Last Day

My last day in Hong Kong was blessed with superb weather.

My flight from Hong Kong was due to depart at 3.40pm. So that meant I'd check out of the hotel at midday, get the MTR to Hong Kong Station (where I'd use the in-town check-in) and then take the Airport Express to the airport.

Basically I had a couple of hours to kill between breakfast and doing my final packing and leaving the hotel. I took a 'relaxed' stroll down Lockhart Road to the Star Ferry and then crossed over to TST. On the 'other' side I just killed time watching the harbour traffic and the Chinese tourists. I saw a pretty huge Star Cruises ship dock at Ocean Terminal and was particularly envious of the chartered junks waiting pick up their passengers.

Before long it was time to start the journey home.........

Char Siu Fan

Despite overloading on curry at lunchtime I did ave enough room for some food later (much later though).

I was in Wan Chai for a couple of beers and to hopefully catch some of the National Day fireworks. Well the best view I had of the fireworks was on the TV at Joe Bananas as there were buildings obscuring half of the display.

I had actually started out at Mes Amis and then went to Joe Bananas after I realised I wouldn't be able to see much with my own eyes.

I think I prefer the bars in Wan Chai to Lan Kwai Fong. They just seem a bit more relaxed.

Anyway on my walk back to my hotel I decided I could face some food and stopped off at Tai Hing Roast (I'd gone there a couple of nights earlier) to get some Char Siu Fan (barbecued pork and rice) to take away. Two things to note: it was a total bargain at about HK$35 and it was bloody tasty. To be honest I left most of the mound of rice and just had the pork and vegetables.

Three

After the 'Noon Day Gun' firing I went straight to the Dicken's Bar for the curry buffet. Since today was a public holiday the buffet was actually a 'brunch buffet', however the only bit I was interested in was the curry section.

The added bonus was that for $100 extra you could choose to have unlimited beer. This was a no-brainer given that a couple of pints would cost that amount.

The title 'Three' refers to the number of times I 'visited the buffet'! As you can see I didn't just have curry. The food I ate was fantastic and the stuff I didn't try looked great.

Afterwards I was painfully full. My walk to the bus stop to catch the bus to Stanley was extremely uncomfortable. Fortunately by the time I got to Stanley I felt more comfortable and I had managed to keep my food in my stomach!

Bang

I saw the firing of the 'Noon Day Gun' for the first time. Very brief and very loud!

Sticky

After my breakfast this morning (fried noodles 'Indonesian Style') I went for a nice stroll!

My walk involved walking from my hotel in Causeway Bay, up to and then along Bowen Road, along Tregunter Path and then up Old Peak Road. I thought it would take longer than the hour and fifteen minutes than it did. Needless to stay I was a damp, steaming mess by the time I reached the peak!

I wasn't the only person walking up Old Peak Road, but those coming down definitely outnumbered those going up.

There looked like there had been some kind of race -- there were lots of people at the Peak wearing 'Victoria to the Peak' T-Shirts. Now that is real craziness.

$67!

It's getting boring report that it's still bloody hot. According to the the weather forecast 'a fresh northeast monsoon' is now affecting the area, so it should start to cool down -- but probably not in the next couple of days though.

Despite the the heat I still end up walking a great deal, the downside obviously is that for most of the time I look like a sweat drenched tourist (which is what I am I suppose).

This evening I had a really good Thai meal from one of the restaurants in Times Square (next door to where my hotel is). I then went to Lan Kwai Fong.

Lan Kwai Fong hasn't really changed over the years. However, I get the impression that the better bars are to be found in SoHo. I went to Insomnia for a drink. And for $67 I got a bottle of Filipino San Miguel. It's a nice beer, but I can get the same beer for less than $10 in Wellcome (yes I know the bar has its overheads to cover).

I actually had a couple of beers before calling it quits. Standing aside the cost of the beer (which probably isn't too bad when compared globally), the main reason for leaving when I did was the rubbish the band were playing. I thought I left the 'Grease Mega Mix' behind me when I stopped going to dodgy student nightclubs!

Mak's Noodles

So after yesterday's bowl of noodles for lunch, today was the turn of the place opposite -- Mak's Noodles. Despite appearances it wasn't scary at all (and there was an English menu)!

I ordered a bowl of beef brisket noodles with wontons. The beef brisket was just melt in your mouth tenderness and the soup was fantastic. The wontons were almost an after thought to be honest, but they did taste good.

