Kintai Bridge

Our new friends, the Sutphins, took us on our "Right of Passage" or Iwakuni initiation to the local Kintai Bridge. We were hoping the cherry blossoms would be more in bloom but they still have a few days left to be flowered completely, that is if a steady rain doesn't come first and wipe out all of the buds. Even without the flowering trees, it was beautiful and I'm already anxious to go back and explore some more. They have an art museum in the area as well as shrines, several water fountains, and other attractions. Because it's Cherry Blossom Festival time, there were food vendors and souvenirs out. They have a ton of ice cream places everywhere and while we didn't go to the well-known "100 Flavor" stand this time, we still got some great ice cream as part of the experience. Chris and Quinn tried the cherry blossom flavor, Ry got strawberry, and I got a swirl with cherry blossom and green tea. I want to try and go back tomorrow when we have a car to see if the trees are fully in bloom.

This is Iwakuni Castle below. They have a hiking trail and cable car that goes up there so that will be a trip for another day.