Woke around 0830…bad hernia repair giving me right hip this morning. Aki and Kath descended to ground zero to buy breakfast from the bakery…ate in our room. Walked to the ferry terminal near the A-Bomb Dome and climbed aboard for the trip down the Otawaga River, and out into the Bay of Hiroshima…we were headed for Miyajima.
The island was very busy with both human beings, and sika deer. Aki and Kath probably picked up a couple of ticks! We followed the crowd along the seafront to the famous shrine, set in the shallows. Climbed steps to a large timbered temple, then made our way back to the ferry terminal.
Quick 15 minute ride on the car ferry to Miyajimaguchi, back on the mainland, several kilometres southwest of the city. Jumped on another train to Kuba, where we got a taxi to the stunning Simose Art Museum, set on the coast in an area of heavy industry.
The reception area is dominated by what look like two magnificent manmade trees, and a mirrored poured resin floor. We enjoyed coffee and cheesecake before paying to get into the exhibition rooms. Aki spotted a camera crew out on the lawn, where they were interviewing the architect himself! She rushed out to get a photo.
The exhibits are largely housed in six coloured boxes set in an ornamental lake, with large automatic sliding doors to the connecting corridors…it was a bit like walking through the Starship Enterprise. We found our way up to a roof garden, offering extensive views out into the Seto Sea, and a beautifully arranged garden with ponds and decking.
Jumped on the free shuttle bus to Otsake station and caught a train back toward Hiroshima. Ended the journey with a tram ride back toward our hotel…it was very busy, it being the start of rush hour. Aki was keen to eat some oysters, farmed in their thousands out in the bay…we had seen innumerable oyster beds out at sea. So we found a little okonomiyaki joint in the block next door to our hotel, and enjoyed fried scallops and oysters with a beer before returning to our rooms.
Walked across town for dinner at a tonkatsu place, but couldn’t find it…ended up in a little chikatsu joint instead…run by a small but very friendly team who were evidently Anglophiles…nice people!
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