Japan Attractions Day 2 – 11th Apr 2009 – Hiroshima – Yuge

Japan Attractions Day 2

Sunset on Yuge Island

Japanese breakfast food was quite interesting. Here we get a breakfast which comprised a variety of bread, onigiri (triangular shaped rice cakes), salad and miso soup. It was a good Japanese breakfast and you could eat as much food as you wanted.

Dining area

Japanese breakfast food
Onigiri

Salad

Bread

Miso soup

Hiroshima sightseeing:- Home to two Japan World Heritage sites, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial and the Itsukushima Shrine, Hiroshima city makes for an interesting travel.

After breakfast, we started our Hiroshima sightseeing by taking the JR train from Hiroshima Station to Miyajima Station. Crossed the underpass where we caught the JR ferry to Miyajima Island. We found that Hiroshima travel is easy with our Japanese Rail pass..

Miyajima Island is also known as the resting place of the gods. The ferry to Miyajima is also operated by JR, thus we did not have to pay any extra fare.

Miyajima Island, Hiroshima sightseeing

The Itsukushima shrine was originally constructed by worshippers in 593 using the Shinden style of architecture and later restored to its current splendour in 1168. The bold and unique structure sits on the water with the sea spread out in front of it and the virgin forests of Mt. Misen, the island's highest peak, forming its backdrop.

Bugaku, an ancient court dance, held on the Taka-butai (high stage), designated as a National Treasure, of the Itsukushima Shrine

Otorii Gate, the symbol of Miyajima, stands 16m high with supporting columns 10m in circumference. It stands on the ocean bottom supported by its own weight.

Momijidani Park is famous for the beautiful red colours of the maples and other tree varieties in autumn. There are various walking trails throughout the park which are lined with cherry blossoms in the spring.

Mt Misen sits at 530m above sea level and is the highest peak on Miyajima. Here you get spectacular views from the summit. There is a ropeway that takes you from Momijidani Park at the foot of the mountain to the summit if you do not feel like walking up.


View from Mt Misen

Meanwhile keep an eye on your personal belongings as the deer on Miyajima are wild and love to eat paper and cloth.

Free roaming deer

Souvenirs you can get from your Hiroshima travel:-

• Momiji manju (cake in maple-leaf shape with filling) - This is one of the most famous local confections of Hiroshima. These little cakes come with a variety of filling such as chocolate, cream, cheese, custard, green bean paste and the traditional sweet bean paste.



Momiji Manju Production


• Miyajima Crafts - Representative of the craft on Miyajima is the wooden ladle. The wooden ladle, with the hope of defeating the enemy, is commonly used as a good luck charm at sporting events. Other popular crafts symbolic of Miyajima are wood turning and Miyajima wood carving.




• Miyajima Pottery - Miyajima Pottery is said to have originated towards the end of the 18th Century when sand from the Itsukushima Shrine was mixed to make clay vessels for festive ocasions. The rustic and warm colours of the earthen pottery bells and other ornaments are also popular items.
  
  

After Miyajima Island, we took the JR train to Tokaichimachi station where we transferred to a streetcar which costs JPY150 to the Atomic Bomb Dome station. From here, we crossed the road to the Atomic Bomb Dome & Peace Memorial Park.

The streetcar

Atomic Bomb Dome - As one of the few remaining buildings left standing after the dropping of the Atomic Bimb, the dome stands as a symbol of world peace and is not registered on the World Heritage List.

Hiroshima River Cruise

Peace Memorial Park serves as a reminder of the horrors of war and the need for enduring world peace.

Children's Peace Monument

Fountain of Peace



From Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, since we were not far off from a Japan castle, we walked to Hiroshima Castle. This castle was completely destroyed in the wake of the Atomic Bomb but was later restored in 1958 to mark the 400th year of the castle's existence.

A Japan Castle in Hiroshima

In the grounds of the Hiroshima Castle

The moat surrounding the Hiroshima Castle

A tree that looks like a bonsai

The Hiroshima weather we experienced was odd. It was hot with the sun shining, yet when the wind blew, it was cool. Fortunately, we came prepared.

After our Hiroshima sightseeing, we made our way back to the hotel where we caught the 1515hrs shinkansen (bullet train) from Hiroshima, travelled to Fukuyama and began our train sightseeing for the day. As the train passed by the various areas, we managed to spot more beautiful sights including the sakura in bloom.

View of the Fukuyama Castle from the JR Station. Spot the lovely sakura in bloom in the foreground

We then walked to the bus station approximately five minutes away to catch the bus to Innoshima, a 66 minutes ride. Here we took the ferry across to Yuge Island, also known as the Shining Island, and arrived at approximately 1515hrs. The hotel limousine picked us up a few minutes later from the ferry terminal.

The ferry to Yuge Island

We were just on time to view the sakura, also known as cherry blossoms, which was in full bloom upon our arrival. This is something that you will want to experience at least once in your lifetime if you are a nature lover. The sakura season lasts for just two weeks once they bloom and is dependent on the weather. The warmer the weather, the earlier the bloom. We were thus fortunate to be able to experience the sakura season in full bloom.

Upon checking in to Yuge Lodge, a traditional guest house where you leave your shoes at the lobby entrance and change into the slippers provided, we proceeded to the eating house for the set dinner which costs JPY1800 (USD18.6). It was a typical Japanese meal and comprised sashimi, tempura and fish as depicted in the photo.

