Thanksgiving trip 2021- Kyoto, Hiroshima, Iwakuni

 Thanksgiving trip 2021 – Kyoto, Hiroshima, Iwakuni

Once again this year, for Thanksgiving, we decided to take advantage of the opportunity to sightsee in Japan. November is a great month for sightseeing, the leaves are all changing colors and the weather is often clear and sunny. It’s also great to have a Thursday and Friday off work because the crowds are much lower on weekdays. For most of our trip it was just us and retired Japanese folks out and about.

Our trip began on Tuesday afternoon. We bought Skinkansen tickets for a train that departed from Shin-Yokohama Station at 6pm but since it was our first time traveling by Shinkansen we wanted to be safe with plenty of time. We left Camp Zama at 3pm and it took us about 45 min to get to Shin-Yokohama. So….we were quite early! We found a tempura place in the station and had dinner and then waited for the train.

Trains in Japan (especially the Shinkansens) run with amazing punctuality! They pull into the station, load and unload, and leave again all within 2-3 minutes. Lesson learned is that you don’t need to be early – there is no benefit to that at all. But you CANNOT be late or you will miss it.

The trip to Kyoto took us only 2 hours. We arrived at 8pm and our hotel, the Sanco Inn, was just across the street. Sanco Inn was interesting. It had a “Pillow Bar” and a “Toiletries Bar” in the lobby. Guests could choose which kind of pillow they like – hard, firm, wavy, bean, feather, etc… You can also pick from among a wide array of toiletries including facial products of all kinds. That was awesome!

The Sanco Inn also had a lovely “artificial” hot springs. I guess that means the water is not from a true geothermal hot spring but is heated and treated with minerals. It was a very nice onsen in any case and I used it both nights (dad did not)

Once we were checked into the hotel we still had a lot of energy so we decided to go for a walk around the city. The great thing about Japan is that it is perfectly safe to walk at night. We headed toward the station, not intending that as our destination, but there were so many fun things to see that we didn’t make it any further.

The main department store at the station has a huge set of steep stairs in the middle of the terminal. Spaced 2-3 inches apart along the lower edge of each stair are tiny lights. These lights are programmed to put on an amazing light show. If you are at the top of the giant stairway you don’t really see anything, but from the bottom its just crazy. It’s a moving show of lights. There is also music that goes along with it.

Kyoto Station is very deep with very long escalators (or stairs). You can climb over 15 stories by escalators/stairs. Near the very top of the station is a Skywalk. Its all enclosed but you look out over everything down below and over the city and see the Kyoto Skytower.  Inside the Skywalk there are lights that give you a tunnel illusion – like Space Mountain in Disneyland.

Wednesday, November 24, 2021

Breakfast – the Sanco Inn offers a traditional Japanese and western style combination breakfast. Since it was included in our hotel package we had to try it. Very interesting – it was pretty good, but hard to adjust to eating fish, rice, curry, veggies, and miso soup so early in the day.

We started our day heading for the Eizan Railway to ride the scenic train “Hirara” through the Maple Leaf Tunnel. The final destination of the train is a small town and temple called Kurama-dera. The ride goes mostly through residential neighborhoods and then heads into the hills. The Maple Leaf Tunnel was pretty but you can’t get out of the train at that point. We decided to get off the train one stop before the end of the line, walk about 30 min (along a road) to Kibune to see Kifune-jinja Shrine. From there we took a hiking trail over the mountain to Kurama-dera and back to the train station at Kurama. The hike was harder and steeper than we thought, but it was scenic and the leaves at Kurama-dera were amazing.

After our visit to Kurama our next stop was the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest. We discovered that the Bamboo Forest is not a single destination. The forest is in pockets all around the Arashiyama area. Before we went looking for some good Bamboo we stopped for a snack. A vendor was roasting and selling chestnuts and they also had chestnut soft cream. I had to try it – delicious!

After walking through a lovely stand of bamboo, we decided to walk around the area and see if there was anything else of interest. That’s when we noticed several groups all walking in one direction. Just then a small tour group came along (leader with a flag) so we dropped in behind them and followed to the next stop on the tour. It was a place called Jojakko-ji temple. Best fall colors I have ever seen in my life! Pictures can’t do it justice.

After grabbing a quick dinner we rode the bus to see Kiyomizu-dera temple all lit up at night. It was very crowded but very beautiful. So many people trying to take a picture from a certain “spot” that it caused a huge pile up. We decided to forego that photo-op and just take our pictures a little farther down the trail. We still got the Kyoto Tower in the background.

