Saturday 8^th April 2017

Up early to drive to Kodani rest stop on the Sanyo Expressway, not far from Hiroshima. Here we were meeting up with Mr Tamatani, the Chairman of the Morgan Sports Car Club of Japan.

The weather was drizzling rain and quite foggy. Approaching another long suspension bridge linking Kagawa with Okayama we could hardly see the bridge, the fog was so thick.

Mr Tamatani arrived with his son, Kota, interpreter Tomomi and Morgan owner Masanobu Kashiwa in his cream anniversary model 75 4/4 made in 2015.  Mr Tamatani has a 1970’s 4/4 four seater, a new three-wheeler an Austin 7 and a Land Rover TD5. 

After chatting, lifting bonnets on respective Morgans and taking photographs we headed to a restaurant for lunch.

It seems that we are not the only car having toll problems. Masanobu, even though his Morgan is fitted with an e-tag couldn’t get through as the machine couldn’t read his number plate and an attendant had to come running out. This time we got through without a problem. Go figure!

Passed through small towns with new stylish houses- seems to be mainly an agricultural area. We passed quite a few derelict houses – very old with the original mud walls and thatched roofs. The houses here are distinctive, quite large by Japanese standards and many have unusual high pitched roofs.

Arrived at the village near Miyoshi, north of Hiroshima and surprised to find the restaurant was named Café Mike and Shirley, run by friendly proprietors, English woman Karina and her Japanese husband. We spent a delightful three hours chatting, talking Morgans, cars in general, and exchanging gifts. Tomomi did a terrific job doing all the interpreting given that she knows nothing about cars.

After fond farewells and more photographs we headed towards our hotel Iwakuni, 90 minutes away and the rest headed back to Hiroshima.