Kyoto, Japan

We are now back in Kyoto. We took the bullet train from Hiroshima. What we did not know is that our train passes did not cover part of that route. We were supposed to get off and transfer to a different train but we did not. No big problem it just cost us a little yen. There is a typhoon in Japan. It was windy and rainy yesterday but the full force is supposed to hit today. Because of that I had to cancel some hiking that I had planned for this last Sunday of our visit. So we will replace that with eating and shopping. All is well here we are starting our day with a Onsen, the hot tub Japan version. It took me some talking to get Ron to agree since it is naked bathing with others. Men and women are separate. We have had fun finding just the right toy to bring home to Wesley.

Hiroshima Japan

After taking the ferry from the island of Mayajima, our next stop was Hiroshima. There is one building left that was a direct hit from the atomic bomb. It has been preserved and even retrofitted to prevent earthquakes from demolishing it. There were notebooks telling the facts about the bomb and the Memoirs of those affected. The notebooks were in all languages. Across the river is the Peace Memorial Park. This includes a very detailed Museum. It was interesting to us that the General theme is that the attack was necessary and the majority of the Japanese people agree. I remember visiting Pearl Harbor and feeling awkward with so many Japanese visiting. Now the tables have been turned.
On a lighter note, Hiroshima is a baseball town. The game was sold out and many people in town were wearing the team jerseys. Ron laughs at the name of the team "The Carps" . In Oregon a carp is considered a garbage fish.
We tried to find a nice restaurant for dinner but got lost. We took a taxi to try to find our hotel and he took us back to the Atomic bomb exhibit. We figured out he could not read English--even though he told us he knew where to take us when I showed him the name of our hotel. We knew there was a bus from that area back to our hotel so that's what we did. A long route.

Japan Day 4

We had a surprisingly nice breakfast delivered to our room. Sharon had chosen the Japanese bento box and Ron had more traditional breakfast sandwiches. We then traveled by train to our next stop, Miyajima. Much of the trip was in a very sleek bullet train. Ron says he's glad they did not "blow a tire." Miyajima is considered a sacred Island. No one is "allowed" to be born on the island or to die on the island. There are over 600 deer on the island and they walk the streets the same as dogs would. There is a shopping area that seems to us quite cheap and it was very crowded during the day trip hours. We stayed in a traditional inn which means they provide your Japanese clothing a multi-course dinner, breakfast and traditional futon sleeping area. The meal was interesting--included eel, oysters and  other fish. One beef course. Didn't taste as good as Paris but was a nice experience.

Japan Day 3

Tuesday morning was very rainy here. We started our day by eating the buffet breakfast at our hotel. We knew it would be a lot of food but what else did we have to do. the food selection was amazing. There was very little Western type breakfast food but everything tasted excellent. Some of the tofu dishes were especially pleasing to Sharon. We've been borrowed an umbrella and did some walking before our check out of 11 a.m. We left one bag at the hotel since we will be back in 3 days. We took the train to Koshien where we had baseball tickets for the evening game. We are crossing our fingers that the game would not be rained out. The game was played and we enjoyed it. One of the pictures was a previous USA player. The fans are very enthusiastic. They let balloons off during the seventh inning stretch. There were cheerleaders and mini beer girls with kegs on their backs to keep the cups full. I read that the beer is brewed locally and brought to the stadium fresh. The food selection was not hot dogs. One of the biggest differences was that the game officially ended in a tie! Our hotel was just a few blocks from the stadium so that made it convenient.

Kyoto Japan Day 2

We woke multiple times during the night but actually got sufficient sleep again. Jet lag is real but not winning the battle here. Sharon had a big agenda for the day. We did not complete it. Ron can only take so many temples. The Kyoto station nearest has an unlimited supply of food and shopping. We have figured out where the good pastry shops are to go with our morning coffee.
Kiyomizu-dera Temple was our main destination today and the surrounding area. It's it's very high on the hill and has a fabulous view of the entire area. There are some interesting customs or beliefs: such as two large rocks that are about 20 feet apart. They are called love rocks and you are supposed to walk between them in a straight line with your eyes closed to improve your Romance luck.
We also lit incense at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for World War II. We did so realizing that there both America and Japan lost so many young men.
We tried another Ramen Shop but now know that all remain is not made equal. We will look always for the long lines. It wasn't bad but just not nearly as good as the first day. We still have sushi, tempura and barbecued eel on our list of must eats!
Tomorrow we leave to go to Osaka and Koshien where we have baseball tickets. Rain is predicted unfortunately. We hope it does not cancel the game.
It was Ron's birthday today so I tried to let him make the choices of where to eat and when to call the sightseeing done.

Kyoto Japan day one

It was a long travel day. We arrived at our hotel at about 7:30 p.m. Dustin had recommended this hotel and it is very nice. It has free coffee drinks in the morning! It is close to the Kyoto station-- which is huge. It took us several attempts to smoothly get from the station where all the trains and subway end to our hotel. We traveled by train bus and Subway to do some sightseeing. It was trial and error. We slept 10 hours the first night so that helped with jet lag. We had a fabulous ramen noodle lunch. Even though the Bulls are huge there was not much left in them. Once again my pictures are not cooperating to go on the blog.

Lopez Island

We are in the vacation mode. The weather turned nicer yesterday so it is possible we won't have to ride in the rain now. Our plans are to Amtrak home on Tuesday. Sorry I couldn't share pictures with you. It is beautiful . Last night we watched bald eagles while the sun set.

Day 6 Ferry to Friday Harbor

Stayed in Mt Vernon and rode 22 miles to the San Juan ferry terminal. Ferry leaves in 1 hr. to Friday Harbor. We will stay there two days then go to Lopez Island for 2 days. Sorry I cannot get my pictures to post.

Day 5 Elbe to Mt. Vernon, 45 miles

We cycled in the rain to begin the day. It seems like we were taking our raincoats on and off all day. We rode to the Olympia train station and travel to Mount Vernon by train. Tomorrow we will ride to the Anacortes Ferry and spend a few days cycling in the San Juan Islands.

Day 5 Elma to Olympia