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We arrived in Hiroshima about 11:15am. (That shinkansen is FAST!) It was too early to check in, so we dropped our bags at the ryokan (here I am at the entrance) and headed off for the Peace Park. |
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This was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, and it seems the entire city had the same idea: picnic under the cherry trees along the river in the park. |
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We sat for a while on a curb and watched the party going on. Kids playing with balls. Bento boxes being eaten everywhere. Lots of beer being drunk. A lot like any picnic here in California except - - people's picnic blankets were practically overlapping. We'd insist on more space. And no picnic tables anywhere. Oh yeah, and everybody's picnic blanket was a blue tarp. |
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Across a reflecting pool that runs between the "cenotaph" (an empty tomb) and the A-bomb Dome. I like the weird evergreens against the cherries. |
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The A-bomb Dome. |
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The Children's Peace Monument. |
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Multi-lingual plaque at the Children's Peace Monument. |
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Howard at A-bomb Dome. |
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Framed with cherry blossoms. |
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Picnicking under the chery trees on the other side of the river. |
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On our way back to our ryokan, we kept our eyes open for a likely restaurant to have lunch in. The plastic mock-ups and photos of the food at a cheerful corner shop looked inviting, so we went in. We stood in the entryway wondering what we were supposed to do. Luckily a guy who knew what to do came in right after us and went ahead of us. There was a bank of vending machines with pictures of the food, prices, and drinks. You feed your money into the machines, and receive a ticket which you give to your waitress after you seat yourself. She takes the ticket to the kitchen and brings you back your food. No cashier, no small talk with the waitress. Very efficient. These owls and many others decorated the restaurant near our table. We thought of Megumi-san, who loves owl items, so we took a photo. |
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Our Japanese-style room at the ryokan. Check out the tatami floor. Slippers provided at the entryway. (Separate slippers for bathroon use only.) |
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Christeen's favorite spot on the veranda. |
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Christeen's view out the window. |
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The view of our roof garden from the street below. |
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There was always fresh tea leaves and hot water in the room. It was good tea, I must say. |
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This is the first course of the huge and elaborate meal we were served in our rooms the first night. (The second night's meal was less huge and actually better, for us, because it was less exotic.) Later, we were telling Mizue-san about the food we were served, and that we hadn't eaten everything. She said "Japanese people would have eaten it all." |
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The main course included this giant plate of sashimi, so beautifully presented. There was also fried oysters, oyster-and-miso soup, lots of sushi, complicated little dishes with something wrapped in something else,... Some of it was delicious, and some was so-so. And some was too mysterious for our squeamish palates. |
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Two maids came in after dinner, cleaned up the dishes, stashed the table against the room's end wall, and then made up the futon beds for us. It was very pretty to watch being done, and very pretty to look at afterwards. But it wasn't really that comfortable to sleep on. |