Kurashiki

Unfortunately no funny stories this week. Time is zipping by and it seems like yesterday I was writing about Miyajima and getting my hair cut. Our bikes arrived this week, so I’ve been cycling to work dodging the crazy school kids who never look where they are going. The weather is perfect for cycling – dry, crisp and sunny and it is only 3 miles so I don’t arrive at the office too sweaty. Hiroshima is built on a river delta so it is completely flat which makes cycling not too difficult.

Yesterday we drove to a town called Kurashiki (see pictures). Dubiously titled the “Venice of Japan” (I counted only one canal), it was once the rice trading centre of western Honshu. Nonetheless it does have an attractive, historic town centre, with the old rice warehouses converted into craft stores, cafes & galleries. We enjoyed the pleasant autumn weather and the sight of many of the leaves changing colour. Lunch was a set menu in a little bistro – pumpkin soup, steak with vegetables and side salad (and rice of course) and coffee for £6.75 each. Eating out is can be great value in Japan! After lunch we visited the Ohara Museum of Art, which has an impressive private collection of impressionist and modern art. The Museum also had a traditional Japanese garden (see photos). Along the way, we also came across some turtles sunbathing on a rock in the middle of a pond in case you were wondering what they were doing.

Also we have decided to go down under for Christmas. We are off to Sydney and the Blue Mountains for the week leading up to Christmas. We are staying in Katoomba in the Blue Mountains first, before heading back to Sydney for Christmas. It will be strange to be on holiday at Christmas, but waking up to a view of the Opera house and the harbour bridge (in the middle of summer) should make up for it. Maybe we can have some barbequed turkey!

The best surprise though this week was a very unhealthy supply of delicious chocolates courtesy of Anne & Paul – Thanks!