Yesterday I ordered a box of blood oranges from Tabechoku.
This is my 4th order from Tabechoku.
Makka Nouen is located in Hiroshima prefecture and the farmer was once a businessman.
10 years ago he quit his job and started farming.
The box I ordered was 3 kilos (about 6.6 pounds).
I wasn't too sure how many fruit would be in the box and was quite surprised to see each one wrapped in plastic wrap!
What a waste of plastic!
There were 25 orbs and all were different sizes.
I unwrapped a few and we will work through the box over the coming weeks (maybe days)
I received a message from the farmer who said that he wraps each one to prevent the outside of the fruit from getting marked up.
I think he should invest in paper fillers instead...
Besides eating the fruit as is, I plan to make some blood orange infused vodka with the peel and also keep some peel in the freezer for baking.
Our numbers are continuing to go down though the number of hospitalizations has not.
We do have the variant virus (South African and UK) in Japan.
About 80 cases, 1 from South Africa and the rest UK and I hope they are carefully watching this....
The experts have also said that Japan has its own variant which came about some time last year.
As for the Olympics...the top, who was once Prime Minister of Japan has shown his "true colors" with sexist remarks...oy!
Japan has a long way to go with gender equality, hopefully this incident will spark some changes, no matter how big or small.
I personally feel Tokyo should cancel hosting the Olympics and use what monies they do have left to support the medical community and work on getting this pandemic under control instead...
We woke early the next morning to maybe check out the sunrise...
Nope...it was all foggy...no deer in sight...yet the tide was out again and it was super peaceful.
In fact, we were wondering if the deer population had dwindled from our previous visit (pre-blog).
The day before there were some deer attacking the maps people were reading, but other than that, they were really low-key and there were not many of them around.
I suspected it was because there were no deer senbei (wafers) being sold like in Nara.
Though the day before, I did see a deer "almost" head-butt a little girl...it was her fault for taunting the deer though...
Blog friend, Rowena, mentioned that this area reminded her of Mont Saint Michel...coincidentally they are sister cities.
It was cool catching glimpses of deer footprints on the sand...
Walking around the area sans tourists was part eery and nice at the same time.
This dude took one look at us and then made his way up the stairs in search of breakfast...
After our own breakfast, we made one more trek to gaze at the torii and then sat down for a decent cup of coffee at Itsuki Coffee.
I was impressed that most shops opened at 9:00 even though there were not a lot of tourists around.
We then said "goodbye" and agreed we would need to return to see the view from Mount Misen.
From Miyajima to Kure it takes about an hour and a half...
Since we had some time, Satoshi wanted to check out the Japan Self Defense Forces Museum as they had a huge submarine on display...
If you look at the picture above, you'll notice the sub is being freshened up...bummer but huge yeah?!
You can sit in the cockpit of the sub...
I, myself would get claustrophobic if I had to work/live in a sub...
Then we headed to Matsuyama by speed ferry.
Luckily we picked up some musubi for the trip (it was 30 minutes to Matsuyama)
Yakisaba (grilled mackerel) and Hiroshima-na (a type of vege similar to chinese cabbage) for Satoshi and fried chicken with a lemon sauce for me...both used ingredients from the Hiroshima area and were a nice snack to tide us over until lunch.
When we arrived in Matsuyama, it was another 50 minutes by bus to Dogo Onsen, one of the oldest hot springs in Japan.
The building was supposedly the inspiration for the bathhouse in "Spirited Away", a Japanese animated movie.
By the time we left our belongings at the hotel and went in search of lunch it was almost 15:00!
We shared this jakko-ten from Tanimoto Kamaboko...a bit too gritty for me, the tempura is made from jakko (tiny sardines) ground into a paste then fried.
This version was also coated with batter and fried again like a croquette.
As we walked in the shopping arcade...Dogonomachiya, a cute cafe caught my eye.
Since it was 15:00-ish, it was "tea time", so we had to wait for seats.