Set dinner in Yuge Lodge

With friends and relatives

Yuge Lodge is the only accommodation you can find on this tiny island. There is only one Western style room here and the other rooms are all Japanese styled rooms where you have a tatami mat and sleep on a futon which is laid on the tatami mat. This is something that you might like to try to gain an experience of what Japanese life is like.

Japanese style room

Move the table aside and place the futon bedding on the tatami mat

A typical yukata (similar to a bathrobe) that is provided in Japan

For the Japanese styled rooms, you share a common toilet and bathe in a public bath or what is known as the 'ofuro' which consists of various types of hot pools, similar to a spa.

Here there are separate public baths for males and females

There is a lounge area where you can entertain guests as well as a computer with internet access for guests to use.

A Japanese styled room at Yuge Lodge costs JPY4200 (USD43.4) per pax. The set dinner costs JPY1800 (USD18.6) and set breakfast costs JPY800 (USD8.3). Thus the total for a room including dinner and breakfast cost JPY6800 (USD70.2) per person.

This was an interesting day from Hiroshima sightseeing of Japan world heritage sites to Japan castle to train sightseeing and finally a little island in Japan.

A bicycle park in Japan a common sight to see people riding bicycles everywhere

Japan Attractions Day 1 – 10th Apr 2009 Tokyo to Hiroshima

Japan Attractions Day 1 – 10th Apr 2009

With the myriad of tourist attractions Japan has, it is recommended to check out these Japan attractions on the internet or collect some Japan travel guides from the Japan embassy or travel agents so that you will have an idea of what sort of Japan sightseeing would interest and excite you. Also you can make use of the Japanese Rail Pass which is the key to convenient sightseeing in Japan.

We arrived at Tokyo Narita Airport at 1245 hrs on 10th April after a 12 hours flight from MSP International Airport. After a super fast clearance, we went to the JR (Japan Rail) Office to present our exchange order for our JR ‘7 day’ pass to start our train sightseeing of Japan.

Japanese Rail Pass Exchange Order

The Japanese Rail Pass cannot be purchased in Japan. It is only for tourists to Japan who are there on a sightseeing travel, i.e. you must be there on a "Temporary Visitor" status and not as "Trainee", "Entertainer", or "Reentry Permit". Or if you are a Japanese national who is qualified to live permanently in a foreign country or married to a non-Japanese residing in a foreign country, you are eligible for a Japanese Rail Pass. The price for a 7 day Japanese rail pass ranges from JPY28,300 (USD291) to JPY37,300 (USD389), though it is much cheaper to purchase the 21-day pass which comes up to less than double the price of the 7-day pass.


The JR Pass for sightseeing by train



This JR Pass enables you to travel on all JR group railways (including the Shinkansen "bullet trains", limited express trains, express trains and rapid or local trains), local lines of JR bus companies and the JR Miyajima ferry. The validity period of the Japanese rail pass is the consecutive 7, 14 or 21 days beginning on the date the pass is first issued when you arrive in Japan and present the exchange order to any JR exchange office.

Japan travel advice:- If you intend to travel extensively from, one main city to another and covering long distances e.g. Tokyo to Osaka/Hiroshima/Sapporo, etc… and looking for cheap Japan travel, it is advantageous to apply for a JR pass as this will enable you to save quite a bit on your transportation and include some form of train sightseeing as well as Japan sightseeing.


One of the many trains

From Narita Airport Terminal 1, we took the 1345 hrs Narita Express Shinagawa to Tokyo where we changed another two different shinkansen, also known as bullet trains, to Hiroshima and arrived at 1955 hrs.

One advantage about Japan is that its transportation system runs like clockwork where all arrival and departure timings are precise and accurate. It is thus easy to plan a train sightseeing holiday.

After an approximately ten minutes walk from JR Hiroshima Station is Hotel Urbain Hiroshima Executive where we stayed for the night. A rate of JPY 8400 (USD86)/day nett for two persons entitles you to a room with a full bathroom, complimentary ‘diy’ laundry, free internet access, sauna, public bath and breakfast. You also get 24 hour access to coffee/ tea, orange as well as vegetable juice.


Hotel Urbain Hiroshima Executive

Typical Japanese hotel room - small

The complimentary laundry facilities
The hotel is new having just opened last year and comes with modern furnishings and makes use of high technology software such as tapping your key on a key pad to open your room door.

After checking in, we took a walk around the hotel to do some Hiroshima sightseeing. We passed by the river and managed to view some beautiful sakura, also popularly known as cherry blossoms.

Lovely Sakura Cherry Blossoms

Upon crossing the street, we saw a Chinese restaurant, Entaikaku, and had dinner comprising ‘ma po tofu’ and ‘jia jia mian’. The ‘ma po tofu’ is a dish of beancurd cooked in a spicy gravy with minced meat. This dish is better eaten with rice as it tastes much better and not too salty. If you like spicy food, try this dish. The ‘jia jia mian’ is a dish of noodles with minced meat and sliced cucumbers served with it. Found it a little too salty, but otherwise a tasty dish. Both dishes cost JPY840 (USD8.65) each, which is about the average meal cost here in Japan although you can find meals below JPY500 (USD5.15).

The Chinese Restaurant, Entaikaku

Ma Po Tofu, a popular dish in Japan