Kanazawa to Hiroshima

After breakfast at the hotel, which included an open sashimi bar - yum! - we headed to the nearby Omi-chi markets.

It was mostly seafood, and there were a few items of interest. Firstly, virtually all the prawns carried roe, how do they do that?..

...plus there were tasty looking tuna eyes! - a steal at $7.50 a pair...

..and we couldn't pass up on a photo of this colourful display.

Next was the rebuilt Kanazawa Castle, really impressive..

..and the grounds beautifully kept by a team of these ladies.

We left by the of original Ishiurajinja gate..

...and crossed the road to Kenroku-en gardens, one of the top three gardens in Japan. It was very busy, with good reason. There were irises everywhere...

...and a bridal couple..

..and lovely landscaping..

...and another pond...

...with koi...

...and tea houses...

..another bridal party..

..yet another pond...

..and even a temple.

We then crossed the Asonogawa river...

..and entered the Edo period Higashi Chaya district.

It had a very familiar look now. There were lots of tourists and touristy shops, but you could buy gold leaf iced cake!

We then got lunch supplies, including French pastries, and headed for the station for our trip to Hiroshima. This was our biggest travel day. 2 1/2 hours on a Thunderbird Express to Shin-Osaka, then another 1 1/2 hours on the Shinkassen to Hiroshima.

We had plenty of time looking out the train window. We had distant views of the snow remaining on the alps...

...lots of golden buckwheat fields..

..veggie gardens amongst the houses and paddies...

..and various rivers/bridges.

In Hiroshima we are staying at the cheap and cheerful, but well located, businessman's hotel Chisun Hiroshima.

The squished nature of the building is transformed to the rooms, but they are spotless and incredibly well designed for such a small space. We have no complaints.

Hiroshima is reknowned for okonomyaki, so it was off to the entertainment district..

..and to Okonomyaki mura, a building with 2 floors of over 25 okonomyaki stalls...

..too big a number to select any one with confidence...

...so we went with Lonely Planets recommended Itsukushima stall. A lovely couple, and we weren't disappointed.