Supposedly the bowls are small so that the noodles never get a chance to go 'soggy'. I'm not so sure that's the real motive. Either way this place and the one I went to yesterday are definitely worth visiting in the future.

Still Roasting

Today started out cloudy and hot. It soon turned into sunny and hot.

Fish Ball Noodles

My lunch today was from a place called Tsui Chai Kee on Wellington St, Central. I think they're recommended in the Michelin guide or something (judging by the signs/stickers in the window). I was actually looking for a place called Mak's Noodles. However, when I found it it looked a bit scary (i.e. a no sign of any English menus) and this restaurant was opposite (and had bi-lingual menus).

I ordered the fish ball noodles. It was really good, and the fish balls were full of flavour and nothing like the processed things I sometimes used to have at school!

I'll have to be brave and try Mak's Noodles another day. They're also 'Michelin Recommended' and their speciality is apparently beef wonton noodles.

Back to School

It could almost be a Pavlovian response -- I decided that I might as well trek out to KGV this morning.

The walk from Mong Kok MTR station took less time than I remember, but it was definitely as hot. I've no idea how we did this whilst carrying a bag full of school crap (and in long trousers to begin with). It's just as well we started using the bus (and I wore shorts when it wasn't winter).

Not a lot has changed since the last time I was there a few years ago.

Afterwards I caught the No.9 bus to the Star Ferry. A nice air conditioned bus which meant I was able to cool down properly!

A Scorcher

There has been no let up in the really hot, humid, sunny weather.

In the afternoon I took the number 6 bus to Stanley. From my seat on the top deck I experienced the regular twists and turns of the route. I also got to see the cool blue waters of the swimming pools of various apartment blocks on the south of the Island. They looked extremely!

After a quick look at some of the shops in Stanley market I need to cool off. Unfortunately I had to make do with a cold beer rather than a dip in a pool!

More Tarts

Before I caught the ferry to Hong Kong I thought I go and find some egg tarts -- a totally nutritious way to start the day!

I didn't have time to get the bus to Coloane so I had to make do with the next best thing. I went to the bakery/cafe that Andrew 'Lord' Stow's ex-wife set up. Margaret's Cafe was tucked away in a narrow side street close to the Grand Lisboa.

The egg tarts were just the job. All I need to do now is to conduct a side by side blind tasting to see which ones I tasted are the best!

Tarts

A scorching hot sunny day here in Macau!

I started it off with a bus trip to Coloane Village, on one of the islands south of my hotel. The sole purpose of my trip was to go to Lord Stow's bakery and have a couple of Portuguese egg tarts (pictured) for breakfast. An excellent start to the day!

After a very quick look around Coloane, I got the bus back to Macau peninsula. The rest of the day I spent generally wandering around, looking at a few UNESCO 'World Heritage Sites' (no idea of what the criteria is for becoming one) and getting very hot and sweaty!

Macau

So after a combination of two flights, a ferry and a hotel courtesy bus I am now ensconced in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Macau.

The hotel is brand new (it only opened a couple of months ago) and has got to be one of the best places I've ever stayed at. It doesn't have a casino attached, which is a good thing!

I had a short time yesterday afternoon to explore the area near to the hotel. This includes the mega-casinos/hotels of the MGM Grand, Wynn Macau, Star World and the Grand Lisboa. Lots of neon!

I went for dinner at the 'Noodle and Congee Corner' which overlooks one of the gaming floors at the Grand Lisboa. I had a massive bowl of 'hand pulled' noodles (you can see the chefs making them) and then wandered amongst people losing (and maybe winning) money at a variety of different games. I was definitely not tempted to join them!

Body Clock

It's 10.30am Singapore time which translates to 3.30am in the UK. I've got a bit of a dull headache caused by tiredness. I've decided that a 'pre-brunch' beer is the perfect remedy! Everybody sat near me is drinking juice, but I believe it's never too late/early for a bee

Jinx?

The last time I flew out to Singapore Tottenham lost 1-0 to Wigan. This time it was different opposition (West Ham), but the same crap result and scoreline. Rubbish. Maybe my globetrotting is jinxing the team I support?

Deja vu

The 'deja vu' title refers to the fact that I'm sat in exactly same seat (48D) on exactly the same aircraft (9V-SKJ) that just transported me from London. This time it's taking me on the relatively short trip to Hong Kong.

