"Welcome aboard the Shinkansen. This is the Nozomi superexpress bound for Hakata." A 700 series bullet train pulls into Shin-Kobe station, ready to whisk me away to one of Japan's 3 best views (I'm on a roll with top 3 things). I was hoping for the 500 series - a sleek, grey and blue rocket-shaped machine that just makes you go "fwoaaarrrr!", but I'm still pretty happy with this one! There are countless train designs in Japan - from local trains and subway cars to special mountain trains to these things - the ultimate in speed and efficiency.

This type goes about 285 km/h. It's fast, but I guess that speed alone doesn't sound overly impressive - like your garden variety V8 supercar or F-1 car. But when you consider the sheer mass of these things - this one stretching 16 cars to just over 400m long, and weighing 640 tonnes - it's incredible. They are just perfect. In a 16 car train there are 48 traction motors each putting out 275kw - that's 13,200kw. (OK, I am today unashamedly Geekus Maximus). They "get you there with time to spare". They are smooth, comfortable, impeccably clean and on time to the second. Yes, to the second. I can't get enough of them! I wish it was just a normal ticket price, but alas it's a rare treat at the prices they sell for. And I wish I was smooth, comfortable, impeccably clean and on time to the second... as opposed to dorky, uncomfortable, messy and late.

Here it is - one of the top 3 views of Japan. Well, at least a photo of the thing that is in the top 3 views of Japan. It's the famous torii of Miyajima Island, just off Hiroshima. The top view usually features it at hightide, surrounded by water. Scroll down for that. At lowtide you walk right out and touch it, but I didn't feel compelled to stick my hands on it.

So when and why are we here? It's September (yes, I'm slowly getting contemporary!) and I'm here for a round-about reason. My friend Sue (see last post - bye bye Sue) had on her to-do list to see Miyajima before returning home. She booked her trip and then got really sick. In her weakened state I grabbed her tickets, pushed her down the stairs to our apartment block, and left her to the frogs and locusts. (I bought her tickets off her and went instead- what a bummer she couldn't go... but it worked out for me.)

Her main reason for going was to see the peace park and A-bomb museum. I went there 2 years ago when I did my crazy whirlwind I-want-to-see-all-of-Japan-and-take-a-photo-of-every-inch holiday. I spent so long in the museum that I only left a short time to see Miyajima the following morning and I'd always felt I hadn't done it justice. So with this little excursion, I was free to see Miyajima properly. There's a collection of shrines and temples there... and...

The world's biggest rice scoop! I would have also liked to have seen the world's biggest bowl of rice. Somehow I don't think there will be many willing to try and take the title off this badboy. It's a nice little piece of Australia really - we love our oversize novelty attractions. Japan, you need giant fruit!

A beautiful painted panel in the rafters of a temple. Can you make out the samurai taking his horse across a river? Cool ne?

On the island is a mountain called Misen-zan. There's an expensive ropeway you can take to the top and back, or you can go it on foot. I stupidly opted to walk up and take the ropeway back. If you'd offered me 900 yen to do that I would've obliged. If you'd offered me 1800 yen to walk down too, I would've declined. But guess what? I unwittingly took the second offer, missing the last cable car and being left with no other option. Wah! Another 2.5km hike! The sun was going down, so I had to hustle.

When you're close to the top you get to this building which houses the Eternal Flame (of Bangles' fame!? ...or Cheap Trick?). This fire was reportedly lit hundreds and hundreds of years ago by Kobo Daishi - a very important figure in Japan and founder of the Chingon school of Buddhism. He started a very famous pilgrimage around the island of Shikoku to 88 temples that many devotees still reenact today. There is even a mini version around a smaller island with 88 smaller temples! Pilgrimage Lite!

You can hang wishes for all sorts of things on these wooden placards.

Or a plump little anxious dude.

This pile of stones made me feel like I'd climbed Everest or something! I had no Aussie flag to hoist, just my undies.

This was a curious little offering I spied through the lattice housing a shrine near the top of the mountain. Choice!

Well, finally at the very top I was treated to a glorious view. The weather was perfect, so I'm really thankful for that. Not bad huh?

This is for my brag book. I climbed 530m over 2.5 km in 45 minutes - with a cold! (And I'm wondering why I'm still sick. Thankfully work is a little slower again and I seem to be getting better after a long string of colds).

My humble thoughts at the time:

We Are the Champions, my friend, and we'lllll.... eh... what's that siren? ...oh it's coming from the ropeway station...

(a short run later...)

Oh. Crap.

I just missed the last one. (Eject Queen tape from brain. Insert Beck.)

I'm a loser baby, so why don't you kill me?

One of the top 3 views of... oh I already said that...

Okay, back down the bottom and hightide is up. This tourboat seemed to endlessly hover right in the way of my shot, but in the end it made for a different type of view I guess.

Sans tourboat... sorry, many views to follow...

you feel compelled to take many...

and show many...

last one!

This is the back of my jimbei, as promised. Masashi said "I want you to take it back to your country." He doesn't have another one. Man, what do you say to thank someone for something like that! You can still see summer sweat on my neck. Okay, sorry verbal diarrhoea...

Just a bit more... fresh spam from tonight (Autumn!)...

"baka ne"
"no mother"
"Baka baka baka"
"no mother" (said emphatically)

I was just privileged enough to witness this little exchange next door in the sushi-ya. Mum was referring to her daughter, Sayaka: "Isn't she stupid." Sayaka replying in economical English "you're not my mother" or perhaps "you're no mother at all". "Fool, fool, fool". "No mother!".
This may sound like they have a horrible home life, but you had to be there to feel the love! I was kakking myself (as was ojiisan, or grandfather) - all was said with half smiles and cheeky loving looks between them.
At first I was a bit shocked by the way they speak to each other, but I now kind of get the way they relate! Sayaka's mum would say something like "gomen ne... baka" when her daughter was finding a bit of English difficult (meaning: I'm sorry, she's dumb!). But there's no harm done...
I also saw little Asuka-chan enjoying a hug with mum tonight when Sayaka pegged a wet hand-towel in their faces! No violent reaction - just an amused little tsk tsk type look. Classic. Sayaka's dad Kazuya-san will say of the family "we are fools"! I don't think you get much more salt-of-the-earth type people than the Urakado family of Arino-dai, Japan!