We left our host families at Kurashiki Station at 8:20 this morning. Mr Benson, from the Kurashiki City International Affairs department, came to Okayama Station and showed us where we could leave our bags for the day, and we said goodbye to him, then headed for Shikoku, across the Inland Sea. We crossed the Seito Ohashi Bridge, one of the engineering wonders of the 1980s, it was once the longest bridge in Japan, island hopping across the stretch of water between Kojima and Sakaide. We had a good view of the Inland Sea and the shipping lanes. On both sides we could see examples of the heavy industries that helped build Japan's economic growth last century. We went from the station to a revolving tower in a convoy of 4 taxis, viewed the bridge and visited the bridge museum. We returned to the city centre and ate "udon" noodles for lunch, which is a must-do when visiting Shikoku. After that, we returned to Okayama, caught the shinkansen to Hiroshima, and checked in to the youth hostel. We are planning a big day in and around Hiroshima tomorrow.
