Day 5

Today, we woke up at 6 AM because we need to leave by 7:30 for our Shinkansen, bullet train. One of the things I, personally, will miss is the onsen, public bath. It was such an amazing experience. Thankfully, we will be going to another hotel with one tomorrow. So there will most likely not be internet again in my room. Thus, the next post may be delayed.

We took taxis to Kyoto Station where we caught our Shinkansen to Hiroshima. The bullet train travels at upwards of 170 mph! When we arrived in Hiroshima we got on our new bus to go to the site of the atomic bombing. When we disembarked from the bus, we could immediately see the Atomic Dome. This was one of the only buildings that remained standing. After a short walk, we dropped off our 1000 paper cranes.

Then we went around and toured the Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall and the museum. After visiting the museum, we took a ferry to Miyajima Park. This is home to the free standing torii gate in the sea. There were more wild deer around the park, but we simply avoided them as we headed to the temple on the island. The temple was beautiful and had a wonderful view of the torii. After the tour of the temple, we had free time before we boarded the ferry again, only to board the bus to head back to Hiroshima. For dinner, we ate okonomiyaki. They were large pancake-ish foods with cabbage, bacon, noodles, and an egg. They were absolutely delicious! After eating, we headed to the hotel to retire for the evening.