 

Thursday, November 25, 2021

One more time with the Japanese breakfast and then we were off on the Shinkansen headed for Onomichi.

Onomichi is a smaller town along the Seto Inland Sea. It’s a lot slower paced than Kyoto or Hiroshima. We had not realized until we arrived that the Shinkansen station is NOT the same as the regular train station. We were supposed to catch a ferry “right next to the train station” but we found ourselves some distance away from that “train station”.  No matter, we grabbed a storage locker and deposited our luggage. Then we checked at the tourist information counter to find out about the bus situation. Luckily there was a bus coming in 5 minutes that would take us to the ferry terminal.

We are so accustomed to using our IC or Pasmo cards to ride public transportation that we were confused at first on how to pay for the bus ride. It’s all done with cash in Onomichi. The bus driver and the other passengers were so patient with us as we tried to figure out how much we owed. Eventually the bus driver just took our money and counted out what we owed and gave the rest back. Then an older lady tried to help us by telling us how to get across the street to the ferry terminal. It was hard to understand her and pretty soon the bus driver got off the bus and also tried to point us in the right direction. A little embarrassing for us overall, but very helpful and nice people in this little town.

At the ferry terminal we tried to buy tickets – nope the system is to pay the ferry boat captain in cash when you get on the boat, of course! (burning through the cash as this point). The ferry ride took about 45 minutes to arrive at Setoda Port which was on an island in the middle of the chain of islands. With a little more help from a few more strangers, we walked inland for about 10 minutes until we found the bike rental shop. (rentals are in cash haha). One of the options available was electric-assist bikes and we decided to try them out. So sweeeeet -  like someone is giving you push the whole time!

Our bike ride took us along the coastline. We had a bit of a head wind but the electric-assist carried us through just fine. We stopped at a beach and ate our light lunch/snack and then rode until we came to Tatara Bridge. Along the way we passed by several groves of Yuzu and Mikans. It was a beautiful day for a bike ride.

After we returned the bikes we made a stop in the restrooms across the street and then headed for Setoda Port to catch the next ferry. We hadn’t gone far when we saw the man from the bike rental shop riding a bike towards us (my first thought was that he must really like bikes and bike riding). Then we realized he was calling to us. It turns out I had left my CELL PHONE in the bike basket and he had jumped on a bike to track us down and return it. How nice!! The timing was incredible. What if he had gone by when we were in the restrooms? Anyway, it was such a nice thing for him to do and made a HUGE difference to us on our trip. I’m amazed at that blessing.

We made it back to the Shinkansen station with a few minutes to spare and this time we knew how to ride the bus in Onomichi! We arrived at Hiroshima just after sun set. Busy train station and a bit of a walk to our new place - The Royal Park Hotel. I hate pulling luggage around on bumpy roads and crowded sidewalks! 

We wanted to grab dinner and thought about getting Okonomiyaki but the all the places in the station were packed with people and had long lines. We went with Japanese-Italian instead. Sounds funny but it’s quite a thing in Japan and was actually very good. I had pasta with Sukiyaki sauce and a beef. Dad had a classic pasta that he really liked.

Even though we were exhausted I wanted to see the Hiroshima Illuminations – Dreamination. We got on a street car and thought we were going to the right place but we were actually way off. Eventually we got off and discovered our mistake. I didn’t like the street car – too crowed and it gave me claustrophobia. So we decided to walk to where we thought the Illuminations were. It took us a good 45 minutes on foot, but we made it! They really weren’t that spectacular, but the victory of finding them was worth it.

Friday, November 26, 2021

Headed for Miyajima Island first thing in the morning. We took a train and then a ferry that was very much like the Washington State ferries with space for cars to drive on, etc..  Our first task on the island was to find a particular trail I had read about that lead up to the top of the highest mountain, Mt Misen. The Daisho-in Temple was on our way so we stopped and took a few pictures. The temple is set up against a hillside with a river running beside it. Temples and shrine have no significance for me except if they are pretty and have nice landscaping and this one had both. I liked the carved guys “standing guard over Buddha” on the sides of the main gate. I guess they are supposed to be scary?

