I got up around 7 and had to wait for the shower then went upstairs and had some noodles for breakfast before using the free foot (leg) massage chair. It didn't seem to do much so I used it 4 times and read and did some travel research. Clive and Frances got up after 8 and we headed off after 9am with a stop before the train station for cakes for their breakfast. We arrived at Osaka and couldn't see the train until Clive remembered it left from Shin-Osaka so we needed to get a train 2 stops there. We found the train and sat there with not much time to make our booked bullet train. Another train opposite us was also going to Shin-Osaka but as we realised this it closed its doors and left and we left 2 minutes later. We got to the station with 2 or 3 minutes for our train and saw it on the tracks so we ran but couldn't see the platform and missed it. Clive queued up and got tickets for the 10.29 train so we'd only lost 27 minutes which is not bad and the platform turned out to be a bit difficult to get to anyway. We arrived in Himeji after 11 and put our bags into 2 storage lockers for 700 each then walked to the castle. It was a nice looking castle and we paid the 1,040 yen fee for the combination ticket with the garden as the castle only is 1,000 anyway. It was a Saturday so there were a few people around but it was less busy than Hikone castle so we didn't have to queue for as long to get in the keep where we had to hand in our voucher to show we were one of the 15,000 allowed for the day. The castle was 6 floors of wooden structure with not much written and queues to go up some stairs, it was ok but I suppose castles back home are quite boring as well and the view was ok. After that we wandered around the grounds in the order we were supposed to and finished through the covered passageway and tower which had most of the information about the castle. We left and had a quick food stop for a kebab then went to the gardens which also had a strict route through the various themed gardens and I quite liked the pine garden although some of the fish were impressively big in other gardens. We left and had 45 minutes for our train so I decided to walk around the castle and went separately while they walked back. I found a supermarket and got a few things like tofu to eat and was back at the station with enough time so we caught the next train which was another bullet with electric sockets but then we needed to get off and change trains as it terminated. The next train was in a few minutes but we had a 30 minute wait for ours and that train left with several seats empty so I suggested we take the next train but Clive wanted our train with our reserved seats which turned out to be in the same carriage but separate and I sat in the wrong seat for a bit to use the charger before having to move as the train filled up. We got to Hiroshima around 5.30pm and found our apartment and the key in the box, an easy thing to find if you were looking to break into somewhere although there is not much of value. The apartment was nice with a kitchen area but not so much space for 3 people and we headed out to see the City a bit. We got to the castle and gad a good view across the moat but walked past to get to some parks which we went through to the atomic bomb area and the surviving building which was a skeletal ruin with a dome that had survived as it had been close to the epicentre and had then been preserved. A few pictures later we went to the peace park which had lots of monuments including a flame which lined up to another monument and the surviving building. It was dark and we started heading back to get some food and cook dinner. We were considering a tram but Frances wanted to see a supermarket and thought there would be one on the way so we walked and found a ¥100 shop and then a supermarket. The soy sauce had been cheaper in the ¥100 shop so I went back to get it but it was past 8 by then and it had closed. I got some food for myself and a box of ice creams and we headed back but I wanted to see the supermarket bear to the station and our flat so I went there and got some bananas and a few other things. Frances and Clive had an argument about the cooking and she walked out when I arrived so I helped Clive cook and had the first meal as we only had 2 plates and then when she came back she ate. We sat around in the lounge/bedroom and listened to Clive's music and played pass the pigs before I moved my futon to the kitchen and we all went to bed.
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