Darren could hardly contain himself this morning and was up really early for our visit to the Mazda Museum. We had a lovely breakfast, bought from 7/11 the night before. I had an egg sandwich and pancakes, which already had butter and maple syrup on them and an orange juice….these had set me back about 400 yen. ($4.00AUD) We ate at our table in our room overlooking the Peace Dome and watching it snow lightly.

We hopped in a cab and I told the driver "Mazda Museum" I received a blank look. I got the Lonely Planet out and pointed to the section on the museum which has its name written in Japanese. The driver then exclaimed, "Ah! Mazda Museum!" Hmmm….isn't that what I said?

It took about twenty minutes to get there and it cost 2500 yen, I was planning on getting a cab to the ferry port this evening but was thinking at that moment that that plan might require some restructuring due to the cost involved.

We arrived at the museum and the driver even walked us in, told the receptionist why we were here at the head office of Mazda and then bowed very low to us and the lady at the desk on his way out. We had our names marked off the list and sat down with Darren smiling from ear to ear and probably not believing he actually was, where he was.

It came time for the tour and we were herded onto a small Mazda bus and taken down to the factory and the museum over Mazda's private bridge. Once inside the museum we were shown a short film about the history of the company. The founder of the company's 70th birthday was actually 6th August 1945, the same day the Atomic Bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, he died in the blast.

We then got to have a walk around and have a look at the cars, they had a number of old Mazda's including a three wheeled truck, Series 1 RX 7, and an RX 3. They also had Mazda's 787B Le Mans car, which is the main thing Darren had come to see. I'd never seen his face light up the way it did when he saw that car, it was truly a sight to behold.

Next was all the futuristic concept cars, like hydrogen powered and EV models. We even got to have a look at Mazda's production line, the longest in the world, which was very interesting.

We then got back on the bus to head office and headed to the nearest JR station and getting slightly lost down a back street on the way. We got the train back to Hiroshima and got the red sightseeing bus to the Hiroshima Prefectural Art Gallery, where we walked around a bit and I got to see something I've dreamed of for a long time, Salvador Dali's "The Dream of Venus" with the melting clocks. Seeing this painting live and up close and personal took my breath away, I think it had a greater impact on me than even the Mona Lisa. Best of all it was in a quiet room of its own with a chair and no one else around, so I just took some time and sat and beheld it Dali's greatest masterpiece.

Amado was also at the museum and we ran into him and went to have a look around the Shukkeien gardens outside. They were very pretty with little bridges and bonsai styled trees everywhere and like all Japanese gardens were home to some very friendly Koi Karp in the small lake.

After the gardens we headed back to the hotel via a 7/11 for some food and then sat and chatted to Amado in the lobby before heading off for what I thought would be the epic public transport journey to Miyajima. We got a taxi to take us to Hiroshima Station, got a local train to the ferry port and then the JR ferry to Miyajima and then walked 200m to our Ryokan. If you think I'm over simplifying it but putting it that way, trust me, I'm not it really was that easy.

We checked in at Sakuraya Ryokan and were enthralled with our room, which has mattresses on the floor, a little table with cushions and straw mats on the floor. Very traditional.

It was about dinner time and after our 7/11 food fest we were both quite hungry, the nice manager was able to point us in the direction of a few restaurants. We ended up in one with a load of Japanese guys who were drinking and smoking. I had a lovely Japanese curry and Darren had pork cutlet on rice. It was a nice dinner, but the ambiance left a lot to be desired. There was one souvenir shop open which we went in and bought a few things before heading back to the Ryokan for the night.