After Himeji, and Tokyo, Miyajima was like a paradise. I had been craving to be close to the ocean, which isn't really something I do, but that's probably because I've lived on the coast my entire life.

Hiroshima is probably one of the cleaner quieter cities I have been in in a long time.  We started off our tour by visiting the memorial where the A-bomb fell.  It was an art building and was the only building preserved after the bombing.  The bomb didn't explode on the ground it exploded about 600 meters above ground, and for this the city was lucky because no one knows how many more thousands of people would have died if it did.  The city is surrounded by many rivers and canals so it was a good military point for Japan and this is why the US targeted the city.  After the art building we went to the memorial dedicated to the thousands of koreans, chinese and whoever else were forced to work for the Japanese.  Next was the childrens memorial, and then we walked to the actual museum dedicated to the whole thing.  There is a lot of reading infomation, not just about the bomb but also Hiroshima's history.  It was quite interesting but also very tiring.  There were quite a few disturbing and terrible things but it wasn't worse than walking the killing fields in Cambodia.  There was a flower festival going on in the city so the city had live music all over and really nice floral arrangements around the city.  After our lunch we went to the Hiroshima Castle, it was a beautiful castle however it saw no action until a bomb fell on it.  Needless to say it was destroyed and then rebuilt.  Hiroshima is not a big city but there is still plenty of things to see and do, great restaurants and ever better bars.  I give it an 8 of 10

I`ve been buddish/shinto templed-out.  Wow, everywhere you go there are temples and more temples (like being in Morocco - medinas after medinas).  My first day in Kyoto, my back was killing me because I over-packed again.  I always want the comforts of home while travelling to I carry ALOT of crap with me.  Too bad Kyoto doesn't have the affordable Thai body massages like Bangkok.  I have to grin and bear it.  Last night I went to a local restaurant.  The bartender thought I worked for the U.N., I told him I wished.  I ate at the bar which is a good place to people watch.  The place had many foreigner (gaijin) customers.

I went to the local sento (public bath, which is across from the hostel) and did what the locals do - go nude.  Unfortunately, I can`t really fully dip myself in the water bec it was incendiary!!!  I ended up pouring water on myself next to it.  Plus, a grandma lady speaking to me in full Japanese how to use the sento.  She ended up helping scrub my back.  From what I got from the conversation, her husband used to be in the army.

I wandered around in their roof covered alley malls.  I think the Japanese signage are too cutesie-bootsie.  I wish I knew how to read them.  The store workers are so polite and they always greet you, 'Irashie masie.'  I did try the local delicacy in Kyoto, the Takoyaki octopus balls, izakaya style, grilled (like fish balls - http://www.bento.com/tr-tako.html).  They have izakaya stands mushrooming in parks and near the bridges.  So, by the time I'm finished doing my walking tour, the YUMMY smells of food is calling me.

The streets are really confussing and I`m having a hard time using the phones here.  I can`t understand the messages in Japanese.  Oh well, gotta try again.   The grocery stores are nice and clean.  Of course, they have so clue most of the times when I'm asking for directions. 

Today, I`m in Hiroshima to tour the Atomic Bomb Dome + the museum.  Hooraaaay, I even rode the shinkansen from Kyoto to get here in 1 hr + 30 mins.  Going to figure out the nearest ramen place for lunch.  I've seen documentaries about WWII but nothing beats being here and feeling the history.  It is really sad that we had to drop the bomb.  The Japanese government weren't going to surrender if we didn't.  Thousand and thousand of Allied soldiers were dying.  The bomb has a lasting ill effects on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

On my third day, the Hostel receptionist suggested I should visit Miyajima where the biggest torii on water is situated. The World Heritage Foundation even included this torii to their list.  The torii at the Itsukushima Shrine welcomes visitors to the island.

I hop on the JR Metro because we have to transfer at the Hiroshiman harbor for the JR Miyajima ferry to get to the island.  Funny thing, the Thai family who was staying at my hostel was on their way to Miyajima too.

