Now that I'm back in Osaka and plugged in, I can finally get my pictures up loaded and get some of the trip down. After seeing the Peace Memorial on Thursday there really wasn't a lot left to see in Hiroshima. They had a manga library somewhere and a naval museum but the only way to get around the city was to take taxi's or their trolley cars, which were like really small and inconvenient trains in the middle of the street. In hindsight, I should have taken a picture of the trolley platforms to explain how bad they actually were. You have to stand on a two or three foot wide platform int he middle of a four lane street where there is no shade and cars driving past giving you a nice mix of heat and fumes. It was very not cool.
The first place we went on Friday was Shukkeien Park. It looks pretty much like every other park that I've been to before but I realize that going in the middle of summer isn't a good idea. You don't get the scenic view of blossoms that you can see in spring, the changing of the leaves you can see in fall, or the snow covered view that they show off in the little park brochure. Nope, going in the middle of summer rewards you with crazy heat and tons of bugs. I think I got ninety percent of my bug bites this year from the hour or so I spent walking around that park. I did take some decent pictures though, so it wasn't a total loss.
This small hut is where tea ceremonies would be held. I'm not really sure if they still use it or if it's just part of the park now.
Typical lake for a Japanese style park. Lots of rocks, trees, and small bridges here and there. Part of the appeal of Japanese gardens and parks is that they attempt to recreate nature in a smaller scale. So most parks will have lakes, artificial creeks, forests, hills, and even rock cliffs on occasion.
Picture some Japanese couple took of us at the park. Kind of wish the camera bag wasn't in the frame...
After getting our fill for walking around the park we hopped onto the world's longest trolley (exaggeration) to travel down to Miya Jima where they have a famous shrine only a short ferry ride from the main land. For me, the coolest attraction were all the "wild" domestic deers they have around this place. It's crazy, there are almost as many deer as their are people but they are more or less oblivious to the people walking around them because I guess they're just that used to it. the brochures all say, "Beware of the wild deers, they may eat paper and clothes so keep your souvenirs safe."
I should have taken some videos of the deers so that people wouldn't think it's some kind of deer museum with stuffed deer all over. I do have a few shots in a row of three deer chasing a guy with food that looks pretty cool but I haven't figured out how to string them together so that it looks animated.
I was going to take some cool pictures of this deer sleeping, but it started moving around after the first picture. Before you wonder, I didn't use flash. I never use flash when taking pictures of animals because I don't want to try to re-enact my own episode of "When animals attack!"
This tori gate is one of the land marks of the island. What was unique about the day we went there is how low the tide was, because normally the water is near the middle of the gate. I was disappointed because the whole shrine would have looked something like an oriental Venice if the tide was in.
For example, this shot should have had a lot more water in it and a lot less bare sand. Ah well, it was too blazing hot so I skipped out on waiting for the tide. I originally planned on climbing the mountain and hanging out for a sunset photo op, but the tourist map says the ascent takes two hours or more depending on your pace.
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