I needed a recovery day today, so I thought I’d get about the last full use of my $450 JR train pass and sit on one train or another and look around. (BTW, I’m sure I got my money’s worth out of the JR pass, and it will still work in Okinawa!)
I took my time in the morning and had a nice conversation with Charlotte on Whatsapp before I left for Onomichi. It’s a hilly town about 60 miles northeast of Hiroshima. It was recommended because it has an “Old Temple Walk” and a cable car. So I went and did part of the walk and rode the cable car. I really liked the town. It was right in the inland sea, but with a big island in front of it so it just seemed like it had a big river between the town and the island.
The old part of Onomichi was quaint but struggling. There were lots of closed-up storefronts and signs that said, “Tenants Wanted”. It looks like the next big tourist attraction to me, but I thought, “Be careful what you wish for” as the throngs of tourists can be fierce. And remember, I’m seeing all of Japan now before the Chinese tourists are permitted here. So, I guess it’s not really crowded here yet??? Yikes!
Then I had a choice to make. I wanted to see this other town called Takehara because it’s sort of frozen in time. So I took the slow train to it, but when I got there, it looked a lot bigger than I thought it would and I didn’t know how to find this “old” part. Was it past the McDonald’s or the Mitsubishi dealer? So I wimped out and stayed on the train, admiring the sea views and watching real life in Japan pass me by. But it was the slow, local train all the way back to Hiroshima. At one point I had a break for 20 minutes in Kure, a shipbuilding center in Japan. There was a little shopping center there and I wandered around, bought some pastries, and used the bathroom. Then I was lost and in a panic that I would miss my train. I asked for help and this young store clerk didn’t really speak English, but he jogged me to the train turnstiles. Phew!
I got back to Hiroshima and took a taxi back to my hotel. I grabbed some dinner at a local grocery store and heated it up in their handy microwave before I returned to my hotel, did laundry and packed for my departure to Okinawa tomorrow.