As soon as you get out of the ferry station, wild deers are all around the street.  We were warned to feed them junk food.  I guess nobody can resist eating crackers.  To reach the peak of Mount Misen, at 535 m, is the highest point on the island, we have to take the Miyajima Ropeway to the top.   At the zenith, you get the best vantage point of the the mini islands surrounding Miyajima.  I had to do my 'I'm the Queen of the World' photo so I let some teenager to take my pics.  They hardly spoke English and did finally understood what I wanted in the photo, 'like the Titanic movie.'  After my photo, he and his friends did the SAME pose.

I will be in Tsuruoka, Yamagatta by Thurs night to visit my co-worker`s friend, the Horie family.  I`m staying in their big house.  Yiiipee.  They family picked me up by the JR Station & it was much colder in the mountain region.  There were snow while the Kodama train was inching along the rails.

MORE TO COME...

First of all, I would like to talk about the preparation done in little time.

I purchased the touring bike, two side bags for rear tire, gloves, helmet, and sleeping bag.  As my job kept me so busy that I had not had time to buy them until the last minute, which annoyed me. I wish I had time for training but no time and then I started the cycle trip when I got my vacation after the hec-tic days. I filled up the side bags with stuffs like clothings and sent to the first B&B at Onomichi. So after flying off at the airport, I was only with a backpack. When I recall, it was nothing heavy but as I had not got used to the bike itself, it was hard to make a fast cycling. I had never thought that cycling was so hard before. Yes, it is a SPORT!!! 

We arrived at the airport in the morning and setup our bike which took us for about an hour. We cycled down to Onomichi during day time so taht we could do sightseeing there. I wanted to see the Senkouji, temple. When I travel, I usually plan details beforehand but this time no time for preparation, besides it is a cycling trip which I had never done so I did not know how long I could cycle for a day. So I did not plan detail and just enjoy cycling and sinery which we will see by chance. Well, my travbuddy planned a destination briefly so I was not a blind. But it was a totally different trip from what I usually do. Exciting!

We found out that Onomichi had a lot of temples. We made some of them and saw the town and sea beyond it from an upper little hill. I liked the city which reminded me Varanasi in India in some reason. There are little squiggle streets here and there along which old wooden style houses are there.

The first accommodation, B&B was a nice Minshuku(people use their extra rooms for an accommodation for travellers). We had a good breakfast made by the B&B grand mother who talked about her childhood during the last world war. I only knew about my grand parents' case so that it was interesting to hear her story. She also told us the local products in our breakfast. I like to talk to the local to learn new things while traveling :)

It was still raining this morning and had grown even colder during the night! I am really glad I brought my mittens and scarf! We left Kyoto under a forlorn sky which probably fit my mood since I’d really gotten to like Kyoto. It was just the right size for me, like a miniature Tokyo!

We took the Shinkansen past Osaka and Kobe and stopped for a few hours at Himeji Castle before we headed to our final destination of Miyajima Island. As far as castles go, at least the ones I’ve seen in England and Ireland, this one has taken the cake. It was huge! I was very impressed by its size and its architecture as it towered over the city with a commanding presence. Since it was perched on a hill, from the very top of the castle you could see far in every direction, all the way out to the sea! It was a superb defensive location for a castle, which was why it was surprising to learn that that castle had never had to be used for that purpose. I suppose if I was someone attacking and I knew that those in the castle could see me coming from miles off, I might be discouraged from attacking as well. I bet that was sort of disappointing at the time since so much care had bee taken to outfit the castle to be prepared for a siege. All the windows were slotted so as to protect archers and gunners whilst they fire their weapons, they had large storage areas for keeping tons of gunpowder, etc.

Someone in our group wondered where the inhabitants of the castle slept as there were no apparent bedchambers like you would find in European castles. Nadean and I were quick to say that since they were Japanese, they more than likely slept on futons that were picked up each day. Also, samurai usually all slept in the same room as a matter of security and as a way to build camaraderie. I knew this from one of my favorite anime, Peacemaker, which is about the Shisengumi at the end of the Tokugawa era. I think there was also a separate structure where the royalty dwelled.

One of the most interesting things about the castle was all the stories about it being haunted! I would have liked to have spent the night in the castle to see if any of the stories were true! It seemed that every structure within the castle walls had some sort of tale about death and hauntings. Another interesting thing to note was that a lot of the stones used to build the castle were not just any old stones. Many were donated by the locals, even from the stone laterns one finds at shrines, and the strangest of all, stone coffins! I wonder if there were still people inside those coffins when they were mortared into place?

