Yoshika to Iwakuni (by bike, 49km): the last day of riding was basically all downhill, starting with a steep downhill race including a couple of tunnels, followed by a long gradual descent, and ending on a side road by a railway. All seven of us finished the ride together in Iwakuni.
there may be coffee at breakfast, but i'm taking no chances |
greenery outside the hotel |
banquet breakfast (with coffee, even!) |
rice with lotus root, seaweed, and i'm pretty sure some fish |
literally the same photo i took 90 minutes ago, but now there's a mountain in it |
fish and chips? |
hanging out in the glass lobby of the resort hotel waiting to head out |
neo-brutalist resort hallway |
butterfly wall hangings |
wall posters |
another tapestry |
Gina and David, ready to get moving |
mountain with trees reflected in flooded field |
the road ahead goes down a tree-lined valley |
houses in the foothills of multitoned mountains |
more houses, trees, roads, and mountains |
a tree gap up a mountainside |
a stone ball balanced in water, at the Pure Line Nishiki station information center |
a disc balanced in water |
art in context, with a sculpted tree and a sign that says it weighs 900kg |
an hour of downhill riding later, a curve in the road and a river |
some manner of small quarry |
river valley |
this river is quite attractive |
Gina stops for a snack in front of some ferns |
10km from the end, Catherine joins us so we can all finish the ride together |
we finish the ride on a dedicated path alongside the Nishikigawa Railway track |
the view of the Nishiki River alongside which we're riding |
enough sightseeing, let's finish this ride |
we did it: Tom and Gina celebrate |
Sarah, sporting an excellent last-day-of-ride jersey |
Gina, done with her bike |
David, Tom, and Catherine, done with bikes and handing them back to Rey |
around Iwakuni (on foot): while Paul and Rey broke the bikes down for the last time, we wandered around a park and a picturesque bridge over the Nishiki River. Gina and i paid the nominal fee to cross the bridge and check out the town on the other side.
we take a short break to wander around the Kintaikyo Bridge area |
Iwakuni Castle, on the hilltop above the river |
Iwalunijo Ropeway |
an upside down bridge |
a five-sided flower |
on a tree-lined path towards the bridge |
cartoon information about the bridge |
trees in a square |
rough seas, seen from the bridge |
Gina, heading up the next bridge arc |
building and mountain reflected in the water |
stones visible through the clear water |
calm seas, seen from the bridge |
approaching the last arc of the bridge |
river south of the bridge |
a building with a nice roof, on the south side of the bridge |
view across tbe bridge |
parking lot, railway, buildings, mountains |
Gina thinks we should stop futzing around with photos and finish crossing the bridge |
Iwakuni Castle again |
avalanche netting between trees |
station at the top of the ropeway |
boats by the riverside |
hey, it's Tom and David! |
hey, it's Catherine! |
rocks, under the bridge supports |
we bought a baumkuchen at the store across the bridge |
one last view along the bridge |
a sculpture of some kind of seeded melon |
Iwakuni to Miyajimaguchi (by van): we stopped at a convenience store for lunch, which we ate in the van while riding to the Miyajima Ferry.
i really liked these sour cherry hard candies |
grocery store box lunch containing miscellaneous things |
on the road on our last van segment of the trip |
next stop, floating torii gate |
Hiroden-miyajima-guchi rail station, across from the ferry terminal |
saying goodbye to Rei and Paul after a great week of touring |
Miyajimaguchi to Miyajima (by ferry): Dana, Sarah, Gina, and i took the ferry over to Miyajima, while the others headed straight into town.
the floating torii gate is immediately visible across the short channel |
a ferry is coming |
view across the channel |
a ferry is here |
water coming from the ferry |
roofs of Japan |
Miyajima from the water |
not sure if these are breakwaters or floating docks (or both) |
Hiroshima coastline in the fog |
passing the floating torii gate |
the tide is already lower than when we were on the other side of the channel |
more floating docks |
tourists approach the gate |
passing the gate, its shape becomes visible |
Miyajima hillside |
around Miyajima (on foot, by bus, and by ropeway): Gina and i met up with Chris and Andrew at the ferry landing, and wandered around the town. We saw a number of deer, looked at the iconic torii gate, walked through some tourist streets and poked around in souvenir shops, and finally took a bus and ropeway up to an observation point from which we could see some of the islands of the Seto Sea, though not any of the ones we had biked. Then we headed back for the return ferry.
