Miyajima - 8/20

8/20/2010
*Note: Written on Aug. 20th, posted on Aug. 25th. Sorry guys, internet access has been beyond spotty.*

Woo Shinkansen! M&D (Mom and Dad) and I are at our new destination of Miyagima, an island next to the coastal city of Hiroshima. To get here we took Shinkansen, or bullet train. We once again got an early start, though it is still proving to be easy to get up early due to jet lag. So I showered at 5am and we were off by 6. We once again took a taxi for time purposes and arrived at the station at about 6:10.
We headed into an office where the Shinkansen tickets were sold. We had a plan about what tickets we wanted and train to take, but while talking to the station employee, it became clear to us that a change in plans would be beneficial to us. So we ended up taking the Nozomi train that left at 6:30am. First of all, some perspective. We finished the ticket transaction at 6:18 exactly. Japanese trains are prompt.

So we hustled over to the platform and I read the signs to the best of my knowledge and soon we were on a train hoping that it was the right one. It was and there were no problems, meaning that I was worrying over nothing like usual. That’s my problem; I always get all paranoid and worked up over whether or not I’m in the right place or on the right train. I believe that I have yet to be in the wrong place or train here in Japan. Ah well, better safe than sorry.

After a longish but very comfortable 5 hours or so, we found ourselves in Hiroshima station. We then had to catch another train to the Miyajima station. On that train we ended up in a lovely conversation with a fellow from Grand Rapids, Michigan and his friend who were in Japan on business. It was very interesting for me because he had travelled to Japan many times before and we compared our views of the Japanese people from the viewpoint of a knowledgeable foreigner. Basically, we talked about the realities of the Japanese beneath their shining exterior presentation.
Though that’s neither here nor there.

We got off the train and onto a ferry that took us across a small stretch of ocean to Miyajima itself. The view was incredible. With picturesque mountains stretching out in the distance extending all the way into the water, the sun shining happily away and the quiet sea breeze, we were in love. Though the sun could have been shining a little less enthusiastically, frankly. We were baking alive, and still are pretty much.

Anyway, we stashed our bags in a locker until check-in time at our ryokan, Benten-no Yado Itsukushima (remember, a ryokan is a traditional Japanese inn). We then hiked through the adorable tourist town to a bus stop where a shuttle took us up to the cable car station. We purchased tickets and took the cable car, which was basically a gondola only much higher up, to the top of the mountain. The views the whole way were amazing of course, and we spent some time posing for the camera at the top.
We headed back for the ferry station where the lady at the information desk called the ryokan, who sent a van to pick us up and save us carrying our luggage all the way.

The ryokan is AMAZING. They treat us like really important people, and from what Japanese I do know, it’s very interesting to hear the very polite and humble language from the employees. There are two public bathing areas, one with an outdoor view of the ocean, private baths, massage chairs, a ping-pong room… wait what?

YEAH. That’s right, PING-PONG ROOM. Though Dad and I were far too tired overall to
make use of it, it was kind of cool to know it existed.

Ok so our dinner was included in the price of the reservation, so we were scheduled to eat at 6:30. We decided to head out and shop around for a bit beforehand, getting back just in time to freshen up from the MORBID heat of Hiroshima.

We arrived at the 6th floor restaurant where we were greeted by the most unusual Japanese experience I have yet encountered. We were treated to a high end, traditional Japanese dinner consisting of no less than 12 courses. Granted each course was a small plate or bowl containing as small as a bite or two of something, but it was still quite impressive.

I must admit, I had a very difficult time with the meal, especially when they brought out a fried rock fish that we were supposed to eat head, bones, eyes, and all. The majority of our discussion centered around, ‘I think this is…’ conversations. Our server who also assisted us in hotel information as he probably was their most fluent English employee (minus the manager, Richard, a lovely gentleman who had spent 31 years living in the States) was named Imai and he did his best to explain what we were eating, to some avail.

By the time they were done bringing us all of our food and we were done eating it (er, most of it) it was about 7:30-8. We returned to our room, where I then left for the 2nd floor where I could access the internet and update this very blog, though this entry won’t be updated until the next time I get access. M&D headed for the private baths as they had made a reservation earlier. So here we are relaxing for the night, and tomorrow we head out for Osaka. All this running around is starting to make my head spin!