Oysters, scallops and clams. Oh! My!

 

November 29 2004

Miyajima Island

Well ! I never !! Four minutes late to Hiroshima, what in the world is this coming to. Some way I was able to survive that dreadful calamity in my life.

Exited the station following the TAXI sign and found the stand along with a Majordomo collecting destinations and relaying them to the taxi drivers. I told him I wanted the Mayajima Ferry terminal. The what?? What Hotel ?? I showed him the reservation. Oh ! Miyajima ferry ! Dude how many ferry’s do you have around here that sound anything like that? If a non English speaker came to my town and asked for the Forhaven ferry, I could deduce they meant Fairhaven. Regardless I got a taxi and was on the way to the Miyajima ferry terminal.

The last time I was in Hiroshima I thought I saw at the bomb site the ferry was near there. The driver scoots through town and it is taking longer than I expected, true the train station and the rest of the tourist world are seldom close to each other, but this is getting silly. Waze app to the rescue. 12 miles ?!!?!??! Oh, my flippin’ God, i just bought a cab !!

The fare wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but I put it on plastic, because it would have eaten my cash reserves. The ferry terminal had 3 choices of ferries. I picked the JR one and ran face to face with a challenge. How to buy a ticket from the machine. A nearby attendant came over and asked me what I was paying with. Suica. Ok, just walk through the gate like a train.

Clomp, clomp, swipe “Beep” and the gates open. No sooner am I through that some guy in a uniform comes yelling at me in UFO language and not listening to any language, including Suica. Back to the IC swipe pad I put my wrist on it and get a GIANT red X. See attendant. I thought Mr. UFO was the attendant. He talks to another uniformed man, they talk UFO for a bit, and I get a wave of the hand and “Arigato”. Dude, where’s my ‘Sumemasen’?? You owe me !

The ferry did what ferries do and stopped at the other side. I got off the boat and looked for the swipe plate. This is one of those once you are on you have already paid, and the return trip is included (I think)

At concrete and asphalt by the TAXI sign I stand. Dark, nearing 6pm, in a town that rolls up the sidewalks at 5pm. Tap, tap, tap, goes my toe. Come on a taxi should come by soon. Tap, tap, tap. A woman on bike comes by and asks me my destination. She knows it. she looks at the sign and in the fine print, it explains no service after 5:30pm, and I was on the 5:40pm ferry. She offers to guide me, but I decline. You know who maps says 9 minutes walk. How lost can I get n 9 minutes. 15 minutes up hill pulling a suitcase through quiet neighborhood streets, grinding it all the way. I do arrive it to the hotel, after making that sound that suitcases make, waking babies and the dead.

Check in was efficient and with the warmth of a Polar bear’s nose. Breakfast included, what time? I Have to pick a time? Ok, this one. I’m hungry and it’s dark out, do you have a restaurant here. Oh, yes! What time do you want to eat 6 or 730? It was past six, so the default was 730. I am confused.

Dinner was a WOW! I have no idea of the cost, but it was as broad a seafood spread as I have seen. Live, oysters, scallops, abalone, shrimp the size of small dogs. Salads and deserts. Plus the usual, rice, curry, miso soup, fried everything that was raw and some cooked in a butter sauce. Load your plate up, go back to your eating position and put the raw things on the grill and let them sizzle while you down the other things. I am not sure if it was just being on the safe side, or not, but the sign recommended the seafood not be eaten raw. Everything was good, some better than others. My peers seemed to feel that whatever they were paying, by god they were going to get their money’s worth. One woman must have had six oysters and an equal number of small Abalone on her tray. I’ll give her a mental break of not being a pig, maybe she was going to deliver the orphanage she had at her table.

I did my share, but didn’t overdo it, and called it a night.

Prices here for food are reasonably inexpensive. One of the things that make it so, I realized, it the food is almost universally 20% less since it is a no tipping country. Even the Starbucks, doesn’t have the plastic begging box at the register.

The room is nice, the room has too many lights that are always on. I love, hate the room. It has a huge soaking tub too.

