Christmas morning arrived and we enjoyed handing out family Christmas cards. Gift time was fun as we opened many packages with keepsakes from our trip. Our breakfast menu was pancakes and maple syrup, not very Japanese but a family favourite. We had fun making the Mazda car key rings. More construction took place as we had entered the land Nano blocks. James and Jason began making a Shinkansen from the Nano Gauge series. »
Now we were settled in Kyoto, we needed a Christmas tree, so James and Jennifer assembled and decorated our traveling tree. We unpacked our origami Santas and hooray, we were ready for Christmas. We have an apartment in the best location, just around the corner from Teramachi-dori street and the Nishiki Food Market. Woo Hoo!!! So we just had to explore…. There was seafood galore, alive and fillets. Fresh fruits and vegetables in abundance. »
Today the boys went to the Mazda Museum and factory tour at Mazda’s headquarters in Hiroshima, starting with an early train from Hiroshima Station to Mukainada Station. After a short walk we arrived at Mazda’s Japanese Headquarters, where we were greeted and invited to view both classic and new models on display or play in the games room while waiting for the tour to start. James took a particular liking to the sporty lines of the Roadster. »
The girls found peace in the most beautiful and tranquil miniature garden they have ever seen, Shukkein. It’s name literally means “shrink-scenery garden”, which is very apt. In the centre of the garden is Takuei pond. One of the stone miniature bridges calling us to cross. It was fun feeding the coi, some were very large! We delighted in seeing the miniature gardens which represented various scenic views across Japan, for example a remote mountain and solitary valley and a broad sea shore. »
Wow! It was a lovely surprise to walk outside our hotel and find that it was snowing. A big smile filled our faces as a little magic felt like it had been added to our day. We caught the bus to Hiroshima station to catch the JR Sanyo line to Miyajimaguchi. We arrived at Miyajimaguchi. It was only a couple of minutes walk to the Miyajima Ferry Port where we caught the ferry to Miyajima Island. »
Today we decided to visit the Hiroshima Children’s Museum. The first activity we spied was a ball maze. We had great fun winding balls onto the run at different locations and watching them complete the track. Jen enjoyed making electricity by picking up a ball with a control panel and dropping it through a basketball hoop. Mr White would be proud of Jennifer and James making circuits with bulbs and batteries. »
Day Fifteen - International city of World Peace & the Castle Town, Hiroshima Terumoto built a castle in Hiroshima as he felt the location was a good hub for river and sea trade and it was important to control the mouth of the river for the city’s success and rule over the Chugoku region. The Hiroshima Castle was constructed 1589, it is an early flatland castle (Hirajiro). The Ota river was used as a natural moat to ferry stones from the inland sea for use to build the castle. »
We made our way on the Osaka Loop line and Rapid Train to Shin-Osaka, you see James can’t get enough train rides! At Shin-Osaka we we caught the Shinkansen Sakura 553 to Hiroshima. It was rather luxurious and a most enjoyable train ride. We arrived at the Rhinga Royal hotel in Hiroshima and was excited to find we had a room on the 24th floor with a view of the Hiroshima Castle. »
We zipped out to Tennoji today. First of all we visited Shitennoji temple. Off to the zoo we go…. We thought the ducks were quite pretty, well for ducks, with their orange colouring. Orange is one of James’ favourite colours. We found a trainer who was showing off his Noma Pony. It was so cute we gave him a pat and a hug. The Black bear was pacing his enclosure. James and Jennifer liked the Polar bear because we actually got to see him. »
Our day started at the Osaka Museum of History. If you ever get the chance to visit Osaka, we highly recommend this museum. We started our history lesson on the 10th floor, where we saw a partial reconstruction of the Daigokuden (the main palace building) of the Nara period of Naniwa Palace. We saw many mannequins dressed in period court dress and life size replicas of the 70 cm pillars. From the observation area we looked across to the remains of this former site, but it was pleasing to see it has been cared for, so the story lives on today. »