Kabe - Japan New Year 2010
Kabe
Saturday 2nd January 2010
We didn't really have anything planned today, so after a lazy morning we decided to randomly get on a branch line from Hiroshima and see where it went. It went to Kabe. It wasn't very interesting.
Japan New Year 2010
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| 10:15:09 Japanese breakfast: miso soup (today with enoki and pumpkin), rice, some "yorukobu" seaweed (I think this is a New Year's thing), an umeboshi (pickled plum) and perhaps not so traditionally some kimchi. | 10:17:03 Today's umeboshi were rather special - they had gold leaf on, no less. | 10:17:27 These were a souvenir brought by Chie's sister from somewhere or other. |
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| 14:45:03 Lunch: yaki soba! | 14:45:20 | 15:35:55 The little neighbourhood shrine where we did our hatsumode (first shrine visit of the year). |
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| 16:29:23 We randomly to decided to get on a little local train line to a suburb of Hiroshima called kabe. En route I enjoyed this cartoon on a wall. | 16:29:31 This digger appears to be liberating this frog from it's subterranean prison. A rabbit looks on gratefully. | 16:53:57 Here we are in Kabe now! |
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| 17:03:49 A very cheap vending machine - drinks as low as 90 yen (typical prices are 120 or 130 yen). | 17:22:04 This is Shoenji temple in Kabe. | 17:22:20 The sign so I would remember the name. |
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| 17:22:59 Shinto shrine near the temple. | 17:30:14 The brnach line going to Kabe used to go further North from there, but was cut off at this point a few years back. Always a bit sad to see abandoned train lines. | 17:30:29 ....just in case there was any ambiguity about whether or not the line was closed! |
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| 17:30:46 | 17:36:28 A little collection for the ring pulls (it appears they call them "puru tabu" in Japan) from canned drinks. | 17:41:35 I bought this in a sort of toy shop in Kabe - it's a child's miniature alcohol set. I love Japan. |
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| 17:43:11 A couple of miniature toy sake containers. | 17:43:37 ...a sake bottle? | 17:44:24 I think these are little sake cartons too. |
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| 18:26:24 Back in Hiroshima now - here's the tram that took us from Yokogawa station where we got off the Kabe line, to the centre of Hiroshima. | 18:54:13 Me on Hondori, one of the main shopping streets in Hiroshima. | 19:19:59 At our favourite "famiresu" (family restaurant) - Skylark's dirt cheap "Grazie Gardens". For example this pizza was less than 3 pounds. |
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| 19:20:14 Me with a "jokki" and some garlic bread sticks. |