all of the rooms) was nice.

Internet access…yes!

We were able to skype with my parents and the kids.

Even a hot breakfast…yum!

I think my nephew wanted some too.

We had reservations for the English language tour at 10:00 a.m. D was able to visit some co-workers with my BIL while my sister, her son, and I waited in the lobby.

Slick.

I actually didn’t notice that j had cars on his shirt until just now. How appropriate.

The Mazdas in Japan go by different names. For example, the Mazda6 is called the “Atenza”.

Our tour guide was very informative. I was impressed with the long spiels she had memorized. The (unintentionally) funniest part was when we were riding on a bus, and she noted that the bridge we were passing was “…one of the longest in the world…(dramatic pause)…owned by a company.” (No pictures were allowed on the bus).

The old logo.

Funky interior.

This car won the Le Mans 24 hour race.

New employees were taking a tour, too.

Crash test.

Cars of the future.

Future driver.

The best part was at the end, when were able to see the actual production line. I was surprised at how close we were able to be to the action. The combination of robotics and human skill was amazing to watch. It really made you think about how much work goes into making a car.

As a side note, I got a good chuckle out of this sign.