DAY 11 - HIROSHIMA & KYOTO

Waking up we found a big change in the weather. Typhoon Vongfong had made landfall in the south of Japan and was having an effect up the coast and across the country, and it was due to get worse throughout the day. Our hotel told us that all trains (local and Shinkansen) we due to be stopped at lunchtime - we were booked on the 14:40 Shinkansen. With that being the case, we left our bags in reception and jumped in a taxi and headed to the Atomic Bomb dome.

The building was designed by the Czech architect Jan Letzel. The design included a distinctive dome at the highest part of the building. It was completed in April 1915. The ruin serves as a memorial to the people who were killed in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. Over 70,000 people were killed instantly, and another 70,000 suffered fatal injuries from the radiation.

At 8:15 a.m. on 6 August 1945, Little Boy — the first atomic bomb to be used in war — was dropped by the United States Army Air Forces from the Enola Gay, a B-29 bomber. The force of the atomic bomb effectively obliterated the city of Hiroshima, Japan.

Soaked to the bone, we headed back to Hiroshima station and after queuing for a bit managed to change our reservation and get on an earlier train. Next stop Kyoto.

Arriving in Kyoto, the weather wasn't any better. Everywhere was pretty quiet with widespread weather warnings keeping people at home and inside. But if you are going to drive around in a Typhoon, then might as well take the monster truck.

Not wanting to waste the rest of the day hiding from the rain, we went out in search of ramen and settled on Ippudo. We were not disappointed, the noodles were great and the good selection of condiments on table (including crush fresh garlic and a garlic crusher) meant that your could really customise your dish and create your own prefect dish.

Typhoon or not, there is no keeping these characters out of the pachinko parlour.

After dinner we headed back to our hotel, stopping for a drinks and to shelter from the storm on the way.

Now I can't read Japanese, but I think I get the jist of this TV weather report.