Travelling can be a blur of emotions from making memorable connections with locals, farewells, culture shock, tired days and joy. We really loved Matsuyama, yet it is time to move on. The ferry to Hiroshima takes 2 hours with a stop in Kure, and we will need a bit of time to ride the 15 km to the ferry terminal.
Saw this on a street corner on the ride out of Matsuyama. Unexpected gems.
We are boarding the small ferry to Hiroshima. It reminds us of life on Saltspring Island where ferries are a necessary part of leaving and coming to our island.
The blue line shows the ferry route we are taking. The green line to the right shows the incredible Shimanami Kaido cycling route which we did last trip. It features a dedicated cycling route with an impressive series of bridges connecting 7 islands from Imabari (Shikoku) to Onomichi (Honshu). Highly recommended.
Kure has a strong industrial and naval heritage. It hosts the second oldest naval dockyards in Japan and remains an important base for the Japanese navy. The dockyards in Kure launched the largest battleship ever built, the Yamato in 1940. We have a short stop here to unload passengers and we are soon on our way to Hiroshima.
Nippon Steel Corporation is Japan’s largest steel manufacturer headquartered in Tokyo. It is the largest manufacturer of crude steel in Japan and the third largest in the world.
The submarine is part of the Japanese Naval Military Museum. It is also known as the Iron Whale Museum after its main exhibit, a diesel, electric submarine Akishio. At the museum, the Japanese battleship Yamato is featured.
Unfortunately, the fair weather has disappeared. Once, we got off the ferry, the rain started. Looks like we will have a soggy ride to Hiroshima.
Of course, we stopped for a second lunch at a Conbini (Convenience Store). This photo shows a yummy meal called Oden. The base is a Dashi broth with root vegetables like lotus root, potatoes and fish cakes cooked in the broth.
Oden, a comfort food, is available in Convenience stores from October to April. It is nearly fat free and very healthy. Options you can add include seafood, beef tendons, sausage, etc. You couldn’t find a bigger contrast between two lunch offerings….oden or instant noodle soup, yet both work when you need it.
You can choose what you want in your bowl of Oden…pictured below are the options. Daikon radish is a main ingredient as it really absorbs the dashi stock. It is not appetizing at first glance, but it is delicious.
Our ride is indeed a wet one. The rain is quite heavy as we navigate our route through Hiroshima plus a further 10km to our accomodation…a Ryokan up in the hills. It doesn’t help that we will be riding during rush hour.
Unfortunately we got lost as road construction made it quite confusing. Nonetheless, we made it, tired but happy to reach the Ryokan.
The entrance to our place, 88house Hiroahima for the next 3 nights.
There are 3 sleeping rooms in the Ryokan, 88houseHiroshima. The well stocked kitchen is shared. The owner lives next door in a separate house and this house is only for guests. Each room has an eating area, a sleeping area with tatami mats and a view of the garden.
