Friday, September 30, 2016

Hotel #3 - Room #1

Today we moved to a new hotel in Iwakuni!  I know, I know, I haven't even blogged about the last one in Hiroshima .... but still ... this is worth going out of order for!




The view when you walk into our entryway!  Yep.  



To the right you have the western beds!


And to the left, our dining room.  Japanese style. 



TV in the dining room:


What an experience! 

ETA:  Turns out we are not changing rooms daily as expected.  I'll update y'all if that changes with a tour of our new pace.


October in Japan! Breakfast

The view of the morning fog across the river from our living/dining room:


Tea-lights (ish) are used to heat up a Japanese stew at breakfast


Our initial spread


All kinds of yummyness!


Yeah, please ignore my hair .... open windows, constant rain, and humidity is doing a number on it these days


Cracking up at breakfast!


Aweee ... how cute are we!


We finished up our meal with some yummy coffee ... with cream and sugar of course!


Cell Phone Pics Round Up

Selfie on the plane leaving for Japan .... this feels like an eternity ago!


We're about to land!  Woo Hooo .... 12 hours on a flight is a LONG time!


Someone got some sleep on the ride over .... teee heeee


Our chariot to Japan:


Selfie at the Monster Cafe, Tokyo!



Wifey's iced coffee our first day in Iwakuni


Wifey's selfie at a shrine of some sort.


Another shrine selfie:


Wifey visiting the hotels onsen while hubby was away!  


Japan Friday Night Dinner

Friday night we had dinner at our new hotel.  It was Japanese style, and included about 10 courses.  They may all look small, but we did not leave hungry.  Sadly, we have no idea what anything was so my narration will be brief .... check out our dinner!

Our Menu (we think).  As best we understand, each column is a different dish/course.  Here is a rough google-translate transcription:

"Menu

Persimmon of Shiraae

Ohira (Iwakuni local cuisine)

Between sashimi three types sea bream eight squid

Netherlands boiled Sagoshi

Sicilian -style pork belly

Sujime of mackerel

savory egg custard  

Iwakuni Sushi

coconut wind your sweet red-bean soup

Since I cook seasonal ingredients, there is the case that the contents are subject to change.  so thank you in advance for your understanding!  2016 years September thirty days Iwakuni international tourist hotel chef Hishibayashi SaiwaiSusumu"












Japan Day 6 - Hiroshima

The more travel we accomplish in such a short time period, the more tired we are!  

Hubby started Day 6 with the following experiment:


DSLR selfie as we catch the elevator to Breakfast on the 25th floor~


When you arrive, you receive a little card to leave on your table while you visit the buffet.


Our Table & View for Day 2!!!


COFFEE!!!!


A sampling of the breakfast buffet!


Some of the more Japanese style breakfast options:


Juice!


Another DLSR Selfie:


Hubby eating some octopus dumplings.  They were probably one of the best options for breakfast.  


After breakfast we walked a mile or so down and visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.



Apparently some Japanese school children had the same idea.


This clock counts up from the time the first atomic bomb was dropped in Hiroshima as well as since the last atomic test was performed.  25988 days and 21 days respectively.


This is the atomic bomb dome.  It was very near the epi-center of the blast, and was thus not COMPLETELY destroyed.  As the memorial park and museum were built, citizens of Hiroshima debated whether to preserve or remove this.  Preservation won and it now stands to remind the world why NOT to engage in war and specifically atomic war.


A sign describing the bridge which was likely the intended target of the bomb.


The location and replacement for that bridge.


Thursday, September 29, 2016

Japan Day 5

Our room number in Hiroshima:


The hotel in Hiroshima came with a breakfast buffet .... it was a mix of Western and Japanese offerings.  

Fries, Tomatos, and Whole Kernel Corn


Hubby's selection of waffles, sausage, Lychee, French Toast, Grilled Fish, and OJ


After breakfast, we drove to Iwakuni, where Hubby went to help out some friends for the day and Wifey was left to her own devices.  

As it turns out, her own devices mean Chocolate Cake and Iced Coffee!

This little cafe was fantastic. She subconsciously chose it expecting English menus or staff due to the name being in western font.  FAIL!



After some pointing and google translating though ... the results were fantastic.  Wifey is pretty confident that the whipped cream seen below was actually whipped while she waited!


Lining the street near our soon to be hotel are snazzy trees!


This is likely a shrine of some sort also nearby.  The explanations are all in Japanese and the staff person was unable to help.  


Given those facts ... lookey ... pretty architecture!



A random bamboo forest outside the shrine:


"May Peace Prevail On Earth"


No idea what this is either :) 


On the way home, wifey drove briefly!  Woo Hoo!!