My brief transit through Changi was notable for the rubbish shave I had – useless disposable razors! The shower I also had at least perked me up a little bit and the nasi lemak I wolfed down in super quick time was delicious.

Bored

I'm a bit bored.

As I write this there is a touch more than three and a half hours until we get to Singapore and I haven't really got anything to 'occupy me'! The thing is I've finished my book, and although I did bring another one it is in my checked luggage. The film choice is the same as when I flew out to Singapore for the August Bank Holiday weekend – and I watched the ones I wanted to then (although I have just watched 'Cyrus').

I've just spent a bit of time making a 'Playlist' from some of the music in the KrisWorld system. I don't feel particularly tired so I can't see the point of trying to attempt any snoozing. I guess I'll just have to listen to the music, watch the moving map and count down the time until we land.........

Final Leg

I'm now sat in the SAS Lounge at Arlanda airport. I'm all checked-in (back in Economy) and ready for the final leg of the journey home.

I had a decent nights sleep back at the Rest & Fly place that I stayed in at the start of my trip. Unfortunately it was all to brief! I was awake at 4.15am dying to go to the toilet, so I called it quits with regard to sleeping and had a shower etc. It was surprisingly busy at that time with people getting ready for flights etc.

My flight is due to leave in an hour and halfs time and I've just stuffed my face full of tasty Swedish bread, cheese, metwurst and tomatoes -- which I made in to very tasty sandwiches!

Back on to SAS

I can't really say too much about the flight from Frankfurt to Stockholm. It left on time, it arrived on time and somwehere along the way we had a bit of turbulence.

The person sat next to me was a miserable git. He was reading a Jean Paul Sartre book (in French) and all he kept asking for was tea (which he finally got after the meal).

FRA Transit

My transit at Frankfurt wasn't ideal. My flight from Tokyo was a little bit behind schedule because we were kept in a holding pattern for about 10 minutes.

On the the ground the airport was just chaoticaly busy. Also I didn't help that there were Schenegen and Non-Schenegen parts, so there seemed to be passport controls everywhere you turned.

I didn't get to try a Lufthansa lounge -- all I wanted was to have a tasty German beer and maybe a frankfurter!

Japanese 'Meal Set'

bout three hours away from Frankfurt I started to feel a bit peckish. Reading at 36,000 feet is hard work!

The timing of when/if you have anything to eat after the first meal is completely up to you, as long as you order at least 2 hours before the scheduled arrival time.

I went for the 'Japanese Meal Set'. I didn't take any pictures as the cabin was dark I didn't want to have to use the camera flash. So, reading from the menu, I had:

Rustic braised brown algae in light soy sauce
Chilean sea bass teriyaki
Freshly steamed Hokkaido Yuma Pirika rice (with Soutau accompaniment)
Miso soup
Assorted pickles

And very nice it was too!

Cunn's 'Special Plate'

After take off I had a couple of glasses of Champagne and my meal order was taken. This time I've got a menu to myself (well actually a couple of menus) so I can see more clearly how the meal service works. Basically you can mix and match various courses, and there are quite a few choices available.

I chose 'Cunn's Special Plate' which was stir-fried smoked peppered Sendai Wagyu steak on rice with a special curry sauce. This was preceded by a salad with a special Cunn's dressing (smoked soy sauce, olive oil and sesame) and accompanied by some chilled cooked vegetables. I washed this down with a couple of glasses of a Spanish red wine

Cunn's, it turns out, is a place in Asakusa, Tokyo which creates 'outstanding smoked deli produce'! The food was indeed 'outstanding' – some of the best airline food I've eaten. I fact I was so impressed with the smoked soy sauce and olive oil that I dipped my bread in that I ended up buying some! Getting the bottles through security could be interesting (they are 100ml, but they don't have any English on them anywhere).

NRT to FRA (and then 'back' to ARN)

So first things first the 'VIP' which lead to me being moved seats is some grey haired, middle aged Japanese man – no one remotely interesting from my perspective!

As promised I do have two seats by the window by myself. This is not too impressive as I would guess that Business Class is about half full, so there are free seats dotted about the place. Anyway I'm not complaining! The service has definitely benefited from fewer passengers. I've got a German flight attendant who appears to be trilingual – German, English and Japanese. Very impressive.