Our hike up the mountain was steep with lots of stairs. As we began to sweat dad tells me he is going to change into shorts and different shirt. What? – he packed extra clothes in his backpack. Where? – he just did it along the trail when no one was coming. I couldn’t believe it! In that backpack, which was always with him and never left in the hotel, he has just about everything for any situation!

The hike was hard but totally worth it! The views at the summit were spectacular! You could see all the way around – 360 degrees - in every direction. There were quite a few people up there but no one else was hiking up on our trail?? That’s when we realized almost everyone takes the ropeway up. We took the ropeway down!

Once we got down we grabbed some street food – BBQ chicken and squid on a stick, corn on the cob, and French fires. (Japanese love French fries). While we were eating our food (trying to stay within the designated food-eating area) the deer that roam the island kept bothering us, trying to get our food. Dad got frustrated and kicked at the deer and it pawed him and tried to kick him back!

As we were leaving, we passed by Itsukushima Shrine. The famous thing about his shrine is that when the tide comes in the shrine is surrounded by water and appears to be floating. We were there just as the tide started to rise. There is also a HUGE red torii gate that stands in front of the shrine. It’s very famous and we would have loved a picture of it, but it is currently being renovated.

Our next stop was back in Hiroshima at the A-bomb dome and Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. Very sobering and hard to see and read about all that happened. It makes you wonder if dropping the bomb was the best option. But…I know it was a complicated decision. The museum did not have a very fair description of why the US decided to drop the bomb. In fact, the reasons they gave are not correct at all. I suppose its difficult for them to put into words why it happened, but I take issue with their explanation. We can discuss later if you’re interested.

The museum gives you a lot to think about that’s for sure. When we went inside it was afternoon and when we came out it was dark. The A-bomb dome is lit up and there is an eternal flame burning. Powerful symbols of what happened. I think one of the reasons they want to preserve the building is to keep what happened always in people’s minds. We saw tons of school kids (all wearing the same hats) visiting the site.

After the museum we walked back to the station, planning to get Okonomiyaki. Nope – totally packed again!! So instead we opted for general Japanese food – tonkatsu with rice and I had a really good salad.

Saturday, November 27, 2021

For our last full day we made a day trip to Iwakuni. It’s about 45 minutes by train from Hiroshima. Like Onomichi it is a smaller town along the inland sea and like Onomichi, deals mostly in cash.

The main thing we wanted to see in Iwakuni was the Kintainkyo bridge. It is a classic Japanese landmark and a really cool feat of engineering. The bridge spans a river that was continually washing out previous bridges. So the engineers of 1673 came up with the idea to make 5 arches and to make angled pillars to direct water away. They say it’s a marvel of engineering even by today’s standards.

Above the bridge on the top of the mountain sits Iwakuni Castle. It was also built in the late 1600’s. It took 6 years to build and then after only having been in use for about 5 years, the new Shogun sent out a decrease that there would only be one castle allowed per prefecture. That meant Iwakuni Castle had to be dismantled and taken down! Years later it was rebuilt. I’m glad because I really liked the look of this castle on the hill and the views from the top floor over the river and the bridge below were great. As we looked out to towards the ocean we noticed the familiar shape of US military housing towers. There is a pretty big Navy and Marine base at Iwakuni and we could see it from the castle. Same paint color as our base – tan!

I forgot to mention that before we went up to the castle (we took the ropeway this time – didn’t want to get all sweaty today) we walked around the grounds below. There is a nice park there with some trees in fall colors. Also a White Snake museum. They say Iwakuni is one of the only places you will find these unique albino snakes. Very interesting and creepy at the same time – red eyes!

After the castle we couldn’t resist the Dango on a stick. I took a picture this time (the roasting of the Dango and the fish is similar to what I was describing when we went to Nikko a few weeks ago) I think Dango is my favorite Japanese treat. Also had to get a picture of the millions of “soft cream” flavors. We have no idea what the flavors are because we can’t read, but they do look pretty!

Our mission after we were finished in Iwakuni was to head back to Hiroshima station (hopefully arriving in between the lunch and dinner crowds) and finally get some Okonomiyaki! We arrived at 2:30pm which should have been perfect, but it was still dang crowded. This time we decided to wait.

We had been checking online on the train ride back to find out what was on the menu of one of the places at the station. We had it all figured out with the English translations on our phone but then the menu on the ordering kiosk didn’t match what we found online. So we gave up and just ordered the #1 – whatever that was!

