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10:11:42
First picture of the day, taken on the ferry on the way over.
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10:16:32
No matter how many times I see that famous gateway, I still can't stop taking pictures of it.... even if there are loads of people in the way!
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10:18:53
Me and Yuka, a random picture just before getting off the boat.
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10:19:08
Same again, but Yuka has swapped places with Chie.
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10:30:31
This isn't the famous gate, but a smaller replica round the corner from the harbour. I liked the way it neatly framed that boat the other side.
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10:39:57
A random Koala bear that presumably had been dropped. Miyajima, for clarity, is not in Australia.
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12:09:26
So here we are at Chie's aunt and uncle's house on Miyajima. A nice family picture...
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12:10:22
...and a not so nice one (i.e. it's got me in!).
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12:11:26
The newest addition to Chie's family - her cousin's daughter, baby Hana.
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12:18:03
Onions!
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12:18:18
Chie in her aunt's garden.
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12:46:39
After visiting the family, we went to the beach for a bit.
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12:47:02
....it was a very nice day, and a real shame we didn't have our swimming togs!
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12:47:43
Driftwood, which looks like it might be gathered for a bonfire.
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12:47:49
Same again.
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12:48:44
Chie indulging in that strange urge people get when at the beach to touch the sea.
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12:49:59
Along the shoreline.
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12:50:54
Chie and Yuka having a wander.
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12:51:13
Yuka.
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12:54:57
A new fashion accessory I bought on Wednesday - a compass.
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12:56:28
In the absence of a portable GPS receiver, this is the best we're going to be able to manage for geotagging of my photos in the meantime!
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13:04:38
A deer.
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13:08:35
Whilst sitting on the beach, wiling away time, I made a bridge.
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13:09:56
Chie's Dad and uncle came to join us.
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13:17:20
After some additional construction work, another picture of my sand bridge.
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13:17:28
...and again.
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13:40:06
After our spell on the beach, we decided to go for a walk, part way up the mountain. Here we are at the start of the trail.
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13:46:31
Yuka and Chie part way up...
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13:46:45
Chie's Dad forging ahead. Looks a bit like a path through the jungle here!
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13:51:08
A mutual picture taking shot.
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13:51:15
A pleasantly cool shady valley.
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13:54:35
Near the top now, and a small gap in the trees allowed us a bit of a peek at a view...
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13:55:05
...which then opened up rather nicely a bit further along.
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13:55:19
...still a bit of foliage obscuring the view here though.
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13:58:11
Wonderful blue sky, blue sea, and green islands.
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13:58:21
More of the same.
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13:58:49
...oh and a tree in the foreground.
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13:58:57
Further along the trail. It was slightly thirsty work in this weather.
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14:01:16
Yet more views...
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14:03:47
...and more. You can see some oyster beds in the bay here.
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14:03:55
Always the world archipelago springs to mind!
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14:06:22
Ermmmm... I think mainly I liked the contrast with these pink flowers here.
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14:06:51
I think this was more or less the highest point we got to, where we had a well earned rest.
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14:12:07
The tree here was useful to make sure I got the picture straight!
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14:12:28
A slightly blurry picture - I'm going to blame the optical zoom for this. You can just see the top of the Otori (sea gate) here, and I guess that is why I felt the need to zoom.
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14:12:36
A view back to the mainland.
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14:15:06
...more of the same.
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14:18:26
Some nice pink flowers.
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14:22:37
Again you can just about see the famous gate here.
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14:22:47
...much more visible in this picture!
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14:27:51
Chie's Dad gazing out to sea (a long time ago he used to work on a ship).
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14:28:04
Same again.
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14:29:44
Down there you can see the house where Chie's aunt and uncle live.
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14:29:55
...Chie's Dad took a few of these to make sure he got it right...
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14:31:07
...and one more.
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14:31:42
Me eating some very nice sweetcorn flavoured snacky things.
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14:36:03
Another view back to the mainland.
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14:43:22
On our way back down now.... I liked the sense of perspective in this scene.
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14:44:43
You can just about see the cable cars in this picture.
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14:53:40
Chie et al on the bridge on the way into the Momijidani Park towards the end of our walk.
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14:54:10
A slightly manmade waterfall in the park.
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14:54:54
A momiji (willow) tree.
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14:55:10
Some momiji up close.
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14:59:58
Another bridge, me and Chie's Dad this time.
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15:00:40
A very Japanese looking scene!
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15:09:31
...back in civilisation now. In the "town" on Miyajima there are lots of shops selling momiji manju (those willow leaf shaped cakes), and many of them are made on the premises. I find these machines fascinating.
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15:11:13
We stopped off for a quick momiji manju and a cup of tea.
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15:11:20
Momiji manju up close.
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15:12:07
The guy making manju, hard at work. One wonders how many cakes those hands have turned out?
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15:18:00
A little later on we tried age momiji manju, a deep fried version of the little cakes. This is a culinary experiment I do not wish to repeat!
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15:18:03
...yes, really not great!
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15:41:00
On the ferry on the way back now...
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15:43:33
The other company's boats off in the distance.
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