We climbed the stairs all the way to the top��"what a climb!��"and signed the guestbook there before looking out at the city from all the different angles and heading back down the stairs to explore the rest of the castle grounds. Another cold front must have blustered through while we were inside because if we were chilly before, we were absolutely freezing then! After exploring a bit, we got really cold and ran across the street to the shops to get warm. This was kind of a dubious thing though since all the shops had people standing outside of them shouting out, advertising their wares and trying to get us to buy things. Inside one of the stores a lady handed me a cup of tea before I could say no��"black bean tea! It wasn’t very good at all! So then I had to wander around the store with that taste in my mouth until finally I found a trash can to throw away the rest of the tea.

Our group reassembled a while after that and tried to keep warm until it was time to go to the train station and continue on to Hiroshima. From Hiroshima we had to take a local train to get to miyajimaguchi where we had to take a ferry across the water to Miyajima Island where our lodge was. The skies had finally cleared up a bit giving the sunset over the water and mountains a beautiful spin.

The island itself is very pretty and cute but hard to navigate on the first try! We wandered through the emptying shopping arcade with all of our luggage and that path took us the long way to our lodge. There were tons of shops though and I look forward to getting a bit of shopping done! Especially at the 1,050 yen shop!

At last we finally got to the lodge and got our rooms but Nadean and I accidently got Sensei’s room which was a western styled room when we were supposed to have a Japanese styled one. We switched after dinner and I was excited to get to sleep on Futons again!  When I get my own place I think I’d like to get a Japanese styled futon to sleep on, it would definitely save space!

The main event of the evening was dinner itself��"an elegant Japanese styled dinner! It was really elaborate and had a bunch of different little dishes. Unfortunately I couldn’t eat much of it because I’m a vegetarian and almost everything involved meat and fish. I really really enjoyed the experience though, but it was one of those things I wouldn’t want to do again because I felt really bad for not being able to eat most of it and letting it go to waste. I was also sorry that I was the only one not of age so that the rest of the group couldn’t have Sake with the meal.

After dinner a bunch of us hung out in the lobby of the third floor and swapped travelling stories which I always enjoy doing. We also tried to prepare ourselves for what we knew was coming tomorrow, the trip to Hiroshima and the peace park there.

Hiroshima probably is not high on the list of destinations in Japan, because it doesn't have any 5 star hotels. We picked this one because of the location and price (booked on Expedia). The hotel is a high rise and the lobby certainly looked like a good hotel, but the room is definitely plain and basic. We did have a view out of the window toward the restored Hiroshima castle. Only about 1 km from the A-bomb dome and the memorial site, it is very convenient. We did have to take a taxi from the train station to the hotel, but buses do run to the hotel. Right next door to the hotel is a very large shopping center with the Sogo Department store. There were many restaurants in the shopping center complex, some right next to the hotel, you can get to without having to walk to the street. In the Sogo complex basement was a HUGE food street with so many vendors and foods that you just have to go and see for yourself. We made the mistake of having a breakfast buffet at the hotel, not knowing other options were less than 1 block away. The buffet was EXPENSIVE, not a good variety and really a great disappointment. We have had great foods everywhere in Japan, except this meal was a letdown. No free internet, we had to pay about $10 per day for accessing the internet. The bathroom mirror had a heated center so that it did not fog up, which was the only one we saw on this trip! So it's an OK hotel, with great location, just don't eat here.

I have to thank another travbuddy for inspiring me to go to Miyajima.. ErinPatty wrote a blog and had her profile photo with the famous floating torii (shinto gate) behind her. I found out it was right next to Hiroshima, so we planned to stay 2 days in Hiroshima so we can also go to Miyajima. I also wanted to be there when the sun sets. We took the train to Miyajima-guchi and boarded the ferry across the short distance to the island of Miyajima (both covered by the JR pass we had). We could spot the torii before we got off the train, and it was a cool sight to see. The torii is supposed to denote that the island is sacred and no births or deaths are allowed to happen on the island.

After getting off the ferry, we were immediately greeted by several tame deer. And there were a lot of deer to be sure. Some were very bold and pestered tourists for treats. Even though there were signs saying to not touch or feed them, the signs were ignored by most. So you do have to walk a little carefully to avoid stepping on the deer droppings.

