Hiroshima

When we booked ahead to stay at Toyoko Higashi-Hiroshima we learned a valuable lesson about Japanese place names. Double check their location is where you think they are. I was expecting to be arriving in Hiroshima and and staying in the cit of Hiroshima. Actually we ended up being 20 minutes away from Hiroshima on the train. Which wasn't too bad but we had to organise ourselves to catch trains because not every train stopped there. It was obviously a developing housing area and had quite a rural feeling to it.

This is Toyoko Higashi- Hiroshima the best hotel we stayed at.
I think it was a new hotel certainly the area had a lot of new accomodation. The breakfasts were the best with a few extra options, they even had evening meals included in the price, we were usually in too late for dinner though. We spent three nights here it worked out as a good base. This hotel chain is very good for travelers on a budget like us. They are all clean, provide breakfast with the room and are always handy to train stations. You can access your room after 4:oo pm and have to vacate them by 10:00 am even if you are returning that night. For us that was no problem because we tend to be out and about most of every day when we travel.

We spent an afternoon at Hiroshima exploring the Peace memorial Park. This was a moving experience for us both. Inside the building in the background of this photo is a very graphic museum. This statue depicts the horror for the civilians who were unlucky to living in Hiroshima at the time of the bomb. All of this area was flattened by the dropping of the first bomb. The photographs in the museum show it as an empty wasteland.

The A-Bomb Dome in the background is a stark reminder that little survives when nuclear bombs are dropped. In front of the dome is The Cenotaph erected in memory of the victims of the bombing.

This is my favourite photo taken within the park looking through the trees at the A-Bomb Dome.

Everything in this area was destroyed The Dome being the only structure to remain. The occupants of the building were killed instantly.

The childrens peace monument is another stark reminder of the innocent victims of any act of war. One of the child victims of the A-Bomb who developed leukemia following her exposure to the radiation believed that if she could make 1000 cranes she would recover from her illness. She did not survive but her story is well known by Japanese children. Fresh Paper Cranes are are sent by school children from all over Japan. The booths in the background hold thousands of these cranes.

We only spent an afternoon and evening in Hiroshima. We did find it fascinating, the station was big with lots of interesting food places. We got off the train and found our way to the tram which took us all the way to the Peace Memorial Park. This park is peaceful today and it was an interesting place to visit. Maybe more people need to be reminded of the horrors that Nuclear Weapons hold! We walked back to the train station from the park enjoying exploring the many sidestreets along the way. Dinner in the Noodle house here was very good indeed. By now we knew the ropes about using the vending machines to get a ticket and then passing the ticket to the waitress.

I am sure that there is more to see in Hiroshima.

Myajima

Ruth on this arched bridge at Miyajima.

We were staying at Higashi Hiroshima after we got things confused. We thought we were staying in Hiroshima City itself. It turned out that we were about 20 minutes on the Shinkansen out of the city. We spent 3 nights here using it as an opportunity to explore the lower part of Honshu. With our Japanese Rail Pass it worked out great.

Getting up close and personal with the wildlife.

Ruth with her own little herd of followers.

One of our best outings in Japan was to Miyajima, this island is known as the jewel of the Sanyo Coast. This is the home of the famous floating Torii (Shinto Gate) which signifies that the whole island is a sacred island. It certainy is a peaceful place once you escape the rush of ferry terminal. The deer here wander freely among the people in the streets and all over the island. The felling of trees is forbidden so there is some interesting forest walks once again the deer seem to pop up in most unusual places and they show little fear of people. Often they walked right up to us to check out what we had to feed them. The bamboo, cedar and maple trees provided an interesting backdrop to walk through.

The rope way rides we went on in Japan

offered stunning scenery.

We took what they a rope way we would call it a Gondala up to the top of Mount Misen the views were breath taking. We could see the mainland and were provided with a splendid vista of the Inland Sea. Our wander back down to the temple and the Floating Torii was interesting. The track being more like a concrete highway than the walking track it was. Not much chance of getting lost here.

After reaching the summit of Mount Misen t

he view was incredible.

Looking out and across The Inland Sea.

