Today we leave Hiroshima and start on our long road to Tokyo. We will spend the night in Osaka and for a change we have only one stop planned on the way in Kurashiki. But first we have to get there which means we have to exit Hiroshima, which similar to the previous day is an interesting affair but easier given that we already know the way.
And then it is back on the toll-ways. We get the ticket that we don’t understand, as usual, and when exiting we pay even though as usual we cannot understand the fare collectors and they cannot understand us. Hilarity always ensues at the toll booths where we stop…
And then we are in Kurashiki, about halfway to Osaka. Kurashiki is an historic city which was historically controlled directly by the shogun and become quite rich during the industrial revolution. The old merchant quarter Bikan is the major attraction with old 17th century warehouses near the canal and traditional houses nearby. We park close to the train station before walking to one of the entrances to the Bikan quarter.
There are a few interesting houses and a couple that can even be entered however it is really hot and humid outside which makes for an uncomfortable walk so we cannot really enjoy the area.
We try to escape the heat by walking near the canals which is where most of the old warehouses are. And the swans even with cygnets, they are fun to watch as they pass as gracefully.
You can take a boat on the canal as some other tourists have done however they are surprised when meeting the pair of swans we were watching and have to return back towards the dock. Fun for us not so much for them!
We continue exploring the quarter alternating between the more inland streets which have more shops and the canalside streets which are cooler.
As in all historical quarters there are a lot of stores and we enter a few of them that are air conditioned or fan cooled to cool down a bit and even buy some souvenirs.
At a roadside food stall we buy some finger food that gives us the necessary energy to continue with our visit as we explore shop after shop and look for souvenirs.
As we start to return we arrive at a hillside shrine that looks interesting but after a few stairs we decide that it is too hot and return to the car. We are affected quite a bit by the heat so we decide to drive through to Osaka and visit Osaka in the evening when it is cooler.
