Japan Vacation: Atami/Izu Peninsula

I was really tired after hiking Mt. Fuji but got in a nap at a hotel in Mishima and found this great teriyaki place for dinner.

This is their attempt at writing out an English menu.

One of my favorite manhole covers!

Ajiro Station where our host for the Atami Red House that I booked picked us up at 

(more than a few times!)

The only traditional guestroom I stayed in at Atami Red House.  It was a lovely spot.

Oh the slippers! The main ones had little dogs, then there were slippers for the toilet too,

Our hosts took me and another guest for a drive along the sites.  We went to Ajiro's public Beach.

Atami Castle

Atami castle allowed photos of the armor and helmets, which are just beautiful.

I couldn't read anything at the Atami Castle since it was all in Japanese, so I still have no explanation for some of the below images...

(They would carry the lords around in these little boxes)

Atami is known for its dried fish....these are all out in the open markets.

Excellent sashimi, except the cuttlefish....I decided that one wasn't for me.

Zack couldn't help but play with the fish head.

Atami Beach

Private bathhouse that our hosts had access to, hot springs inside and outside on the top story overlooking the bay.

Hibachi

The National Park in Ito...took a wrong turn and had an all-day hike...

It has the largest wax myrtle in Japan.

There's a herd of kitties that live on one of the bluffs along this hike!

The second homemade delicious breakfast at Atami Redhouse.  The bread on the left actually has cream cheese, figs and raisins in the middle.  YUM!

Japan Vacation: Hiking Mount Fuji

Coming up to My. Fuji.

Trail head! 7:15 pm

Trail markers in the dark.

Crazy huge mountain leach.

The moon and clouds.

Flora.

The moon again....the little dots are hikers coming up Mt. Fuji.

Hope!

The entrance to the top. 3:30am

Trying to warm up with miso soup.

Sunrise is coming!

Here it is! 5:15am

Ice at the top.

Heading back down.....

Bells. Make a wish with a bell on Mt. Fuji.

Back down.

Getting close, very tired.

I hiked this at night! It hurt just as bad coming back down. Back to trailhead 9:30am.

Japan Vacation: Hiroshima

My first meal of Okonomiyaki in Hiroshima hit the spot,

I ordered two different kinds, it is even a delicious leftover! 

Breakfast at a french style bakery one morning,  I just loved their wallpaper and flowers. The pastries were yummy too.

 Hiroshima Castle.  I wasn't allowed to take photos inside, but the museum is full of amazing cast iron armor and helmets.  The swords are really intricate too. 

And then I went to the Miyuki seed bead factory which gets it's own post here.

The next day I toured some of the Peace Memorials.

The memorial Cenotaph.

I agree with grandma Behler, being a US citizen and visiting the Hiroshima bombing memorials are tough. This eternal peace memorial looking out on to the skeleton of the Atomic Dome at the back, then the peace flame across a low pool and the sculpture that aligns them. The box shape within the sculpture encases the list of names of people lost in the bombing. 😟

I had lunch at a different Okonomiyaki place waiting for the boat the take me over to Miyajima Island. I like this place even more than the first, it seems at the end of the strip of covered mall before the Peace Memorials.

Stormy boat ride to Miyajima Island.

The deer are like the squirrels in the Grand Canyon. Tons of them, if you have food, they follow you. One greeted me off the boat and immediately got into pockets.

Torii Gate.

Waterfall on the walk up to the gondola.

Japan Rail pass is good for this ferry! Sweet.

Hiroshima giant oysters. 

Heading out to Shikoku Island.

Japan Vacation: Sikoku

Make sure to take the time to reserve train seats with the JR Pass, a whole car to myself from Hiroshima to Matsuyama.

On this train I couldn't figure out why people where taking photos and stopped standing outside with children waving at the train....they have cartoon trains!

The APA Hotel in Matsuyama leaves paper cranes.

I went to Matsuyama to check out the Dogo bathhouse.

Matsuyama has streetcars which were really rather fun.

I found a wonderful textile museum/studio in Matsuyama. Mingei Iyo-Kasuri Kaikan.  Totally off the beaten path. There's a great blog post that I found about it, which I will link to later.

Shuttles excite me.

View from the train between Matsuyama and Uwajima.

Fancy crab sushimi. Yep, raw crab. Something new to mess with the tummy. ;)