Hiroshima

The ship arrived in Hiroshima at 9am, after a very scenic early morning cruise through the bay.  Once again, the ship docks a fair way from the city centre, but a free local shuttle provides transport to Hiroshima Port streetcar station for easy local transport (or you can walk about a mile to Kaigan Dori streetcar station).  When we arrived at Hiroshima Port, we discovered that we were just in time to catch a fast ferry to Miyajima, so we remade our plans on the spot and caught it.  30 minutes later, we where in Miyajima, one of the most iconic scenic view points in Japan.

We walked from the docks through the main town and Itsukushima Shrine with it's famous floating gate.  It's worth trying to time any visit here to coincide with high tide, as the site of the temple and gate over water is more impressive than over sand.  We then caught the cable car most of the way up Mt. Misen.  Dave did the rest of the walk up the mountain on foot, while Kate more sensibly waited in the air-conditioned cafe.  Be aware that the walk from the cable car station is both further and steeper than you probably expect ...

Time was now progressing, so we caught the local ferry back to the mainland, followed by a 1 hour streetcar ride back to downtown Hiroshima and the Peace Park.  We spent some time contemplating in the Peace Park, and finally caught another streetcar back to Hiroshima Port and the ship's shuttle.   Streetcars can get caught in traffic, so don't cut this too tight if you're heading back to the ship at the end of the day - it took us 45 minutes.  A long and excellent day - we could easily have spent much longer there.