The vermillion colored torii, about 50 feet high, is set in the sea to appear floating when the tide is high, but it's not actually floating. When the tide is low, you could walk up to it. I didn't time it so it would be high tide, so it was just our luck that the tide was high enough. The Itsukushima Shrine built on stilts dates from the year 593 behind it could also be in the water, but the tide wasn't high enough for that when we were there, still it was a very interesting place and lots of photo opportunities.

We walked through the street lined with shops to get to the are of the torii, and bought tickets to go into the Itsukushima Shrine. We probably should have gone to see the Senjokaku Paviilion first, which was a big pavilion measured by the number of tatamis it held. By the time we looped around, the pavilion was closed. We walked through the long corridors of the shrine and exited on the other side of the cove. Some people were walking toward the torii in the water. We walked back around the back of the shrine and to where we started to take some photos of the torii during sunset. Many photographers were lined up with tripods for their shots. We left Miyajima in the dark on the ferry, and went back to Hiroshima to find our dinner. One can also stay on the island overnight, which might also provide a chance to take photos at dawn.

The next day, we embarked on a trip to the island known as 宮島 miyajima. It is a couple kilometers from the city in the bay, and is quite beautiful - perfect for a day trip. It is famous for the floating torii or gate. It is also famous for its alarming number of deer, which love to chase tourists around the island for food. Odd combination.

We took a ferry boat (of course, the ferries are owned and run by JR - Japan Rail) over to the island and were free to wander the island. We visited 厳島神社 itsukushima jinja, a pier-like constructed shrine that sits on the shore. After taking several photos in front of the floating torii, we took a cable car up the mountain to the peak where we were met with breath-taking views of the surrounding island chain and mainland. Perhaps one of the highlights of the entire trip was this peaceful trip to the top of the mountain, and luckily, it had stopped raining.

Some of us explored the rest of the town at the base of the mountain in search of かき kaki or oysters for lunch. Hiroshima is famous for them and we had to try them. We found a proper looking restaurant, with a flood of people coming out the door, waiting to get a table and try some of the famous oysters, both baked and raw. It was a long wait, but well worth it. Easily the best oysters I've ever had....although, maybe that's not saying much as I don't really eat oysters regularly. But they were good.

Our stomachs full and our bodies becoming induced by food coma, we met up with the group and took the ferry back to the mainland where we then proceeded to take the bus back to the trainstation, where we finally boarded our bullet train home. It was a long weekend, but it was cultural, educational, delicious, and fun. I forgot to mention, we all caught the flu sometime over the weekend and paid for it the following week. :P

Our final CIEE field trip for the semester was a three-day, two-night trip to Hiroshima. This cultural experience was one that I feel everyone should encounter if they are traveling to Japan.

I need not to explain the history surrounding the city, but will instead guide you through our journey. The trip was prefaced by a pre-departure meeting featuring a video and lecture on the city's history - one that was a subtle reminder of the solemn, yet informative events of the weekend ahead. We then gathered as a group and rode the 新幹線 shinkansen or bullet train. This was my first ride ever, and it was pretty neat. These trains, some of which travel to speeds in excess of 250mph, connect the main islands of Japan and cater to all people looking for a very fast, efficient, and quiet ride. I read somewhere that the shinkansen network boasts a record time-keeping schedule - that is, the trains reach their destinations within 3-5 seconds of the promised schedule. Awesome.

We arrived in the city of Hiroshima late in the evening...and it was pouring rain. Probably not the best time of the year to visit, early January, but it couldn't be helped this time. We checked into our hotel and some of us went to explore the city a little, only to get drenched and then return for an early call time for the next morning.

The following day was jam packed with cultural events. We started the morning off going to the 原爆ドーム Genbaku dome, one of the remaining government buildings that survived the blast. It has since become a world icon and solemn reminder of the time-stopping event of that August morning. The city of Hiroshima is very pleasant, situated on a series of canals and rivers. If you were to visit having never known anything about WWII, you would think it was just any other modern, Japanese city.

