Kyoto to Hiroshima

Our Shinkansen train ride from Hiroshima was uneventful. We certainly have it down to a science, although if we were to do it again, we would probably pack into smaller suitcases rather than having two big ones that cannot be put overhead.

We arrived in Hiroshima and put our bags into a locker and headed to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial and Museum, just a short cable car ride away from the station. Words cannot describe its impact.  It is an excellent museum describes very well the tragic human toll of nuclear weapons.

We had dinner and went to our hotel which was located far outside the downtown core. It had nice amenities listed on its website but it neglected to tell us that these amenities had high fees associated with them. If we were to ever come to Hiroshima again we would probably book closer into town as the taxi ride was expensive as they have a monopoly on restaurants in the area, any meal at the hotel would have been expensive.

Watch stopped at 8:15 am

August 15, 2010: Tokyo to Kyoto by Train (or From Anagram to Anagram)

We walked around this morning and said goodbye to Tokyo. We took the local JR line to the Tokyo station and then hopped the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto. This takes 2.5 hours or so. It was a nice scenic ride and we wrote and read on the way down. Beautiful towns but no sight of the illusive Mt. Fuji as we went down as it was still cloudy.

We arrived in Kyoto around 4:00 p.m. and took the subway (not JR line) from the Kyoto station to a stop a few blocks from our hotel. We checked into the Hearton Hotel, Kyoto and then went out to find dinner. We walked around the outside of the Imperial Palace grounds and found a little local place. We had Karage chicken, grilled squid, and yakisoba.  Then we walked along the Kamo River and sat and watched the moon and the bats. We went home to the hotel.

Squid isn't so bad. A little rubbery, but tasty, nonetheless.