This morning we walked to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. The park is where the atomic bomb was dropped on August 6, 1945. We visited the memorials then went through the museum.

Then we walked to nearby Hiroshima Castle. The original building was a traditional flatland fortress built in 1589. The area around the castle was a major military command center during the war.

At least partly because it is Saturday there were lots of activities going on in the park surrounding the castle.

Around 5pm we went out to scope out possible dinner and music places for tonight. Right before we got to the major intersection near our hotel a bus hit a 5 car Hiroshima electric railway tram causing it to derail. As we got to the intersection the two drivers were talking. While we watched, about 10 police cars converged on the intersection. They shut down the intersection and began directing traffic. The whole situation was very impressive!

We ended having a wonderful dinner at a restaurant near the jazz club we were scoping out. The waitress was wonderful and explained everything to us. We had sake, miso, sashimi, and beef

Earlier when we were scoping out jazz places, we found the Shitamoto Piano Bar on the sixth floor of a building, a block down the street from where we ate. But, it didn’t open until 7. So, when we went back after dinner we didn’t know what to expect. As we entered the small bar the man who was there tried to explain to us there was no show tonight. But it seemed like he was trying to tell us something else. So we sat down. We were the only ones there. We finally understand that we needed to pick three songs from his music list and he would play them for us. There would be a music charge of about $30. We had a couple of drinks, sat back and enjoyed our very own private jazz concert. It was absolutely magical!

This morning we had breakfast at the hotel. Duke had a sashimi rice bowl and I had avocado toast. Breakfasts in Asia are very different from breakfasts at home. And, I feel least adventurous at breakfast time. Both our breakfasts were very good

Then about noon we checked out, walked to the train station, and took the Bullet Train to Hiroshima. The bullet train is so cool. I just love it. It goes 200 mph. The distance from Fukuoka to Hiroshima is 154 miles. We made three stops and the ride took us just over an hour.

In Hiroshima we took a street car to our hotel, the Mercure Tokyu Stay, Hiroshima.

Tonight for dinner we went to a restaurant recommended by the people at the front desk. They serve a Hiroshima specialty, okonomikaki. Our food was cooked in front of us.

I hope I never take beautiful weather, like we had today, for granted again. After the last three weeks of hellish hot weather it was wonderful to have a perfect day. The temperature was in the mid seventies, the humidity was about 65%, and there was a light breeze. The nice weather made it really fun to go out exploring. We walked from our hotel to the nearby train station.

We took the subway to Ohori Park. Then we walked around the lake and visited the Japanese Garden. Before getting on the subway to go back to the hotel we stopped at a Starbucks by the lake to have cold drinks.

We had planned to eat dinner at the hotel steak house but we didn’t make a reservation and they were full. With help from the front desk staff we found another restaurant to try, called Yakniku Hayato. It was about a three quarters of a mile walk to get there. What an adventure! No one spoke English and we weren’t sure what we were eating or what we were ordering or how to cook it. But we certainly were full when we left.

We woke up this morning at 6 am, just a bit before sunrise in Hong Kong. After packing and having another great buffet breakfast, we checked out. We took an Uber to Kowloon MTR station and then took the fast, comfortable and scenic AirPort Express train to the airport.

The Hong Kong airport opened in 1998. It is big, beautiful and very modern. Our plane to Japan left at 11:00.

We flew on the budget airline, Hong Kong Express. We were in exit rows so we had plenty of leg room and Duke ordered some lunch for us ahead of time. It was quite good..

The flight was three hours and we moved one time zone east so we arrived at 3 pm. We took an Uber to our hotel in Fukuoka. The name of the hotel is With the Style.

The hotel restaurant, Cotton, is California Fusion! We had a very nice meal there.

Today was the coolest day we have had in almost three weeks. The high was 82. The humidity is still around 70%. There was also a nice breeze.

After breakfast this morning we did our laundry in the hotel’s self service laundry facility. Then we went out for a walk. We walked to Kowloon Park and visited the Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Center. The museum is in the former British Military Barracks.

Next we walked along the Avenue of Comic Stars.

On the way back to the hotel we stopped for iced coffee and tea. An older lady at a nearby table had to translate our order for the lady taking our order.

For dinner we went to Michelin Listed restaurant, Above and Beyond, on the 28th floor. The view was stupendous. We had a tasting menu with wine pairings. It was excellent.