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We're now on the last day of our holiday and off off out shortly to spend the day in Hiroshima. We're only here three nights as we had difficulty finding a hotel. We've since found out it was the 71st anniversary of the atomic bomb being dropped on Hiroshima and as such there was a big memorial with paper lanterns sent down the river.

We managed to get an earlier train here on Sunday than the one we had booked so arrived at about 12. The hotel was easy to find as it's right next to the train station. We weren't able to check in until 3, do left our luggage at the hotel and headed for the atomic bomb dome and memorial park. It was another hot day so we relented and caught a tram across. They seem to operate a tram system here rather than subway, a bit like San Francisco, you just hop on and pay a flat rate of 160 yen so pretty straightforward. We managed to see the dome and went in the memorial museum which contains stories, images and artifacts from the bomb. It's very moving  and clearly explains the human cost of atomic weapons. 

On our first full day here we visited Miyajama an island just around the coastline. We got a JR train using our passes and then it was a short ferry ride across to the island which could also use our passes on. The island is inhabited by wild deer that wander around quite unphased by tourists and are happy to be stroked and fed. We visited the Itsukushima shrine which appears to float on the water when the tide is in and also saw the large Tori gate which stands out to sea a little. We had a good wander around and also tried to go up the ropewalk cable car but we're unfortunately suspended due to an approaching storm. 

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Yesterday we decided to take a trip out to Rabbit Island which was used as a factory for producing poisonous gas during the war. Now all that remains are a few ruins and a population of thousands of wild rabbits. The island is a little off the beaten path and required a couple of trains and a ferry to get there but was totally worth it. We hired bikes and cycled around the island stopping frequently to feed the rabbits with some rabbit food we had bought on the way. At certain parts of the island as soon as they heard the rustle of the food bag lots of rabbits came running. We had a fantastic day and it's definitely worth a visit.

Got to leave it there for now. It's time to check out!