We were led around the grounds of the memorial sites by our friendly Hiroshima guide. We moved onto the Eternal Flame - one that will be extinguished once all of the nuclear weapons in the world are disarmed (a nice thought) - as well as the museum itself, which by the way, is very cheap to get into. Inside are relics, artifacts, photographs, videos, timelines, all things surrounding the bombing and thereafter. It is beautiful, it is sad, it is gruesome, it is truthful, but most importantly, it is peaceful. That's the thing I gathered from this entire trip: the message of this place is not one of blame, but one of rememberance and of working toward peace so that something like this will never happen again.

Our museum visit was then followed by a lecture and speech by a 原爆者 genbakusha, or bomb survivor. Ms. Miyoko Matsubara shared with us her experience on Aug 6th, 1945. A school girl at the time, she was only 1.5 km from the hypocenter of the blast. She survived, but was very badly burned and injured. Many of her friends and family died. This was a tough, but very important speech to listen to. I admire her for continuing to tell that story as painful as it may be each time to recall the events of the past.

We had time to reflect and relax afterward. Some of us went out around the park and walked around. We were then taken to our ryokan where we would be staying. A small group of us went to visit 縮景園 shukkei-en, a Japanese garden nearby. It was really beautiful and nicely landscaped. For dinner that evening, we were taken to お好み村 okonomi-mura, a collection of 30 okonomiyaki stalls. お好み焼き okonomiyaki, which literally means 'as you like it' is an egg-based savoury pancake consisting usually of cabbage and vegetables, meats, and whatever you want. It is usually topped with sauce and you either prepare it yourself on a griddle or it's prepared in front of you. And it's oh so delicious. The okonomiyaki is a regional food, so each part of Japan makes it their own way and boasts it's the best in the nation. Hiroshima is famous for layering all of the ingredients instead of mixing them together. It is also famous for putting かき kaki or oysters in it. I really enjoy this part of Japanese dining, going into these little locales where all of the stalls serve the same thing, but each varying it slightly and trying to get you to come in and try their own recipe. I really enjoyed the Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki, but I think I prefer Tokyo-style better. Although I hear Osaka is famous for it, I would never get a chance to try it while I was in Japan.

We ended the evening at a 9-story arcade, bowling, karaoke, billiards, mini-golf, super-fun center. This place blew Gameworks and D&B's clear out of the water. Sadly, there are no pictures from it, but you'll have to trust me on this one.

It's beautiful in a haunting way. The trees next to the A-bomb dome (the building which survived the nuclear bomb) were bare, adding to the somber mood for this place where 140,000 people (not all Japanese!) have died on August 6 and until the end of 1945. I have not felt particularly sorry for the Japanese because they did start the war, and invaded China and caused my parents great pain during the 8 years of war in China (which was much longer than the rest of the world's WWII). But at a non-personal level, having so many lives lost in an instant, children and women, old and young is still not something to think about without pain. Walking the site, and the museum, I was like almost everyone else, not exactly crying, but definitely could at any moment. Holding a tissue paper to wipe my nose from time to time, I could hear others doing the same. At the museum, to see the 593 Letters of Protest sent out by the city of Hiroshima to the countries with nuclear capability for every nuclear test since WWI, I was sad to think that people have not learned anything from the past. The images of the shadows cast by people, objects from the heat of the blast were very powerful and surreal. We spent about 4 hours at the Peace Memorial Park and the Museum. This is a place everyone should visit.

After the visit, we returned to the hotel, but stopped at the Sogo Department store building next door. I saw the "food street" sign and we went in. Wow, it was quite a place, with so many vendors and all kinds of goodies. We had a blast looking and trying out foods.

In the morning, we made the mistake of eating at the buffet in the hotel. It was expensive and the variety was not that good, nor the quality. We should have gone out a block and found any of the restaurants there. Lesson learned.

We shelled out additional money for the Nozomi from Nagoya to Hiroshima, because the train from Takayama to Nagoya would take 2.5 hours, and even the Nozomi would take another 2 hours 23 minutes to get to Hiroshima. Besides, we wanted to experience the fastest train in Japan!
So we changed the train in Nagoya, with 14 minutes to transfer to the next train. By now we felt pretty comfortable with the train system and didn't feel stressed with that amount of time to change the train.