As we neared the bottom of our walk we came to a stream which provided some interesting waterfalls and well kept garden settings. There were also a number of traditional style homes with traditional Japanese gardens. The day was hot and the coolness provided by the shade of the trees helped make this a magical place to visit. Once at the bottom we found ourselves outside the Itsukushima shrine. oddly enough and typical of us we were at the exit, and instead of entering we decided walk across the tidal mudflats and past the Torii.

Ruth beside the stream we ended following down

to the Shrine on Miyajima.

Sometimes I just sit.

Other times I sit and just think

Once again I found myself admiring the contrasts in Japan. In the towns there are so many people all busy going about their daily lives. But Rugged mountains covered in dense forest is never too far away. Much of the scenery is stunningly breath taking.

There is so much more at Miyajima than the Shrine.

But the Five Story Pagoda built in 1407

is impressive in this setting.

Back amongst the people and Ruth poses in front of the Floating Torii.

The tide comes in and covers this spot where the picture was taken.

The five arched bridge at Iwakuni, built 1673

We felt we had some time left in our day so we thought we would try to fit in a visit to the Five Arched Bridge at Iwakuni. This meant another train trip to Iwakuni. Followed by a bus trip to the bridge on board a local bus. This posed a logistical problem for us as the bus driver spoke no english and there were no signs in English. Then we had to work out how to pay for the bus. Ruth worked it, hold out a handful of coins, smile and shrug your shoulders the driver then picked out the coins for us. Once we arrived at the bridge we were impressed but we did not pay to walk across it. Originallyt built in 1673 it was built without using any nails. We were a bit rushed because we needed to make sure we got back to the Shinkansen with plenty of time. If we had more time we would have liked to stroll around Kikko park where there are a number of Samurai houses. And we would have taken the rope way to the Iwakuni Castle. Another thing to do next time.

Kyoto

Kyoto is an old city, it was once the imperial capital of Japan. We found it to be a mixture of vibrant modern city and very old interesting history. It was tourist friendly and realitvely easy for us to find our way around in. There was a lot that can be seen and done on foot. We three highlights for our two nights in this city, but could quite easily return and have many more adventures.

Fushimi Shrine
With our Japanese Rail pass we did take the train out to Fushimi Shrine. This is dedicated to Inari, god of rice and saki. The draw card for us was the avenue of gates (Torii) that form a walk way up through forest to numerous shrines. We spent an enjoyable afternoon explorig the hillside and wolking through the avenue of gates.

Ruth makes her way up through the gates. They just went on and on up and around the heavily wooded hillside.

Here I am at the start of the avenue, we were impressed by the number of torii and the atmosphere created by the torii. We eventually found ourselves wlaking down a narrow lane with traditional Japanese home on either side. As we arrived at the bottom of the hill we found a local restaurant and enjoyed a tasty lunch of noodles.

Nijo Castle

We had read about Japanese Castles and had seen some photographs. Our hotel was less than a Km away from Nijo Castle so we figured we could walk to this castle and explore. It was a very interesting place to visit.

In terms of castles this one does not have strong fortifications and its Keep is no longer standing.

The Shogun living Quarters here are well preserved and provided us with a good introduction to Japanese Castle life. This view is from the site of the keep looking down on the Shogun Quarters. These were a series of rooms joined by passage ways, the walls had many intriguing paintings. The floors were fascinating, nightingale floors. They make squeaking bird like sounds when you walk. It would be impossible to sneak around inside this building.

The gardens within the castle were spectacular. We visited a number of Japanese gardens and this one was one of my favourites. It was immaculately groomed and is famous for its wealth and variety of rocks. These made an interesting landscape within the garden.

It was very hot this day but the garden offered lots of opportunity for shade and was relaxing to wander through.

The most of the Nijo Castle was one of its strong points.

Gion District

Gion is famous for its Geisha district, it was the setting for "Memoirs of a Geisha". We decided to take the opportunity to explore Gion one of the districts where Geiko and Maiko still ply their trade within the Teahouses. We took part in an evening guided walk to find out more about Gion and the Geiko.