I ordered their fried onion burger...teriyaki sauce smothered the beefy burger.
The fried onion rings were so good and crisp! (that orange on the plate was so sweet!)
Satoshi ordered their fried fish burger which he enjoyed.
We liked the laid back atmosphere and their garden was nice to gaze at too.
We also had ordered coffee with our meals but felt it had been sitting somewhere before they served us...lukewarm...bah!
After lunch, we did a little exploring and came upon this huge yugama (literally hot water pot) which was apparently used before the bathhouses were built.
We also visited Isaniwa Shrine.
Can you believe when Satoshi asked the guy at the tourist information for info on this shrine the guy replied, "it's just a shrine"...it really ticked Satoshi off...
The steps to this shrine are steep and there really aren't any railings (except that chain thingy in the middle) to help you if you are about to fall...
After checking-in, we went to check out the Dogo Onsen baths before dinner..your admission fee determines the level of your "bath experience".
I had actually visited here when I studied in Japan (many moons ago) and was totally disappointed with our "bath experience" this time around.
Maybe because we took the cheapest route, maybe because it was the weekend and "everyone" was visiting...the ratio of bathers totally overloaded the size of the bath...it was so disappointing and not relaxing at all.
Also, unlike most hotel hot spring type baths, you need to bring in your own towels and soap, even pay to use the hair dryers.
From Osaka, it is about an hour and a half to Hiroshima by Shinkansen.
When we arrived it was raining, and actually the day was forecast for rain too.
We visited with a friend, Mihoko at her workplace then went in search of my Grandma's half-sister's grave.
It had been over 10 years since we had visited the grave and were not too sure where it was.
Luckily the woman at the temple was able to help us (Thank you!)
We went a couple of stops back and went to pay our respects at the Hiroshima Peace Park.
It was actually our first time there.
Somber and thought-provoking area...we were too scared to check out the museum though.
We then went by light rail to the Miyajima station which took about 50 minutes, then hopped on a ferry which took us to Miyajima Island (about 10 minutes).
The rain had stopped but the air was super icy.
We stopped into the first place we saw for lunch...Umeyama.
Satoshi and I shared an anago (salt water eel) donburi.
The anago was kind of "fluffy" in texture.
We also shared these fried oysters.
Both were kind of pricey and (to me, because they are not my favorite foods) just so-so.
Did you know that Hatsukaichi, the city where Miyajima is located, is also the birthplace of the kendama?! I didn't.
We had planned to check out Mount Misen, but the ropeway is out of commission until March...so we spent a lot of time just walking around the shopping arcade and surrounding areas....oohing and aahing at the torii.
We visited UNESCO site, Itsukushima Shrine.
Peaceful and beautiful to see (when there aren't a whole group of intermediate schoolers there at the same time...)
This is apparently the size of the base of the huge torii...massive!
When the tide recedes there are two pools called kagami-no-ike (literally mirror pond).
The reflection of the moon in these ponds are often quoted in tanka (31-syllable poetry) & haiku (5-7-5 syllable poetry).
We also climbed up many stairs to check out the 5-story pagoda.
Just before heading back for dinner, the tide was on its way out, so we went down to check out the torii.
I was surprised at how solid the ground was, I thought it would be squishy and that I would probably take a spill somewhere, but I didn't...
So cool (and huge) up close!
Dinner was a hodge podge of different dishes. Stuffed, we walked out to the torii to see it lit up.
My legs were tired from making many round trips to see the torii, but I was glad the rain had stopped and we were able to see the torii up close.
Like I mentioned in my previous post, we had picked up some baked items from Koro in Onomichi for our breakfast.
It was nice that the hotel we stayed at had a coffee machine in the lobby, so we picked up some coffees and had breakfast in our room.
I had noticed that the castle was having a chrysanthemum exhibit, so after breakfast, we went to check it out.
We also went in search of lunch to bring onboard for our ride back to Osaka.
We found a kiosk called Morisen that sold made to order musubi and also sold some okazu (side dishes).