The Nozomi had a long pointed streamlined nose, and actually a tail just like it too. I think because they never reall turn the train around, they just turn the seats to face the direction it's going and off it goes. We got nice reserved seats, and settled in for our ride. The train stopped for just about 2 minutes to let people off and on, but amazingly enough, that seemed to be enough time! Once the train took off, it was so smooth unless you look out the window, it's hard to know and feel how fast it's going. When it made a turn, it did it in a long arc, and banking into the turn. Very cool. Most people seemed to be so accustomed to it they weren't all excited and curious like we were.

We got to Hiroshima after dark at 6:38pm (you can see the times on the ticket in the photo), and took a taxi to our hotel. There were no 5 star hotels in Hiroshima, and this one had a nice lobby and all, but the interior of the room was certainly nothing fancy, just functional. The price for 2 nights was cheaper than one night at the ryokan in Takayama, but it did not include any meals.

We went out to look for dinner, and found it right next door to the hotel at a nice Vitnamese restaurant.

Asked the local skaters I met on the trains where a good "American Bar" was in town and got directions to Flowers.

I spent many nights drowning away the cold and troubles I was having at work in this bar. Met some great people and had some great times. I only hope they are still open!

My first of several trips to Japan in 2002 for business....
Febuary 1 throguh 13, 2002

Stay tuned for more.....

:-)

After a day of the Japanese pancakes and sobering history Akiko wanted to go see one of Japan's most famous sights for Japanese.  Just across a small bay is the island of Miyajima.  This island for a long time was considered so holy that regular Japanese were not even allowed on the island.  Those that wanted to worship at Miyajima got off a boat at a floating structure that sits in the water just off the beach near the main temple.  For whatever reason all people are welcome on the island and I was surprised my the beauty of the place.

To get to the island we took a local JR train out to a ferry dock.  there were two different companies taking passengers across so it took us a few minutes to learn what ferry to get on but eventually we were on the top of a small car ferry watching Hiroshima fall behind us.  The island was so unlike the rest of Japan.  First on the island there are very few cars and most of them are the tiny little trucks for deliveries. Second it might be the only place in Japan without vending machines.  If you have ever been in Japan you will know there are vending machines everywhere but not on this island.  Finally almost all the businesses close at dark including the restaurants, so if you are hungry grab supplies early or be prepared to eat an early dinner. 

We spent most of our time just walking around.  The markets were full of local goods and they sold some local sweets that Akiko seemed to love.  Really the pace here on the island was nice and slow.  The temple was also very nice but my memory of the place is very fuzzy.  It must be because I have been to so many temples the last few years that some of the memories are starting to fuse into each other.  One of the best views is suppose to be of the Floating Temple as it reflects off the ocean water.  The only trouble was the whole time we were there the tide was way out and the only view got was of the temple rising out of the mud.

After so much time of being in urban situations we decided to go find some nature.  Miyajima has several trails that lead into the hills and the one we took started out paved and well marked.  After about ten minutes in the trail left some park benches and picinic tables and started to wind around soem large boulders.  A few more minutes and we were scrambling around large rocks wondering if we were still on the trail.  Soon enough the trail became more clear but began to climb steadily.  the smakrt thing to do for us would have been to turn around and come back more prepared as we had no food and very little water.  Of course we did what all dumb tourists do and just forged ahead until we were on the top of a small mountain.

The view from the top was great, probably the best view we saw in Japan.  The area is dotted with many little hilly green islands.  We sat at the top of the mountain and enjoyed the fact that for the first time in Japan we could not see neon lights, vending machines, or even see another human in any direction.  We could not enjoy the time to long though as we were so hungry as it took us three hours to get up the hill and we did not want to get stuck up there overnight.

Good news was we found as much easier trail down that was quicker.  On the way down we ran into a small herd of small deer.  These deer are the most timid deer I have ever met. The locals sell you grain that you can hand feed the deer.  We did not buy any us we both had lived in Banff and had spent a fair amount of time trying to teach tourists not to feed wild animals as it is really dangerous to do so in Canada.  Here however the deer come up to you basically beg for the food.  A bit strange to see deer the size of very large dogs. 

If you are in Japan and need a quick low tech break Miyajima is a good place.  There are many traditional Japanese inns and the island's peace just grows on you.  If you have a JR pass the ferry is even free to ride as it is owned my JR West.