Tuesday 9 April Hiroshima Japan

Bliss this morning, we got to sleep in a  bit as didn’t dock until  8.45 am. I even did some domestics before my tour at 9.50!  George left earlier on a highlights of Hiroshima tour and mine was to Miyajima.  During the 40 minute ride to the ferry terminal we had a guide who spoke very softly and was hard to understand, at least for me.  In fact it reminded me of when I tried to learn Latin in year 8 - hasta hasta hastam hastae hastae hasta - I kept hearing her say ‘the irand, to the irand, when we get to the irand, what time we leave the irand, on our way from the irand!!!!!!!!! So when the bus arrived at the island I stood up and commented to the lady in front of me that I couldn’t understand the guide and she said she felt the same.  She said she was Swiss, from Zurich.  I said I loved Zurich, she was surprised I’d been there then I  told her I used to have a friend there who flew with Swissair.  She said ‘me too, I flew with Swissair’!  So, another rabbit out of the hat, we had such a good time together, her husband was on another tour as was mine so after the guided bit we checked out the shops, had a Starbucks coffee and shared a pastry and sat down to eat but nearly lost it all when the roaming deer came up and nudged the packets!!! Deer are everywhere, some look in better shape than others but they are extremely friendly and expect to be fed!  Anyway, the Itsukusima Shrine was lovely, very peaceful and not difficult to navigate!  

The Shrine is one of Japan’s most popular tourist attractions and is most famous for its dramatic floating gate, the sacred peaks of Mount Misen, it’s extensive forests and the ocean views.  The Shrine complex is listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site and six of the buildings and possessions have been designated by the Japanese Government as National Treasures. 

The village had many shops, restaurants etc and sold cooked oysters for about $2.50 each.  All the food looked great in fact.  

Sue and I joined the other 4 for trivia this afternoon and won on a tie break!!!! A turn up for us!  Dinner in the Italian restaurant Sette Marie was nice, we shared a table with a couple  from Seattle.  

I went to the show, tonight was a mixture of items.  First up was John Bannon, the cruise director, who sang a couple of songs, then Marla, the social hostess with the deeeep voice who also sang.  Following them was the harmonica player from 2 nights ago and then the production cast with a medley of ABBA songs .