Tuesday 19th April

We had breakfast on level 1 with Bill and Edna this morning.
The bus left at 8.30 to go to Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Kobe. We went over a suspension bridge 39klms long and is the longest in the world.
We went in to see a movie of the making of the bridge in 3D. It was interesting. It was still cold and raining and we were glad to get back on the bus to get warm again.
Off we went to Himeji Castle, about an hour drive away. The blossoms are just beautiful and must have been magnificent 2 weeks ago. The castle was closed for renovations as only the bottom floor was open but it cost 400Y to see it.
It was cold and windy still today. We had to wait for 4 late comers to start the bus to go to our lunch.
People come in autumn to see the colour of the mountains and the change of colours in the trees.
We went through about 13 tunnels. There are tunnels all through Japan. From once side of the mountain to the other. We even saw tulips growing in house gardens and there were magnolias everywhere.
We then went to Kourakuen Gardens which took about 30 years to complete. They were absolutely beautiful. Boy, did it rain. It rained for about 10 minutes so we had a cup of coffee in the shelter and then the sun came out and off we went again to explore the gardens.
On the bus again at 4pm and off to Hiroshima about 2 hours away. We only stayed about 1/2 hour which was disappointing as I think the bus load would have liked to stay about 1/2 day there. It was interesting but there are 2 sides to every story and we only heard the Japanese side. Took 2 photos of before and after.
Onto the restaurant for our tea. We were having a Bar-B-Que tonight. You cook for yourself. There was every type of meat you could imagine and also every other type of salad and sea food. You name it and it was there.
There was a bar-b-que in the middle of the table and it had a gas fire in it to cook on. What a way to go!!!
There were deserts of all kinds. It was scrumptious.
Went across the road with Helen to buy some beer but it was only a grocery store. We came on to our hotel the Grand Prince Hiroshima Hotel which looks out toward the picturesque islands that dot the Seto Inland Sea. It has magnificent views of the Hiroshima Port and Miyajima Island, and has 23 floors in the hotel.