A rail pass and a high speed railway network means you can start the day in one city and arrive in another one less than two hours later, drop off your luggage, go backwards to spend the day in an in-between city and return to the second one late in the evening.
We wake up to a grey and wet day. I have used points to pay for breakfast at the hotel. The buffet has a decent, though not outstanding, selection. I am so tired, having stayed up until 3.30 am washing and drying clothes.
I want to spend the morning exploring Kokura and nearby Mojiko, with its railway museum. This does not interest B and she would rather go elsewhere. With our rail passes, we have lots of options. The complication is the luggage.
We settle on riding the Shinkansen to Okayama and dropping our luggage at the hotel. It’s so pleasant to hop aboard a modern and very comfortable high speed train and simply relax while racing along at 300 km/h.
It’s wet and rainy outside. Tendrils of low cloud rise off the hills and out of the valleys, as if the landscape is inverted.
It is still raining at Okayama. We use the underpass to escape some of it, but must eventually emerge on to the street. Fortunately there’s a Don Quixote handy for B to purchase one of the cheap and ubiquitous clear plastic umbrellas.
It is far too early to check into the Dormy Inn, so we leave our luggage and head back out to the station via a different route. Along the way we spot a Chuggington tram, a combination of the Wilson and Brewster characters from the CGI children’s television show that Alex used to love. The theme song is played on a loop as it waits to leave the tram stop.
An amazingly unexpected sight! I want to catch it, but it departs while we are waiting at the lights.
We have lunch at the station at the same Gyukatsu (breaded beef) I ate at during my last trip here alone. Then we wander the interior searching for a small umbrella for me and cold medicine for B.
Where do we go next? It’s wet everywhere in this end of Japan today, while tomorrow will be really hot. We eventually choose to continue with our original idea of the island of Miyajima, one of B’s favourite places.
This involves catching a Shinkansen back down to Hiroshima. I have a much needed nap on the ride. From there we change to a local train to Miyajimaguchi. There are lots of foreign tourists joining us.
Riding the local reminds me of what I really love in Japan. The Shinkansen is fast and comfortable and perfect when you just want to sit back and relax, but local trains show you the real Japan. You get up close and personal with the towns and landscapes, you have a peek into the lives of ordinary Japanese people.
At Miyajimaguchi we change for the ferry to Miyajima. There is an 100 yen per person visitor’s tax charge that is paid separately even if you have a rail pass. Then we board the combined car and passenger ferry.
Miyajima is best known as the site of the “floating torii” of Itsukushima shrine. It is one of the three great sights of Japan, along with those at Matsushima (last trip) and Amanohashidate (2019 trip).
It is very much a tourist destination and there are shops all the way along between the ferry terminal and shrine. They sell grilled oysters (B says yum) and sticks of grilled fish paste (yum for me, especially the cheese one) and other foods (takoyaki for Alex, just okay for him) and souvenirs.
It’s late and many are getting ready to close. But for us the time of day is perfect. The rain is holding off, the clouds are dramatic and the light is golden. The only downside is that the tide is out, so the torii doesn’t appear to be floating, just stuck in the mud.
We join the crowd down on the sand around the torii. A huge number of tiny hermit crabs scuttle along the sand and in the small pools of water. Occasionally a larger crab with weightlifter pincers pushes them out of the way like a character in a computer game.
The Itsukushima Shrine is a large complex that, had the tide been in, would also appear to float on the water. The long corridors and hanging lanterns are very atmospheric, especially in this beautiful light.
The walk through Itsukushima shrine is one way, we return behind it, then walk along the beachside esplanade. Deer relax in the last rays of the sun. The male antlers are a smooth brown. They are not as annoying as the deer of Nara.
With grey clouds approaching, it is time to go. I sit on the top level of the ferry and watch the torii recede into the distance. I want to catch a tram back, see more of Hiroshima, but B refuses, so we ride the local train back.
A very dark, very threatening grey cloud reaches down towards a city which is one of only two to have been touched by the worst of all clouds. We arrive late enough that we need to eat dinner here.
The other two want kaitenzushi – sushi train. Unfortunately, some idiots spoiled the conveyor belt sushi experience by spitting on them and now they are only for show. Instead, we order from a tablet. It is not the best sushi we have tasted.
Another Shinkansen ride in the dark and we are back to Okayama. We spot a 500 series Shinkansen at the opposite platform. So cool!
On arrival at the hotel, we are delighted to discover we have a separate living area in our hotel, but when we find a washing machine and dryer in the room I am so disappointed I wasted last night doing the washing.
A hot onsen bath finishes the day. I take a long time scrubbing off the perspiration and stench of the day before soaking in the inside and outside tubs. It is not quite as nice as bathing while snowflakes fall, but I certainly feel better for it.