Miyajima

As the weather has stayed lovely, I decided to head out of Hiroshima city and spend the day on the island of Miyajima. A 50 minute tram ride took me direct from the hotel to the port of Miyajima-Gucci where I took the 10 minute ferry crossing to the island. What a beautiful place. A ten minute walk along the lovely front leads you to the famous O-torri Gate rising out of the water and considered to be one of Japan’s most beautiful views.

Of course who did I bump into again but the Broons, and we shared sunscreen and took photos for each other. A feature of the island is the fact that tame deer walk about the street looking for food from the tourists. They were very sweet, and quite comical as they nosed into folks' bags and licked their ice creams. The most famous attraction on the island is the venerable shrine of Itsukushima. It was an interesting place to visit, with the O-torri Gate sitting in the water opposite, as if floating on the sea. There is a cable car up the mountain behind, but it was unfortunately closed for servicing.

A visit to Miyajima appears to be a popular day out, and hordes of families piled on and off the regular ferries. The ferry was run by the rail company so I was able to use my Japan Rail Pass. There was a lovely peaceful atmosphere on the island in spite of the number of visitors, and plenty of shops and restaurants selling every kind of food (including fresh grilled oysters), making this a great day trip, and one which is so accessible from the city.

I was sorry to leave Hiroshima as it is such a lovely city. Japan seems to be so clean and well organised with cheap, reliable public transport - no sign of any begging, graffiti or loutish behaviour, although I am sure it exists somewhere. People generally were polite and considerate, always queuing in line. Maybe Hello Kitty was a bad example.

Later in the afternoon I boarded another Bullet Train and headed for my next destination - Kyoto. I can't believe how quick you can get between cities on these trains. It's like travelling on Concorde (not that I ever did!).

I thought I would try one of the capsule types of accommodation in Kyoto. It was a berth, not unlike the one on the ship, but with a panel to close over for privacy. It was small but did have a flatscreen TV, pull-out table, mirror, light, power sockets and headphones. Linen and a towel were supplied, and there was free wifi. Also included was access to a Japanese ‘onsen’ - traditional bathing facility - with hot and cold pools, sauna and showers - very welcome after such a hot day. The accommodation was very reasonable is well located in one of the main upmarket shopping streets. The only complaint I heard was from an old English jolly hockey sticks type, who sounded off at the lovely young Receptionist ‘I mean these shops don't suit me at all - I don't shop in Louis Vuitton!’. Well, you can't please them all!Read more