Spring Break Day Two: Miyajima Island
With only two days to explore Hiroshima, Bryan and I had been told we had to dedicate a day to Miyajima island, home to the prestigious floating Torri gate, so we started our day with a quick tram ride down to the ferry terminal!
Upon arrival, we had no clue how to book the ferry, so we did what every American does in Japan when they don't know what to do: follow the crowd! Eventually, we found a ticket counter, paid ¥6000 for round trip ferry rides, and found our dock! After being reminded to duck as we enter (the struggles of being American height in Japan) we found some seats and enjoyed the leisurely ride to Miyajima island!
Once we arrived, Bryan and I enjoyed exploring the shopping district! Between on the street foods, souvenir shops and DEER walking through the crowds we weren't sure what to do next! We each tried nigiri ten, fish paste that is stuffed with various foods and deep fried. I got the asparagus-wrapped bacon nigiri ten, while Bryan went with old faithful- chicken and cheese. Did I know I was ordering fish paste? Nope. Was it good, yep!
If you couldn't tell from the earlier pictures, Bryan was a little nervous about petting the wild deer walking through town. (Leave it to small Japanese children to make Bryan look like a fool!) After enjoying some good laughs, we stumbled upon a beverage stand that offered discounted drinks if you kept your cup! You know we don't turn down a good bargain, plus the patio area was the perfect spot to soak in some sun, so I was happy to sit and drink!
Eventually, we snagged a second drink for ¥200 (yeah, less than $2.00!) and continued to explore the rest of the town! Later we found Momiji Manju, a famous Miyajima pastry that is traditionally stuffed with red bean paste. Now, I've learned from my time in Japan that *most* desserts are stuffed with red bean paste- not chocolate. I learned this the hard way. Chocolate and red bean paste may be the same color, but they do NOT taste the same! Lucky for us, this Momiji Manju shop had different types of fillings, so Bryan and I snagged an apple and chocolate one to try. My apple pastry was the winner!
Later in the day while walking around the city, we ran across a local Momiji Manju shop with a display window to watch their process! Bryan compared it to watching fresh Krispy Kreme donuts be made: mouth-watering and delightful!
Ok before you read any further, click here and see what the Miyajima floating Torri Gate is *supposed* to look like. We were going to try and push off our visit to Itsukushima Shrine until the repair work was completed but it's going to be under construction until 2024...so scaffolding it was. Just squint your eyes, cock your head to the left, take another sip of your stiff drink, and you can see the original structure under there! (At least it worked for us in person!)
After exploring the town, we ventured out for a short hike to several parks in the area. We were happy to escape the crowds for a while and watch the Miyajima deer. Our luck from yesterday continued with fresh sakura blooms! Springtime has officially hit if the sakura, cherry blossom trees, begin to bloom! Look at how pretty it was!
I won't lie, after our hike, I was ready for another ¥200 drink, so we headed back into town! Bryan was weak and needed another pastry treat, so we tried caramel and another apple filling. Apple still won! Then it was time to drink and soak in the sun a little longer. Bryan even tried a beer at the local brewery!
Now our day up to this point has been nothing short of perfection. We bought more drinks (shocker) and headed to the beach to sit, people watch and enjoy the scenery. We found the perfect spot to end our afternoon, so I had to snap some photos. Bad idea. While I was busy snapping pictures a deer walked up and stole my drink! I turned around to find my cup in this deer's mouth and my lovely, refreshing beverage dumped all over the rocks. Damn deer.
The only plus was the awesome pictures I got of said deer as she licked up my drink. As she headed off to steal from other clueless people, I realized she was pregnant...so not only did I lose my drink to a deer, but I may have caused the baby to have fetal alcohol syndrome. Great.
RIP my drink and I apologize to the drunken fetus-deer.
Bryan and I had booked the final ferry off the island at 5pm, and right as our ferry left port, we realized our water bottle was missing. Some lucky local now owns a nice "Life is Good" thermos. To say Bryan was devastated was an understatement; the boy didn't speak the entire ferry ride back to port. He loved that bottle!
The only thing that added pep to Bryan's step was the mention of eating okonomiyaki for dinner! During his last visit to Hiroshima, Bryan tried Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki, and he couldn't wait to take me for dinner! Hiroshima's spin on the classic okonomiyaki consists of a savory pancake made with cabbage, bean sprout, noodles, sliced pork belly, and a fried egg, topped with savory sauce and Japanese mayo. After our ferry ride, we took a bus back to the center of town so we could eat at Fumi-chan Can Restaurant! Flip through the pictures below to see what we ate:
While Bryan loved this meal, I was a little less enthused. It was a lot of food!
After dinner, we decided to walk back to our hotel- we needed to work off all the carbs we just enjoyed! Thus ended our wonderful, dreamy day two of Spring Break!
'til next time,
Katie
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