Japan Trip: Day 2 Osaka - Miyajima - Hiroshima

Osaka



Excited to get up early and use our communication and navigation skill to the test...On osaka station, our goal is to reach the shinkansen line.




Early in the  morning

  





interesting finds at the station

  





brought ourselves some ekiben and cold drinks



There is a large number of tourist

Part of the JR Pass, is being able to ride Shinkansen (Bullet) trains anywhere in Japan (except for the Nozomi Shinkansen), including some JR buses and all JR operated trains and the JR Ferry going to Miyajima.  You can get the JR Pass before going to Japan to affliated travel agencies or JAL airline ticketing office. The pass is good for 7days, 14 days to up to 21days.  Its a great deal - you can have your 7 day pass worth just by taking the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto and back.  You can also have reserved seats with no additional cost - or just hop on and off the Shinkansen non reserved seat cars at any given time.


Clockwise: Shinkansen Hikari, Me & Zarah seated, Train Info, Me,
Zarah at the handrailing and the Shin-Osaka Sign

 

taken while travelling at the Shinkansen Hikari

From Shin-Osaka Station to JR Hiroshima Station, took us about one and half hours, and the distance between Osaka and Hiroshima is about 280 kilometers. It was so fast.

At the Shin-Hiroshima Station, there is a tourist center, with an english speaking receptionist, that will hand you out a guide map on how to get around Hiroshima, tips on where to start, she also handed us the train map that showed us how to get to Miyajima-guchi, she even told us the platform where the train going to the pier is at. The train from Hiroshima to Miyajima-guchi is a JR train (part of the JR Rail Pass Family - no need to buy tickets again...a great buy indeed)




train to Miyajimaguchi

Just outside the train station towards Miyaji Ferry -
we bought a yummy Y680, 8pc takoyaki.

subway underpass towards the pier headed to Miyajima Island

just outside the pier

the JR ferry that will take us to Miyajima island,
the only ferry that is part of the JR Rail Pass Package.




Miyajima Island

From a far, you can see the Itsukushima O-Torii Gate, the present torri gate, which was the eighth since the Heian Period erected in 1875. The gate stands under its own weight, its about 60 tons.



The O-Torii Gates of Itsukushima Shrine





The Five Storied Pagoda, Sakura 







Mikasanohama area



takikoji alley




This is an alley that goes straight to Daishoin Temple.
Daishoin Temple is the most distinguished temple of Miyajima Island.

The Daishoin Temple



 

They have purification areas before you reach the temple:
With your right hand scoop water,cleanse your left hand,
then your right hand, pour some water in your left hand
put it in your mouth, gargle and spit it out.Then with the
remaining water cleanse the handle and place back
the laddle face down, as courtesy to the next user.



rickshaw....

Before heading down, we have a short break at a coffee shop, had some pastries, green tea (traditional green tea, supposedly medicinal...but it is definetly an acquired taste) and a coffee. Then, after a few blocks away we saw a momiji manju, (cake in a maple-leaf shape with filling) we can't resist a good smell of a newly baked pastry, so, we grab some and ate it at the bakery shop, they even offer a free hot tea with it.


Have a break - Have a Momiji!




Omotesando Shopping Arcade, Miyajima.



O-Shakushi (world's largest wooden rice scoop) it is displayed
in Omotesando Shopping Arcade



Hiroshima




From the Miyajima Ferry Terminal, we took the local streetcar which is not covered by the JR Pass, it took us almost 50 minutes to reach the station of Genbaku Dome were the Atomic Bomb Dome and the Peace Memorial Park is located...


A-Bomb Dome

 





The Motoyasubashi Bridge







Cenotaph for the A-Bomb Victims
(Memorial Monument for Hiroshima, City of Peace)





The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park



Hondori  Street is a pedestrian arcade that is closed to traffic and lined with shops and restaurants. It starts near the Peace Park and stretches east about half a kilometer.





 Hiroshima Hondori Street




Before catching the Shinkansen on our way back to Osaka, we had a quick dinner at the JR Hiroshima Station.




Dinner Time