I bought a ginger niku miso (meat cooked with soy paste and other seasonings) musubi and a karaage (fried chicken) one. Satoshi had a spicy niku miso and a takana chirimen (mustard green with tiny anchovies). We also had some tamagoyaki (rolled omelette).
I had a kuri daifuku (soft rice cake filled with chestnut and sweet bean paste)
While Satoshi had this yokubari dango (literally greedy rice cakes)...which had everything! yomogi mochi, white mochi, sweet bean paste, sweet shoyu based sauce...
The ride from Fukuyama to Osaka wasn't too bad, just 3 hours.
Reader V, asked if the bus makes stops along the way.
They do stop at parking areas where there are convenience stores, food stalls, as well as restrooms.
When you arrive at the parking area, the driver will tell you what time you need to be back at the bus.
Satoshi and I usually use the restrooms first, because it can take awhile waiting in line, then go in search of snacks or food if we have extra time.
The buses we travel on usually have a toilet onboard but we try not to use it.
Thanks for the question V!
I hope you enjoyed this adventure as much as we did, it was nice way to spend a long weekend.
From Imabari, it took us about 40 minutes to get to Inokuchi Port by bus.
Before getting on the bus, Satoshi called a taxi company to meet us at Inokuchi Port, so that they could take us to Sakari Port.
When Satoshi had called, he explained that we wanted to catch the ferry to Okunoshima.
To get to Inokuchi Port, you need to cross the Shimanami Kaido, a roadway that links the small islands in the Setouchi area.
On a sunny day, the view is quite spectacular.
I hope you can view this video I shot as we crossed one of the bridges on the Shimanami Kaido
We arrived at Inokuchi Port a little before 9:00 and the taxi was waiting for us.
In fact, as we got off the bus, the taxi driver said, "jump in, we can make the 9:05 ferry"
Sakari Port was 2 kilometers away from Inokuchi Port, so off we sped.
As he drove on the winding coastal road, he radioed the ferry that we wanted to get on the 9:05 ferry.
So, they waited for us! (so nice! thank you!)
We jumped on the ferry and 15 minutes later were at Okunoshima, also known as Rabbit Island.
Okunoshima is part of Hiroshima prefecture and is a tiny island about 3 kilometers around.
During the war, this island had a factory making and testing mustard gas and tear gas.
Apparently, rabbits were used to test the gases and effects.
After the war, when the factory was destroyed, they also killed the rabbits that were on the island.
Then when they decided to turn the island into a park, they released a new set of rabbits into the wild.
Now you can camp and there is also a tiny hotel.
Dogs & cats are prohibited as well as hunting.
Our only regret was not bringing veggies for the rabbits.
They don't sell any food for the rabbits on the island...bummer!
Fortunately, rabbits have bad eye sight, so we picked up some rabbit food that someone had left on the ground, and fed them with it.
This little guy stole my heart!
After walking all the way around the island, we caught the ferry to Tadanoumi.
Since we had about an hour wait for the train, we went to look for lunch.
Choices were quite slim.
Luckily, we were able to have some Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki at Eshimaya.
I enjoyed the shiso and thin noodles in the okonomiyaki.
From Tadanoumi, it was about 30 minutes to Takehara.
After putting our bags down at the hotel, we explored the area.
There are so many preserved homes here.
Like stepping back in time.
It was fun exploring all the tiny alleyways.
Dinner was at our hotel, everything was so tasty.
Dessert was from the cute patisserie nearby, Fraicheur.
I had their cassis chocolat...super rich! but I enjoyed the dark chocolate paired with cassis.
Satoshi had their pumpkin mont blanc...he felt there was too much going on in his dessert with the matcha cake crossing out the pumpkin cream...bummer!
We also went omiyage shopping at the supermarket nearby...furikake, snacks, citrus tea and instant curry.
It was a long day, but the weather was super nice (hot!) and we got to see and do quite a bit.