as advertised, the Miyajima deer were just hanging out |
machines making momiji manjuu, a baked confection shaped like a Japanese maple leaf |
more lion-dogs |
everyone likes lion-dogs |
deer on the beach |
deer investigate a lantern |
by the time we reach the torii gate, it is no longer floating |
but we get a view of the breakwater that protects it from wind |
a deer considers some brooms |
deer opting for a nap instead |
shrine near the torii gate |
shrine grounds |
a now-empty moat outside the shrine |
a five-story shrine (Itsukushima Jinja Gojuunotou) |
i can't stop photographing these deer. i mean, look at them |
torii gate in front of a shrine |
small adorable fire truck |
blurry view from the motion-sickness-inducing ride up to the Miyajima Ropeway entrance |
free shuttle bus, but note how it only barely fits on the road (maybe we'll walk on the way down) |
our ropeway pulling away from the station |
a hillside full of trees |
ropeway cars ahead of us |
view below, and across to Hiroshima |
it's very green here |
buildings in Hiroshima, and mountains behind |
Gina enjoying the view |
the Seto Sea |
those floating docks we saw on the ride over |
do not stare at your cell phone when you should be watching out for dangerous insects |
second ropeway leg, from Kayatani Station to the top |
the hillside below Shishiiwa Station |
starting to see some islands beyond this one |
lots of islands |
small and large islands |
more islands |
my speculation is that this is a south view, and if you could see a long way in this direction, you could eventually see Suooshima, which we biked a week ago. but it's way too far away |
more islands |
hillside above |
Gina and Chris (in a gazebo) |
Gina, disapproving, and Chris, cracking up (the gazebo situation is unchanged) |
industry on the mainland |
plant near a roofline |
Andrew is also here |
gooooaaaalll! |
oh! those things we've been seeing in the water are oyster rafts! neat |
Gina and Chris are still in the gazebo |
time to head back down to the ropeway |
Gina, on the path |
hillside and islands (and those oyster rafts) seen from the ropeway down |
more water and islands |
more mainland |
an empty cable car headed up |
possible quarry activity on the mainland |
many thicknesses of cable are involved in this ropeway |
we do indeed walk back from the ropeway terminal, and see this waterfall |
waterfalls and rocks |
many colorful fish |
some steps |
some wet steps |
back to the torii gate |
Gina and i at the torii gate |
Gina and i at the torii gate, wearing shoes |
lantern |
one more Miyajima deer |
heading back to the ferry terminal |
heading back to the main island |
Miyajimaguchi to Hiroshima (by train): Gina and i met up with Dana and Sarah again, and took the train into Hiroshima center, to check into our rooms at Rihga Royal Hotel.
on a train, heading into Hiroshima |
we meet up with Dana and Sarah on the train |
hand strap advertising instant noodles |
an ad for a boat race, apparently |
a commuter train |
river crossing |
on the road |
Boston Patissier |
two story bike parking next to the Peace Park |
a stone monument relocated here from a villa called Banshoen |
a classic car is on the street outside our hotel for some reason |
roof of the Hiroshima Museum of Art, seen from our hotel room |
Hiroshima Castle, seen from our hotel room |
Edion Peace Wing Stadium, a football stadium which apparently just opened a month before this trip |
Hiroshima skyline, seen from our hotel room |
hotel to izakaya (on foot): we had copious help from Paul to setup this last-night-of-tour event, a Passover seder at an izakaya (possibly named Daigo) in downtown Hiroshima. We said we wanted to have a seder at some point during the trip, and asked if we could book a private room at a place where they didn't mind if we stayed for a long time, brought some of our own food, and made some noise. So Paul picked out this izakaya for us, basically a drinking establishment, with a fixed menu and an all-you-can-drink-for-two-hours rule. Andrew and Chris did a great job shopping for our seder groceries (parsley, rice crackers, wasabi, a whole apple, and a bottle of grape juice). It was all perfect.
street corner of our izakaya |
fish is happening |
other miscellaneous food is happening |
the food situation is frankly a little confusing to us |
we eventually realise that only the omnivores were given set menus, maybe this was our tip-off |
the nine of us, at dinner |
we succeeded in reaching this meal |
Dana and Sarah, with coordinated masks |
maror and haroset |
the ruins of our table, including mild evidence that a seder happened here |
Hiroshima YMCA |
Hiroshima skyline at night |