Hiroshima Day 2: Miyajima Island

Happy Friday everyone!! Thank you to all you read my previous post :) Today will be about Day 2! A full day of exploring around Miyajima Island ^^ We were extremely lucky-- it was sunny, warm and high tide ^^ Enjoy!

Leaving the pier for Miyajima :)

Can you see the torii? 

Dropping off crowds of tourist and locals :) 

I didn't know Miyajima was famous for its deer O.o they're much tamer than the ones at Nara!

But I did know that it's famous for their momiji-shaped foods and omiyage! :)

Oysters are another famous food from Hiroshima 

HUGE shamoji (rice paddle)

Just to give a scale....

Rickshaw and a happily newly wed couple! ^^ 

Approaching the entrance to the main site to see the torii 

And apparently, you can go on a boat tour to get closer to the torii! 

Ta-da!! It's one thing to see pictures of it, but to see the famous torii in person was nothing short of spectacular :) 

The boat's looking a little small back there...

Line to get into the shrine...thank goodness it moved quickly!

Floating torii, floating shrine :) 

And yet another picture of the torii ^^

There was a traditional Shinto wedding ceremony happening while we were there and this was part of it

Gorgeous backdrop :] 

Lots and lots of people on a 3 day weekend..

This guy made my day by smiling for the camera! :) 

5-story pagoda

All-you-can-eat and drink for 4,000 yen? Sold!! Drank a lot of juice and tea O.o

Thank you so much for reading :) Day 3 will be up tomorrow ^^

Hiroshima: Day 1

Happy Thursday everyone!!

Last week was a 3 day weekend and I was lucky enough to go to Hiroshima for the first time with a few friends. Instead of catching the Shinkansen, we rode a bus to save money :) Five and a half hours is well worth saving a hundred and fifty dollars or so! We were there for three days and two nights so it gave us an opportunity to explore the city more than if we were to go for only two days and a night (because a day trip simply isn't possible if you're coming in from Kobe or Osaka...). I took quite a bit of pictures, so this post will be split into 2 or more parts :)

So much yummy food...inside Hiroshima Station! O.o 

Entrance to the Peace Memorial Museum

Glimpse of the Memorial Cenotaph and the A-Bomb Dome

Memorial Cenotaph

Peace Flame 

Statue of Sadako

Tsuru!

Lots and lots O.o 

A-Bomb Dome- a reminder to us all of what nuclear weapons and war will bring

Downtown Hiroshima (aka shopping galore ^^)

Because you can't go to Hiroshima and not eat their okonomiyaki! This one had cheese and jalapeno peppers on it :D 

You can't see it, but this one had pieces of mochi hidden inside! :) 

And that's the end for Day 1! Day 2 pictures will be up tomorrow :) Thank you so much for reading and I hope you have a wonderful week!

Chionji Temple Flea Market

Happy Tuesday everyone~! :)

I hope your weeks are starting off on a good note ^^. I have never been a huge flea/handicraft market person, but when I heard about the various markets in Kyoto, I was set on going to at least one of them. The Chionji Temple Flea Market is held at the temple on the 15th of every month and is Kyoto's largest handicraft market. It's usually held from 8:00-4:00 and because it gets crowded rather quickly, I wanted to get there as early as I could. Getting up at 5am on a Saturday morning was not something I do all the time, but it was definitely worth it :)

After getting off at Kawaramachi Station, I walked to the Gion Shijo Station and caught the train to Demachiyanagi and walked to the temple grounds from there. The market had a wide range of handmade things and it was amazing to see what people could make. I ended up staying there for a good four hours just walking around and exploring every tent multiple times to make sure that I didn't miss anything :) Although it was rather wet and rainy, that didn't stop the crowds from coming!

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful week!