The take off from Narita was also impressive. We took off heading in one direction and then after a little while turned 180 degrees back on ourself. As a result I could see the planes who were in the queue behind taking off, the sun glinting off their fuselages as they became airborne. I think the last plane a saw was a Singapore Airline A380 heading back to Singapore.

Sunny Japan

Another sunny day here in Japan. It's a shame I'm stuck in doors waiting for a plane.

The sunblock I bought yesterday appears to have done the job as I don't appear to be suffering with any sunburn.

Narita and a VIP

I'm all checked-in a ready to start my indirect route home.

Check-in wasn't completely seamless. At first I got directed to a self service check-in machine, but that didn't like my passport so I was checked-in by a person. It then became clear why the machine didn't like me. Ages ago when I booked this trip I had chosen seat 3K -- the first row in Business Class -- well it turns out that a 'VIP' was in 3H (i.e. the seat next to 3K) and they basically wanted to move me to another seat.

I sort of thought that if the 'VIP' was that important then they should be flying in First Class, but after the check-in agent said that they would block the seat next to me I agreed to move to 8K. Of course I'm very intrigued who the 'VIP' is.

I'm now sat in the ANA lounge surrounded by Japanese 'salary men' who are either beavering away on laptops or stuffing their faces with food. One of the problems with airline lounges is that you do tend to end up eating out of boredom. Despite having my regular 'fusion' breakfast at the hotel I'm grazing on some Japanese rice crackers. However, unlike some of my fellow travellers, I draw the line pf having a beer at 9.30am!

Planes & Noodles

Before I got the shuttle bus from the airport to my hotel I had a quick look around some of the shops. I also spent a bit of time on the 'observation platform' watching planes taking off -- definitely on a par with taking pictures of Shinkansen trains1

I also got some food. Originally I had in mind to have some sushi, however, after my beers on the train I I craved something salty. Therefore a big, steaming bowl of ramen noodles would fit the bill nicely!

Narita Express

I got the Narita Express to the airport. In all the other times I've travelled to or from Narita airport I've used the Friendly Limousine Bus. However, at the time I was travelling to the airport the bus was due to take almost 2 hours and the train would only take an hour and twenty minutes.

The train was very civilised -- plenty of space (unlike the Limousine Bus which can be quite crowded). In fact I had a couple of Kirin beers, which I got from the platform kiosk, as we whizzed through the Tokyo suburbs to the airport.

Blacows

So it's obvious that when you're in Japan you should seek out a restaurant which sells hamburgers. Except, the restaurant in question, sells Wagyu beef hamburgers so it does make sense.

Blacows is in Ebisu which is one of my favourite parts of Tokyo. It was a good sign when I arrived and there was a queue for lunch. I didn't have to wait long before I was seated. The waitress fired off something in Japanese at me which I now think was 'do you want anything to drink?'. This was a bit of a surprise as the standard drill in restaurants in Japan is that when you sit down you get a hot or cold towel and a glass of water or tea (and I had got my glass of water).

I ordered a Jalapeno burger. Judging by what I overheard from the people sat near me the bacon cheese burger was very popular.

With the burger comes a small salad, Hokkaido French fries and a pickle. The salad arrived first and I wolfed it down with my fork. Most other people were using their chopsticks.

When I was waiting for my burger I realised that there was some waxed paper on the table which I saw from the other diners was being used to hold their hamburgers when they ate them. I guess I'd have to follow suit!

My burger turned up at it looked great. It was a bit of a faff using the paper to hold it whilst I ate it. In fact the the little paper pocket just collected all the juices from the burger which I just poured over my fries.

The burger was pretty good, but maybe would've been better if it was cooked a bit more on the rare side. I'm not sure I appreciated the fact the burgers were made from prized Wagyu beef!

Last Day

Well it's the morning of my last full day in Tokyo. I've just had my breakfast (a nice fish, kim-chi, stir fried veg and miso soup combo) and looking out my hotel window it looks like another glorious day -- sunny with just a hint of some hazy clouds.

The dilemma is do I fork out a no doubt extortionate amount of Yen on some sunblock? Given the aversion of most Japanese to the sun I expect the lowest factor they have will be 50 probably.

My flight back to Europe leaves Narita tomorrow morning so I'm staying at a hotel at the airport tonight. It looks like I'll be getting the train to the airport as at the time I'll be travelling the Friendly Limousine Bus (which is what I normally use) takes almost two hours! That'll be Tokyo rush hour traffic for you.

