And life does go on

While I needed time to reflect, to mourn and to handle my shock, sadness and anger  at what I had witnessed in Hiroshima, I moved on, somewhat chastened, but also positive in my thoughts. After all, the Cenotaph that contains as many of the names of those killed who have been identified,( currently almost 250,000)  with the inscription ” Let all the souls rest here in peace, for the evil shall not be repeated”.

After our visit to the Museum, we travelled, somewhat reluctantly, to Miyajima Island to see the famous Tori Gatemmade of camphorwood arising out of the water, and the only entrance to the island in times past.

This island lies about 30 minutes from Hiroshima and is home to Itsukushima Shrine. It is accessed by ferry and it was extremely busy with locals and school groups. In the past, if one wished to visit the Shrine, you had to enter, by sea, through the Gate and depart also in similar fashion!!!

As we walked through the Shrine I wondered what the large sacks were, stacked up on top of one another.

Apparently, these containers,  all with varying Kana on them, contain the alcohol Sake sometimes incorrectly known as Rice Wine! Sake is sacred to Shinto beliefs and these containers are used in the Shrine for different events. The differing Kana indicate the level of premium,  somewhat like the vintage/ reserve system with wine. So depending on the occasion or dignitaries attending, the best Sake is produced!!

We are going to visit a brewery later in the week and sample the Sake which has an alcohol content of 15%!

Then it was time for more food, so we were to experience the speciality called Okonomiyaki, or a Cabbage Pancake. My face fell at the thought, but when in Rome…… such an experience!!! We sat around a counter similar to a tappanaki table while this glamorous lady prepared the pancake and explained as she went along!!

It contained egg, pork, bean sprouts, white cabbage, noodles, onion, herbs, salt and not sure what else!!!! It was pure theatre as she dectly chopped, cleaned, sprinkled and chatted fir about 10 minutes!!! It was gorgeous!!! However it had to be eaten with an implement like a small metal spatula called a Hera. Now, i am just about managing the chopsticks, while dropping a lot of my food, but this was new challenging territory!! Luckily there is no photograpic memory of our collective efforts!!!!! Do try it!!!

So, our ride on Shinkansen calls in the morning for our train tide to Kyoto  so off to pack….again!!!