We left for Japan on March 22 at 9am and arrived March 23 at 8pm. It was a long trip and we had to switch airlines and airports in Tokyo but all went very smoothly.
We spent one day in Osaka and then met up with Beth and Ian and travelled to Kyoto. So our day in Osaka was spent wandering the streets and enjoying the many street markets and sights and getting ideas for things to do when we were to return later in our trip. The cherry blossoms are in full bloom and are spectacular.
Kyoto was a relatively quick train ride from Osaka. The cherry blossoms are in full bloom here and are spectacular.
We saw some spectacular temples in Kyoto. There are approximately 1000 temples in Kyoto and so we didn't quite get to see them all. The crowds are incredible - more people in one place than we have ever seen in any of our travels. While 1.5 million people live in Kyoto, 60 million tourists visit each year. So tourism is big business. There is a real industry in Kimono rentals. Tourists, men and women alike love to rent the outfits and wear them as they walk the streets, particularly in the older part of the city. It is very nice to see these colourful outfits in great abundance as you walk the streets. At night, there is a real interest in trying to spot real Geishas (our cab driver gave us advice on how to differentiate the authentic from the others). We spotted three in our first night in the historic district. There is a canal which borders the historic district and cherry trees line the canal. With the blossoms, the canal, the colourful costumes and the lanterns that line the streets, it is truly an amazing landscape.
We left Kyoto for Hiroshima on March 30. This was the first use of our one week train pass. We took the high speed train and covered about 350 kilometres in an hour and a half.
Everything went by in a flash. Very comfortable way to travel here.
We had lunch in an interesting pub style restaurant. The seats were cushions on plastic beer cases. Food was good and well priced.
After lunch we went to the Peace Park. The first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945. Approximately 150,000 died immediately. The range of the destruction was a radius of about 2 kilometres. In addition to the immediate destruction, many people died years later from the effects of the radiation. More than 75% of the buildings were destroyed. You can see the domed buiding in the pictures. It was of the few that survived. Today it is a monument. Three days after this bomb a second was dropped on Nagasaki. That effectively brought and end to World War 11 in the Pacific.
We went to the Hiroshima Museum which contained pictures, personal accounts and artefacts from the results of the atomic bombing. It was very moving. On a positive note, people were told at the time that the soil was destroyed and nothing could be grown for decades to come. The following spring, flowers began to rise through the soil and buds appeared on scorched trees. It was the first sign of hope for the people that remained.
Today the city has been rebuilt and the beautiful cherry blossoms are out here as well.
It is all a rather sombre sight but glad we came.
On March 31, we took a train and ferry boat to Miyakima Island. There is a temple and shrine that we wanted to visit. The shrine is submerged in several feet of water but when the tide goes out you can walk out to it. There are manyminiature deer walking the streets. They are very tame. People pet them. But they are only interested if you have food for them.
On April 1st we arrived in Kobe from Hiroshima. Took another fast train. Great way to travel.
On April 2nd we took a day trip to Kurashiki. We took the train again but missed our stop because we got stuck behind a French couple with much luggage blocking the aisle who couldn't decide whether or not this was their stop. It cost us an hour in lost time.
Kurashikiis considered the Venice of Japan. There were many beautiful canals and more cherry blossoms and interesting local sights.
These are some photos from our day trip.
April 3 -We took another day trip today. This time to Hemeji. And we had no difficulty with the train. You will see that there is a beautiful, huge castle there. Can't imagine how many samurai it would have housed.
The cherry blossoms are beginning to lose there pedals. When the wind blows they look like snow falling off trees. The weather here has been nicer than ecpected. No rain and 22-33 by mid day.
April 4 - We are back in Osaka today from Kobe. We are here until Saturday when Beth and Ian fly back to Singapore and we go to Tokyo for our last few days. When we first came to Japan we stayed 2 nights at the Osaka Hilton. It was very nice - we used points. This time we are in a small apartment. It is large by Japanese standards but it is no Hilton. Also it is about 3 or 4 blocks from the better areas in Namba, so it's acceptable.
Before we left Kobe we had coffee at Starbucks - very unique building.
This evening we walked around the river in Osaka. It seemed busier than Times Square on New Years eve!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/vcpOSk52lsb78rby1
April 5 - We took another day trip by train today to Nara, the ancient capital of Japan. One of the highlights of our trip that has had many highlights. There are several temples in the same area. One temple is the largest wooden structure in the world. It houses a giant Buddha. Another temple has hundreds of concrete lamps along the paths to it as well as hundreds of metal lamps surrounding it. At the park there are over a thousand deer. Presumably the deer are messengers of the gods. They are very tame and pests for food. They walk wherever they want. So you need to be careful where you step. This is our last day trip. We will spend tomorrow sightseeing in Osaka.
April 6 - This is our last night in Osaka. Beth and Ian leave tomorrow morning to fly back to Singapore and we fly tomorrow afternoon to Tokyo. We spent the day walking along the river and enjoying the local food. A few pictures,
April 7 - We made it to Tokyo. The trip from our hotel to the Osaka airport went great. We arrived in plenty of time. The turbulence landing in Tokyo was very bad. It didn't help that all the children on board were crying. Set off by train from the airport and got very confused. Took the wrong train and all in all it was about 3 hours before we arrived at our hotel - it was exhausting. But it is a nice hotel and in an area of lots of restaurants. Tomorrow we will tour around.
April 8 -
Last night in Tokyo. We took it reasonably easy today. We are getting good at figuring out the subway system. If we were here for another week we would be travelling around like locals. We went to Senso-ji Temple this morning. Crowds were crushing. This is a very important site for the Japanese, so if you combine that with the tourists you get a lot of people. The streets around the temple are filled with shops selling everything.
After the Temple we walked to Ueno Park. This is a place where people from Tokyo go to walk but also to picnic. See in the pictures the large crowds sitting on plastic tarps. There are large groups of people together enjoying the weather and food. Notice they take their shoes off as they do at home. Every group was a big party. Many people bring food to eat but there are so many food vendors around that you certainly don't need to.
Well we are back hometomorrow night. Not looking forward to seeing the snow. Hoped that when we came back winter would be over. Guess not. Soon it will be back to the hard work of retirement!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/RzTvKaZJR53WDNJe2