Caught the Sun?

It supposed to be the start of the rainy season here -- hot moist winds from the south meeting cool air (or something like that)! Well apart from the first couple of days I've been really lucky and it hasn't rained at all.

Today was a glorious day in Tokyo. Not too warm but sunny and lots of blue sky. In fact I think that because it wasn't too warm it was a bit deceiving, as the sun should be pretty strong (it is the end of May after all). I expect tomorrow I will definitely show signs of having 'caught the sun'!

I spent most of the afternoon in Odaiba, a part of Tokyo I've not been to before. It's an island in Tokyo Bay and there were some interesting buildings (architecturally), a couple of big shopping malls, a glorified Toyota showroom and a beach! I'm sure there's probably more to it than that, but that was my experience!

Beer & Football

I'd decided to have an early night so rather than venturing out I bought a few beers from the convenience store by the entrance to my hotel. I was watching a baseball game on the tv (Saitama Lions v. Yomiuri Giants) when I realised that the England v. Japan game might be one. One of the channels always seemed to have football on so I figured, correctly, that this would probably have the game on.

The Japanese commentators are quite amusing - their favourite player judging by how excited they sound when he has the ball is definitely Wayne Rooney.

There are lots of Japanese adverts around the pitch which probably reflects that the tv audience in Japan will be bigger than in the UK -- kick off was at 9.15pm Japan time.

Today's Food

The breakfast at my hotel in Tokyo is nothing special -- it's a buffet with a mixture of Japanese and Western items. I mostly had the Japanese items, but I did have a couple of slices of toast instead of rice!

For lunch I went to Mai-Sen a Tonkatsu (deep fried breaded pork loin) place which I went to last year. This is the first time that I order something and when it turned up it wasn't quite what I expected! I wanted just a regular piece of pork with rice, shredded cabbage and miso soup. What I got was a piece of pork on top of a big bowl of rice with a load of unwanted fried up egg. I did get soup but it wasn't regular miso soup. Don't get me wrong it was still delicious and there was barely a grain of rice left when I'd finished.

For dinner I got a boxed meal from the Takashimaya food hall. I'd visited the place earlier in the day and had a few samples from some of the places. When I went back to get my dinner there was lot of discounting going on as the various places were looking to get rid of that days food. Unfortunately what I wanted stayed at its regular price.

I'm not actually sure how you'd described what I got. There were a lot of vegetables and it tasted really good!

Dumb Yank

I was on the tram in Hiroshima the other day, on my way to Hiroshima Station. This American gets on and says "who you doing?" to me. I sort of grunted in reply.

The guy stood at the front of the tram by the exit.

On Hiroshima trams it really is quite simple -- it's a flat rate fare of 150 Yen for travel in the city, and you pay with exact change when you get off the tram (there are change machines on the tram). There are instructions in English explaining this. Well unfortunately the American chap was a bit clueless.

We went one stop and then he decides that he wants to get off. He asks the driver in English how much it is -- he was lucky the driver understood him. He was also lucky that driver had a good enough grasp of English to explain how the whole tram payment thing worked. Our man from the US then produced a 1,000 Yen note and gave it to the driver. This just increased our delay as the driver needed to sort out change.

After the the American eventually got off and we were back underway I felt a bit paranoid as if people were looking at me and expecting that I would be equally as clueless!

Shinjuku Station

To get to my hotel invariably I need to pass through Shinjuku Station (the second busiest in the world). It's pretty big with I don't know how many platforms, but it just seems to be perpetually busy (and so far on this trip I've only seen it on a weekend).

The picture is taken at about 6.30pm on a Sunday evening.

Red Light District

My hotel in Tokyo is slap bang in the middle of the red-light district. Lots of bars, restaurants and also strip joints and massage parlours. It was pretty lively last night when I was walking about -- I got propositioned a few times!

Bizarrely it's not really that seedy. The biggest irritant are the dodgy Africans (from who knows where) trying to talk to you and get you to go to certain bars/sell you drugs/sell you women.

Trainspotting

I was truly sad this morning. Today is the last day that my Japan Rail pass is valid, so therefore the last day of unlimited travel on JR trains and also the last day that I get access to the Shinkansen platforms.