Let me tell you – IT WAS DELICIOUS. Most times things that get hyped don’t live up to their hype. Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki is the exception. It was so darn good! Now I understand why its always packed. I think I can learn to make it. I plan to try until I get it down.

With our bellies stuffed, we wanted to visit one last castle – Hiroshima Castle. We walked rather than taking the street car in an effort to help ourselves feel better about all the food we just ate. We arrived on the grounds around 4pm. It’s a really pretty area in the center of Hiroshima. The “route” for most castle tours is to go clockwise around each floor of the castle, looking at displays and reading the history. Much of the time there is no English to read (Iwakuni castle did have English, hey maybe that’s why I liked it so much more!). I don’t mind looking at the items, but it gets boring when you can’t understand what they are or what is significant about them.

Because it was going to get dark soon, we wanted to head straight to the top floor and get a view from the balcony while it was still light. Its possible to kind of work your way up quickly, which we did. The view was awesome and we found Mt Misen (the mountain we had climbed the day before) in the distance. The challenge comes in getting back down. The “route” down doesn’t allow you to see the exhibits on the floors. The exhibits are on the outside loop and you are forced to an inside loop on the way down. We had to “jump the rope barriers” on each floor in order to stop and look at the exhibits. That always gets some funny looks and I think causes the Japanese frustration with the gaijins. We just need to do it our own way haha!

We came out of the castle just as the sun was setting and they turned on the lights. It looked so pretty with the lights on it. As we were making our way back to the room, we passed a sign for Shukkeien Gardens. I told dad I had seen the garden listed as a must do in Hiroshima and I wanted to see it, but unfortunately it closed at 4pm. We decided to walk past it just to see where it was and perhaps try to come back in the morning before heading home. As we passed the gate, I saw some people coming out. I was so confused because it was now close to 6pm. There was a large Art Museum near the garden and we passed quite a trail of people heading towards it. Dad made the comment that there must be a big shin-dig at the Art Museum tonight.

As you might imagine, we were getting tired from all the long walks of this day. It felt so good to get back to our hotel room, pop off the shoes and sit down! While relaxing there for a minute I decided to look up the garden to see when they opened in the morning. That is when I discovered that for this week only – they are open at night until 9:30pm. Entrance is through the Art Museum! Mystery solved!

Dad is such a good sport. Shoes back on, we walked back to the garden to see it. There was a large crowd and the method they used was to give each person a number. As the crowds moved through the “route” outside, they would call the next 50 numbers to go out. I actually liked this much better that what we had at Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto because it gives you room and time to have a chance at “the spot” for good pictures. We were told the wait would be about 45 minutes, but our number was called after only 20 minutes or so.

I would say this garden was totally worth putting our shoes back on. It was so so pretty. I kept saying I wasn’t going to take another picture of fall leaves – I had too many already. But at this place I couldn’t help it. Alas, none of them can capture what it was really like.

 

Sunday, November 28, 2021

Our train back to Tokyo didn’t leave until 10:57am so after a good night’s sleep we were ready to walk again. There were two other places we had talked about visiting but had not yet been to. Both were temples that had partially survived the A-bomb and had been permanently tilted to the North by the power of blast. We found that at both places the tilt was noticeable but not really something you could take a picture of – angle was wrong for a picture. But it was a nice morning walk anyway. At one place there was a 350 year old Genko tree that had survived the blast and was now growing through the front gate of the temple.

The train ride back went very smoothly and very fast. We rode a train that took us straight back to Shin-Yokohama where we started. The process of stopping is interesting. The train only makes 4-5 stops between Hiroshima and Tokyo. At each stop there is an announcement about 3 minutes before the train arrives asking passenger who are going to disembark to get their belonging ready before the train stops. Once it stops at a station, those who are leaving are queued up and they get off in about 30 seconds. Then the passengers coming aboard enter, find their seats, and put away their suitcases. Usually before they even sit down the doors close and the train is underway. The total time at any stop is less than 3 minutes, I would guess. I’m impressed and I would definitely like to ride the Shinkansen again!

 We had some great views of Mt Fuji and even managed to get some good pictures. I’m not sure how it works to get a picture because we are going so fast, but I guess the camera is faster than that.

Well, that concludes the long summary of our trip. Dad and I both had such a fun time. We are pretty good travel companions. Each of us seems to have strengths/talents that help the other along the journey. We've had such a great opportunity to see and visit so many interesting places in Japan. But there are still so many more things to see and do!