Hiroshima

It was a beautiful day for a boat trip to Miyajima Island.

First stop was at the locally made handicrafts store to learn about shakushi (rice scoop) making and to decorate our own scoop.

There are lots of deer on the island and they show no fear of the tourists- instead sometimes approaching people trying to find food. We walked along the sea front looking a the scenery and the shops and dodging the deer.

We had been looking forward to seeing the large floating Tori Gate but had to make do with a postcard as it is under repair

During our visit to the temple we saw a blessing ceremony for a gorgeous little three year old girl.

Wandered through the shops on the way back to the ferry and picked up a few interesting things to eat for lunch.

Back on the ferry and I met the little girl who had been blessed and saw another one on her way to do the same.

On the bus Koko-san entertained us with information about various aspects of life in Japan, some aspects of symbol writing and teaching us how to count.

Then we were off to the Peace Memorial Park, the Atomic Dome and the very sobering Peace Memorial Museum.

We let Phillip off the hook tonight and he enjoyed a pizza for dinner.