Hiroshima Day 3: Dessert for Brunch and Hiroshima Castle

Last day of Hiroshima! After pulling an all-night karaoke session the night before, we didn't exactly wake up at the crack of dawn ;) We did, however, have to check-out of our apartment by 11 so we still had a good portion of the day left to wander around the city. My friend recommended going to a parfait place for brunch and let's be real, no one would ever object to that idea. So we went to the small parfait shop inside the station (you could live in there...it has a mall, countless eating places, omiyage stores galore, shopping floors, etc.) and ordered one of the largest parfaits. Between the five of us, the 3,000 yen price was quite a good deal :)

The parfait came with five ice cream cones (one was buried in the middle) that already had ice cream on them in addition to the layers of vanilla and chocolate ice cream, chocolate syrup, strawberries and pineapple and pocky sticks :D 

Ended up drinking out of the huge cup when my friends were too full to finish it off :) It took us 15 minutes to polish it off ^^

Decided to walk off all that ice cream by making our way to Hiroshima Castle

Saw some people dressed up in traditional clothing for a play

And followed them into the grounds

I didn't expect the grounds to be so extensive so I was surprised to see how large it was..

Arriving in style. Like A Boss. 

The castle wasn't as large as the one in Osaka or Himeji, but I still found it very impressive as we walked up the stairs :] 

View of downtown from the bottom of the castle

We didn't have enough time to go inside and walk upstairs to the very top (I can only imagine what the view would have looked like!), but I was still very content to just marvel at the castle ^^ Although it didn't have the white stone finish as other castles do, I thought the wooden planks gave it a very traditional feeling. 

And that wraps up my trip to Hiroshima!! Thank you so much for reading and I hope you have a wonderful weekend! :)

Kyoto Yuba Tofu: The Best Tofu You Will Ever Eat

While in Kyoto with my 3年生 teachers, we stopped at a well-known tofu restaurant to have their lunch course and it was divine. The only tofu I've ever eaten has come from the grocery store so to eat freshly made tofu from scratch was like taking a bite in heaven. Yuba tofu is literally the skin that forms on the surface as the liquid cooks and its taste is exquisite when done right. The pictures don't do the food justice at all, but I will attempt to explain them ^^ 

The start of the course

The only foods that I can name in this picture are the ebi (shrimp) and yuba tofu (the partially hidden yellow-ish food to the left of the shrimp)..sorry! 

Salmon sashimi and squid with wasabi on the side. The sashimi was incredibly fresh and tasty and the squid was chewy, yet easy to bite into :)

Sauce for the yuba tofu that would come later. 

Tiny fish that usually accompany a traditional breakfast as well. If I remember correctly, they were served with tsukemono

Yudofu!! Unlike regular tofu that you buy at grocery stores, yudofu has a smooth, creamy and custard-like texture. It's heavier than regular tofu yet has a clean and light flavor with a slight sweetness to it. 

Up next: tempura~ and it was one of the best I've ever had. The batter was lightly sprinkled with salt and was incredibly crunchy, yet light, giving the vegetables a subtle flavor to it. 

Freshly-made tofu with a miso paste on top. Think of it as a solidified version of miso soup :) 

The highlight of our lunch course was  making our own yuba tofu! Yuba tofu (or tofu skin) is skimmed off the surface of soy milk as it boils in a shallow pan. The soy milk was about an inch and a half deep and after letting it boil for a few minutes, a thin film began to form on the surface...

We used the bamboo skewer and and loosened the edges before lifting up our fresh yuba tofu...

and dipping it into the sauce!! It was exciting to skim off the yuba tofu and dip it into the sauce again and again :) 

Finished off the course with chawanmushi, an egg custard dish with a variety of ingredients cooked inside of the dish. Common ingredients include shiitake mushroom and kamaboko ^^ 

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!