Our guide was really good, he spoke fluent English and showed us many points of interest. He also explained about what being a Geiko was about. Apparently they are highly trained entertainers who spend five years training. They have many important traditions and skills to learn, more than performing the tea ceremony. They are not cheap and one can only get a Geiko by being introduced by someone who is already a customer.

We did see a number of Geiko pass by as we wandered through. This one is a fully trained Geiko, we can tell because her Obi is short at the back, a Maiko (Geiko in training) has a longer Obi. She is passing by a traditional Japanese Teahouse.

Here is a front view of the same lady as she rushes by, it must take a lot of work getting ready for work with the hairstyle and make up. Not to mention the uniform.

We covered a number of places of interest in the Gion district passing many teahouses, restaurants and hostels that were very old and of traditional architecture. We even visited the gates of the Geiko school. BY the time we completed out tour we were hungry and on our way home found ourselves in a restaurant beside the river in Pontocho Alley another well known Geiko district. The small lanes and alleys around Kyoto were very interesting and full of surprises.

Lessons Learned In Japan

Another Adventure!

We had a great two week journey through Japan during early June. We were expecting it to be a challenge with very little English. It was a challenge but it was not impossible. We expected it to be expensive. It was a little more expensive than other Asian countries we have visited recently but it was not as expensive as we expected. We expected it to be crowded and busy, there was a surprising mix of busy places and remote rugged mountain country. Certainly most of the flat land near the sea was heavily populated. Having said these things we really only travelled South of Tokyo on Honshu staying one night on Shikoku.

Sunday Baseball in Ueno Park.

Accomodation: We found Toyoko Inn a chain of business hotels, these cater well for tourists as well. They are cheap, we paid around 8000 Yen a night for our double rooms. These were small but adequate. Included was a Japanese style breakfast. Rice, pickles, Miso and usually bread rolls. They were all handy to a train station and very easy to locate. We stayed four nights at Ikebukuru, which is a busy Tokyo Station, but connects directly to Narita Airport by Express Shinkansen. Being on the Japan Rail Circle line it was a good base for sightseeing around Tokyo.
Transport: We had a Japanese Rail Pass valid for the whole two weeks. This was invaluable we used it every day. The trains are as good as they say. They run to time and are regular to most places. As you get further away from Tokyo the amount of English in the stations diminishes. There is a helpful Japan Rail information centre in most stations. The staff are very helpful. The rail pass is well worth the money. We had some interesting experiences using local buses in some places. Usually you board from the rear doors and pay at the driver on the way off. The drivers spoke very little English.

Five Arch Bridge

Food: We chose to eat local as much as possible which meant that our meals were a reasonable price. We frequented a range of Noodle House and Ramen style restaurants. These were adequate filling meals. Because we usually had breakfast to start we often had a snack during the day and a meal in the early evening. These meals didn’t exceed $30 including a drink. Some were cheaper. In Japan there are vending machines everywhere, we used these for drinks often during the day. Even in some of the restaurants you purchase a meal ticket from a vending machine give the ticket to the waitress and then she gets your meal. I enjoyed the Japanese curry meals, after Singapore these were not spicy.

Miyajima Deer

Places to go, sights to see: The list of places to go and sights could be endless. We chose some very interesting places. We probably could have spent the two weeks in Tokyo and been busy every day. But we were keen to get out of the bigger centres and experience rural Japan. Kyoto is an interesting place I would recommend. Myajima was an interesting day out I was fascinated by the sika deer that wander among the people on this sacred island. Although we were warm the heat wasn’t as humid as in Singapore.

Teahouse in Hama Detached Palace Garden

People: The Japanese are very polite. They do make a point of lining up at trains and buses. They do let passengers off before they board public transport. They were always helpful and willing to help western visitors who looked lost, even if they had limited English. The small local restaurants we had our meals in were always very friendly and helpful. The language barrier was usually overcome.

Five Storeyed Pagoda Myajima

As a travel destination, Japan has plenty of new and interesting experiences to offer. We only saw a small area, but we will plan to go back in the near future and then we will travel North of Tokyo.

Ruth on our first day out in Tokyo