Another update coming at you from the Shinkansen. We are currently heading to Matsumoto from Nagoya. Since my last update we've been travelling around a bit with stops in Hiroshima, Kobe and Nagoya. We've been doing heaps of walking each day hitting between 10 and 15 kilometres. Hopefully burning off all the great food & drink we are consuming.
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| Deer at Miyajimi like maps and cakes (just ask Amanda about the cake) |
The first afternoon in Hiroshima we went for a look at the castle and around the A-bomb dome and peace park. The castle is nice but probably a little pointless if you've been to numerous others in Osaka or elsewhere. The following day we went for a day trip to the beautiful island of Miyajima. It is a beautiful place and I'd highly recommend a day or two there if you are ever travelling around in Japan.
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| Miyajima craft beer & a fish cake wrapped in bacon & cheese! |
Rather quickly we were headed back to Kobe, the main reason for stopping in so close to Osaka was to attend the Punkspring music festival. (I'll write more about this in another post). We apart from the festival we had a quiet couple of days but did have some amazing pork rolls and crispy skin duck pancakes in Kobe's Chinatown. One night we stopped at a small but well decorated bar, we ordered two beers which ended up being half foam. Slowly drank them, then decided to leave and head elsewhere. The bill for two beers ended up being nearly $24! The beers were 600 yen each and we also got charged 500 yen each for entering the bar. I believe this might be a typical thing for small bars but I'm far from impressed at paying $12 for a half foam beer. I wish I got the name of the place so I could warn others from going there.
Last night was an overnight stop in Nagoya. We went on the (free) Asahi brewery tour yesterday afternoon which I have mixed reports about. The tour itself was very sterile and you didn't get to see much. I've had better tours in Australia and Ireland. The draw card is however the 3 free decent sized beers you get at the end. Again you have to question if it's worth it as you have to take the train around 15 mins from Nagoya station, then walk another 15-20 to the factory. The beers you taste are their standard ones which you could buy for under $2 each in vending machines or shops located everywhere. Even the Asahi merchandise shop was rather poor.
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| Weird stuff in Japan can be found everywhere |
Last night was another visit to the restaurant chain Yamachan for some Tebasaki (Nagoya specialty deep fried chicken wings). These are awesome, best wings ever. (Sorry Franks Red Hot sauce). They have multiple stores in most major cities so when in Japan check one out.
Today we making use of the last days of our JR rail pass and are headed to Matsumoto in the Nagano region to check out the castle. Tomorrow we'll be headed back to Osaka for the last third of our trip.
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| The stupidly expensive bar in Kobe |
Konnichi Wa guys. Sounds like a good time is being had. Just a question, how hard was it to get to Miyajima island?
ReplyDeleteDarryl
Hey Darryl, yeah we are having a greattime thanks! Miyajima wwas super easy. We had the JR rail pass so a 20 min train ride from Hiroshima to the nearest station, a few hundred metre walk to the JR ferry. Maybe 10 mins on that. If youwere up ear ly and home late you could do it from Osaka. Check Miyajima on japan-guide.com for better details.
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