Miyajima Port

After exiting the ferry terminal and heading toward the torii and the temple, we were greeted by this little guy!

They are held in high esteem and are free to roam the island as they please.

He wanted a bite of Rodney's newspaper and succeeded!!

THEN we see the sign for no touching or feeding the deer!!!

Although, this guy didn't seem to be able to read the sign!

After becoming friends with the deer, this TV crew asked us a few questions on camera!!

Then we headed through the little port shopping area.

The awnings can be opened or closed to accommodate the weather and temperature.

FINALLY, a picture of a mail carrier!!

Home to the world's largest rice paddle!!

I'm not sure what these little guys are, but they sure are cute! As is the golden Hello Kitty!

And what Japanese day's adventure be without a 

put-your-face-in-the-hole picture spot or two!

Next, was the lovely waterfront walk to the temple.

Yep, that's my Rodney!!!

Looking up to Mt. Misen which would become part of our day's adventure...

Miyajima Ferry

Our kind friend offered to save us cab fare and drove us to the train station for our day's adventure in Miyajima.

Train etiquette shown above--

"Sit down with your legs spread out wide and the free space next to you disappears."

Train safety shown below--

"It's painful to get caught between the closing doors. Even more so are the eyes of those looking at you."

We rode the train politely and safely and made it to our stop. Now, to get to the end of the street to the ferry terminal!

We took the stairs down to the underground walkway with it's beautiful murals...

...and came up at the samurai-guarded terminal.

While waiting for the ferry to unload, I would have enjoyed one of those beautiful blend coffees, because, as the sign says, "Blend is Beautiful."!!

Let the ferry ride commence!!

A little camera fun! See us in the mirror??

Cute ferry decorations!

Ferry toilet etiquette:

"Please flush the toilet with your hand. Please do not use your foot as it may cause of trouble. Thank you."

These may look like docks, but they are oyster platforms with strings of oysters growing underneath.

The floating torii!!!!

Beautiful landscape full of today's adventures!!!

Hiroshima Castle Tower

The path led through the gorgeous park-like grounds to the Castle Tower.

This sign was on the entry step--

"Please drop the mud of the shoes bottom with the mat,and enter. You do not have to remove your shoes."

As you make your way through the levels of the castle, there are exhibits of the castle and Hiroshima through history, as well as a few photo ops..

To dress the part (R to L)-- armor, armor jacket, then hat...

then show your Samurai mean face!!

The top floor has some gorgeous views, one being over a park to the dome.

After we exited the castle, we explored a bit more of the grounds.

I believe this is one of the other trees that survived the bomb.

There was a big shin-dig going on when we left.

And another beautiful end to another great day!!

From here we made our way to the bullet train station for a quick ride back to Iwakuni. The next morning, we were off to Miyajima and the Floating Torii!!