I thought I'd go to Tokyo station to get a few pictures of the trains arriving and departing. I haven't really been able to do this before as I've normally been weighed down with luggage or in a bit of 'travel panic' making sure that I'm on the the right platform at the right time.

I don't think this will be the start of a long term hobby!

Ramen Street

I had ramen noodles for dinner tonight. I went to 'Ramen Street' which is in the bowels of Tokyo station (it took me a while to find it). Basically there are 5 or 6 renowned ramen restaurants which have opened a branches on the so called 'Ramen Street'.

The restaurants are so popular that it's not uncommon to wait up to an hour to get seated -- and this is basically what amounts to fast food!

When I turned up at 8pm there were queues outside all of the restaurants. I picked the shortest one and joined it.

I didn't have to wait long before I was inside, seated and slurping away at a bowl of noodles and eating some gyoza!

Back in Tokyo

I'm now in Tokyo again.

The Shinkansen did it's job and 5 hours after leaving Hiroshima I arrived at Tokyo station (with a change of trains in Osaka). After my uncomfortable/crowded experience on the train to Hiroshima I got a reserved seat this time. This was easy enough to do and involved me using a few new Japanese words. I actually had a spare seat next to me all the way to Tokyo which was a real bonus.

I bought an ebiken (lunch box meal) before leaving Hiroshima and gobbled that down on the first part of my journey.

After arriving at Tokyo station I had to get to Shinjuku where my hotel is. Both Tokyo and Shinjuku were crazily busy -- it really made Kyoto and Hiroshima seem fairly quiet by comparison. Exiting Shinjuku station was just mental; people everywhere and me trying to pull along my luggage.

Busy Breakfast

I had the international breakfast option this morning (so far I'm alternating with the Japanese one). I timed it badly as it was really busy and I had to actually wait for a table to come free before I could be seated.

I think the main reason for this was two large tour groups – one seemed to be French, the other German. They all finished up and the restaurant was almost empty. I was still eating when, a little while later, I saw one of the groups all troop off together to, presumably, the Peace Park (it's only 5 minutes away on foot).

Unlike the international breakfast in Kyoto there was quite a few Japanese breakfast items available. I had a random mish-mash of things, as did a lot of the Japanese. It was amusing seeing them eat bacon, sausages and omelettes with their chopsticks!

Top Kill

In my hotel in Hiroshima I think the only English language channel is CNN (I had the BBC in Kyoto). CNN seem obsessed with the leaking oil well in the Gulf of Mexico and wheel in all manner of experts to share their wisdom.

One of the presenters, Kristie Lou Stout, has a really irritating American accent (it sounds like her noise is badly bunged up – maybe she does have a cold though), but she seems to take great relish in saying “top kill” as often as possible!

The Carp

merchandise. I'd seen a fair bit of stuff around town – mainly snacks, cakes and 'cheering' equipment(!) – but figured there would be a much bigger selection at the store at the Mazda Zoom Zoom Stadium.

Unfortunately by the time I got back from my trip to Miyajima and walked to the stadium it was just after 4.00pm and the store had literally just closed. This was a bit of a bummer. I could hope to find some stuff in one of the department stores in downtown Hiroshima, or I re-arrange my travel plans so that I can get to the store when it opens at 10am (I had planned to be on my way to Tokyo by then).

My trawl through the department stores almost was successful, but I kept thinking that there would be a much bigger range at the proper Carp store. So in the end I didn't buy anything and instead decided to get a later train to Tokyo.

I was right the Carp store was big and had all kinds of random merchandise. I ummed and ahhed and in the end bought a Carp baseball shirt. It cost 8,000 Yen (about £62) and I'm now wondering when I'll ever actually wear it!

One More Temple!

I was suffering from withdrawal symptoms so I found a place I could get a good 'fix'!

Before I satisfied my cravings I went over to the Peace Park to see if I could get any pictures which didn't have loads of school kids in them. It was about 8.30am and there were school groups around, but not that many. I got the pictures I wanted and then decided that I'd make a detour via the museum. I'm glad I did as it had lots of interesting stuff to see and gave a reasonably balanced history of the lead up to the bomb being dropped.

I left the museum and the sun was really shining brightly and starting to warm the day up – it's supposed to be the start of the rainy season but the weather in Hiroshima has been fantastic.

I walked to Hiroshima station and got the train out to Miyajima-guchi. From here I took the short ferry trip over to the island of Miyajima.