Breakfast at 0930, I am out the door at 0800. High tide is around 8:30 and I want to get some morning pictures of one of the reasons I came to Japan. As well as the reason I didn’t come to Japan in early 2020 (It was under renovation). It was raining a little, mostly sprinkles. Lots of umbrellas, but nothing that a Western Washington resident needs to avoid. My hair got damp, but not enough to matter.

The day trippers had mostly not arrived, so the best picture locations were easily accessible. Even the coveted one at the end of a pier with a shot straight through the was clear. I got several pictures, and then one of the women points to me “Rainbow” in her. Accented English. what’s a lucky sight, I looked and gawked, and thanked her for telling me, because I totally was not looking in that direction. That was really nice of her, to find the English word and tell me.

Got my shrine autograph, and wandered more, looking at the gate. The sun was out now and the sky blue with some white clouds. Postcard beautiful. I make a turn and found myself looking at a little Buddha, well either the shrine is confused to I have stepped into a temple. There was the temple autograph guy who took my coins and artfully noted my visit in my book.

Alright. Now what? It’s almost 10, I’m late for Japanese breakfast at the hotel (0930), I guess ill have to do without fish head soup for breakfast. I do remember seeing a temple of coffee earlier, perhaps I can locate Starbucks again. Yes, Grande Americano, hot? yes, please. I looked at their bakery offerings. Nothing that said, buy me.

Out on the street, the town is just waking up, I see a store selling stuffed Maple leaf shaped cookies (?). That sounds like it will go well with Starbucks coffee. Two pumpkin filled please. They did go quite well together.

Have the major sight seen, have two religious writings, had street breakfast, now what. There is a thing called a rope way. I got general direction to it and was on the shuttle bus to it in a few moments.

At the tram station the choices were one way or round trip. I chose Round Trip.

The ropeway is your standard ski gondola, only in miniature. Holds six and even if you are 5’2” you still need to duck your head to get in. The ride was smooth, and only one of my tram mates squealed each time we bumped of a stanchion on the way up. Half way up we had to change from one gondola to another to get to the top.

At the top the view was outstanding. Out over the cities to the west and south overlooking Japan’s inland sea. I’m not sure I can see the islands I wanted to bike on the 72km bike ride. That will be for another trip, it is just too cold and windy in late November to be pleasant for me.

I started walking down the trail to another sight and people would pass with a smile and a ‘Konichewa’ (good day!). Back home you only get the ‘good mornings’ on the trail with the before 10am crowd. Here I think there clock is broken, because it was almost noon per my watch.

I briefly thought about walking the trail back to the city, but the sign said to anticipate a 3 hours hike down the hill. That might be fine in the summer but not today. Besides my knee would cry all day tomorrow.

Back in reverse, and on the bottom of the lift. I came around to walk down to the shuttle bus ride and the line to get on the ropeway was hundreds of people long. I don’t know? 4 to 500? At 6 per gondola they are going to be in line those 3 hours I might have been walking down.

The shuttle bus was eating lunch, might as well follow the stream trail back to town. At the base of the trail was an ice cream stand that for a pittance more would decorate your soft serve cone with things. I chose the stars and the Tori gate. I think captured it on my phone, though not my best work. One handed photos never come out ideal.

I asked at one restaurant what was there closing time, and she said 5pm. Some only open until 4pm. If I am going to not eat hotel tonight I best start thinking of a 3pm dinner. I found an Okomiyaki (??) restaurant. Okomiyaki is street food frequently, this time it was inside seating. Steel hot plate, oil, batter, cabbage, noodles, scrambled egg, dried onions, ketchup, mayo and whatever the chef thinks it needs and served like an 8” pancake. I hope they give lessons on how to eat this with chopsticks, because forks and knives are not in sight.

It was good and very filling.

I just realized I have been wearing my jammies all day. The t-shirt I sleep in, I had intended on returning for breakfast, so just put on a bra and yesterdays pants and left. Whoops! I hope no one noticed.

Now back in the room. I want to get a photo of the gate at night lit up, I am also very comfortable in the room. I wonder what will win.

My major sights on my Japan list have been accomplished and I still have five days left. Time for some homework and see what there is to see.