Miyajima is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is most famous for the Itsukushima-jinja temple. In particular the orange torii (shrine gate) is apparently one of the most photographed sites in Japan. The torii is surrounded by water at high tide and does look pretty cool. A couple of other things of note are the deer that roam about (they're supposedly wild but you wouldn't know it as they walk amongst the tourists), and the world largest rice paddle (scoop) is here!

After my temple fix I grabbed some lunch – local conger eel – and then got the ferry and then train back to Hiroshima.

Today's Food

Breakfast -- From the Japanese restaurant in the hotel.


Lunch -- Conger Eel (and egg) from a restaurant on the island of Miyajima.


Dinner -- Sushi, Local Sardines Tempura and something a bit like kim-chi (called Chinjya I think).


Dessert -- Green Tea and Cookies Haagen Dazs.

Hiroshima Toyo Carp

I've just got back from my most enjoyable evening of this trip to Japan -- I went to see a baseball game between the Hiroshima Toyo Carp and the Chiba Lotte Marines.

It was great right from the really helpful woman who told me all about the different ticket types.

Other amusing/great things which added to the experience:

-- They almost encourage you to bring your own beer in to the stadium. There are dedicated stations where you pour the cans of beer you bought on the way to the ground in to paper cups before you take your seat.

-- The food options inside are fantastic. Yes you could have a hotdog, but I was more interested in the ramen, yakitori and Japanese curry stalls.

--Sake at a baseball game!

--The unabashed enthusiasm of the supporters -- no need for the PA to get the crowd going.

-- Singing/cheering/general noise from the away team fans.

-- The 7th innings stretch was just so funny and, I hesitate to use this word, cute! It involved everyone getting ready by blowing up big long pink balloons (to represent carp). They then sing a song and at the end let go of their balloons. A really cool sight.

-- The fact that you could leave your bag at your seat when you went off to get more beer or food.

-- The guy I sat next to spoke really good English and we had a decent chat. He told me that the Carp aren't a great team at the moment -- but they won tonight!

A-Bomb

I got to Hiroshima really easily -- a Shinkansen Kodama train to Osaka and then a change to the Shinkansen Hikari RailStar to Hiroshima. The train to Hiroshima was totally rammed, so I had had a bit of uncomfortable journey with my big bag taking up most of my leg space.

At Hiroshima I caught the streetcar (tram) to my hotel. I dumped my stuff and headed straight out to the A-Bomb sights -- the Peace Park and the A-Bomb Dome.

It was all interesting stuff, but the impact was somewhat diluted by the hordes of school kids -- it's obviously high on the list of school trip destinations, for obvious reasons.

I think the Children's Peace Monument was the one which gave me a bit of a lump in the throat. It was inspired by a girl who got leukaemia as a result of the bomb. She decided to fold 1,000 paper cranes -- the crane being a symbol of happiness and longevity in Japan. The girl was sure that if she managed to complete her task she would recover. Unfortunately she died before she could finish. However, her classmates folded the remaining cranes and this inspired a paper crane folding craze. The practice continues today and I saw two groups of young school kids form up in front of the monument, sing a song or say a prayer and then leave a memorial of a collection of paper cranes. Quite touching.

Okonomiyaki

I had a pretty substantial breakfast this morning so I had a fairly late lunch when I got to Hiroshima. I had okonomiyaki which is a mutant pancake -- this one has noodles, squid, kim-chi, green onion, and a whole heap of other stuff. It tasted really good and was just the job!

Food Halls

I spent a bit of time wandering around the food halls of the Isetan and Daimuru department stores -- so much good food to buy!

I bought this from Daimaru. It was like a waffle filled with sweet red bean paste and it did just the job as an afternoon snack.

Geisha Hunting

After my food tonight (some discounted sushi from the Daimaru food hall) I went 'Geisha Hunting' in the Gion area of the city.

I got lucky and saw at least one full Geisha and three Maiko (apprentice Geishas). Unfortunately I only managed to get a picture of a Maiko.

Eel

This is what I had for lunch -- an Unagi (eel) set meal. The eel was really tasty. It's cooked over hot coals and is smothered in a rich shoyu and sake sauce (according to the guidebook!). Also with my meal was some soup, rice, carp sashimi and an omelette type thing (which I couldn't see the point of).

The outside of the restaurant was a bit intimidating, however once inside I was given an English menu.