Hiroshima

Bleary eyed after another early start we stumbled out of the tram into the Memorial Peace Park that remains witness to the event of 6th August 1945, 8:15am. The first sight that we came upon was The A-Bomb Dome. It used to be the former Industrial Promotion Hall. The large part of the frame of the building remained after the blast due it’s structure and material, since then the skeleton of the dome has been restored to create an idea of what it once looked like. The building now stands as one of the many reminders of the blast and is in the UNESCO World heritage list.

Walking around to the back of the dome we were soon approached by a free tour guide. He is one of many free tour guides that come to the park everyday to tell people their story, to make sure that this doesn’t happen again. His mother was pregnant with him at the time of the blast but was fortunate to be outside of the main blast radius. However she was affected by the residual fall out. With him, he had many photographs both personal and archival and took us to see a few memorials outside the park. One of which were some granite gravestones that were smooth and polished on the outside but all the surfaces on top where rough and hewn where the bomb had melted the crystals. Incredibly, his mother was to celebrate her 91st birthday that very next day. The fact that he brought the bombing onto a very personal level made it all the more real. Sometimes it can be unfathomable to think that thousands of people disappeared in the blink of an eye.

By this time it was lunch and after a bit of food the sombre tone that had fell upon the group started to shift a little. Looking around there were many other tourists and school children and scores of wildlife. It was hard to think of this place as desolate field. After lunch we strolled through the park taking in the memorials. The children’s memorial is dedicated to all the children who died and in particular, Sadako Sasaki, who was affected by the fallout. Folklore has it that is someone folds a thousand paper cranes they will be granted a wish. Unfortunately Sadako did not finish her cranes but today many people around the world send in cranes to be displayed near the memorial.

Above is a photo of the flame which will continue to burn until the world is rid of nuclear weapons. Call me cynical but I don’t think that will ever go out. Finally we made it to the main museum where it went into great detail about the bombing, how it was made, the moments leading up to it and how everything had changed after it. What surprised me most was that the Japanese don’t hate Americans and neither to they hold any bitterness towards them, they just want to make sure that nuclear weapons will never be used again.

Fix the problem not the blame.

The Big Capital 'T'

My eyelids creaked open like metal shutters, scratching my corneas with the texture of sandpaper. I sauntered down to reception where we were still locked in. Hmm, no coffee at 4am except for the cold cans of it in the vending machine. Iced coffee and teas is a big thing here. My caffeine cravings started to awake so I dared to try the coffee aptly named "THE BLACK". It really is exactly what is says on the can. After a few grimaces and body tremors it goes down quite well.

Tokyo is the place most people associate with Japan. The bustling city streets, skyscrapers and the multitude of lights. To get there from Osaka it is three hours train ride... so getting up at 4 was essential. We were on the Shinkansen again like a giant sperm racing across Japan. The train ride soon passed and we arrived in another concrete jungle. We had an idea of where to go thanks to another traveller from the hotel. He pointed us in the direction of a shopping district called Shibuya so off we headed. Taking yet another train we came out on the world's busiest pedestrian crossing in the world with an estimated 2.4 million people crossing it every day!

The shopping here was very expensive with lots of department stores and specialist shops. So instead of helping the economy buying overpriced clothing and things-I-think-I-want-but-actually-don't I went and sat in a coffee shop overlooking the intersection. After snapping a few shots we were politely asked not too... anyone would think we were tourists.

After lunch we walked to the Sony Centre to check out its latest and greatest offerings. There was some advanced technology but at some very advanced prices. Still I have picked out my next laptop which is a snip at £900. After drooling over the technology we hopped on another train to a market in the Ueno district. This time there was a lot more things in everyone's price range. After half an hour looking though all I bought was some juicy looking (and tasting) melon for 70p.

That pretty much filled up our day in Tokyo, but I would love to come back someday and really explore all this city alone has to offer. It's a shame it took so long to get there. On the way back at the station we saw something peculiar. The Shinkansen was being cleaned by a team of pink ninjas. On closer inspection they were women who removed all the headrest covers replaced them, wiped the armrests and seats and cleaned the floor all in time for people to board the train and for it to leave exactly on time. The Japanese think of everything... everything.

This is a photo of the Nozomi Shinkansen, the fastest train they have. Clearly it's a plane in disguise. For more on the Shinkansen click here.

Himeji-jo

The Bullet Train

So we were told that we must go to Himeji Castle before we leave Japan as it's much better than Osaka Castle; and they were not wrong. We flew there on the Shinkansen. When I use the word 'flew' I am not kidding. The train looks like a plane from the front, inside it's like a small plane only with more leg room and it is as quiet as a plane too.

Inside there are two seats running down one side of the carriage and three down the other, also they recline! We found out that you can flip the seats 180 using a little lever. They do this so at the end of the line they flip all the seats round to face the direction of travel. Also it creates plenty of leg room.

Exiting the station a huge boulevard stretched before us like a drive way to the castle that lay before us atop a huge hill. From the sation it didn't look that big whilst we were surround by the lurking shadows of other high rises, but this was an understatement. We entered the 'keep' of the castle by crossing over the outer moat into what was a huge field bordered with cherry blossom. Surrounding the field were more gardens. The white wash of the castle made it stand out brilliantly from the blue azure background.

Inside the castle there are many little nooks and craneys where titbits of history were sprinkled salaciously. The castle itself is occupied with 7 floors all of which are in their original condition. Most of them stand open and empty allowing the visitors to fill the space with their imagination of Samauri fortifying the windows. I like that it has been left this way in its original condition as its gives a better idea of how the castle was operated. The fact that I snook in for under 15 made it all the more worthwhile.

Big Buddha...Seriously Big Buddha

Another cultural day today! We departed for Nara park but got on the wrong train but this being the Japan rail system there was another train in no time. Nara park is home to three major temples and deer, lots of deer. They are very tame deer, probably because of the tourists. I'm glad we don't look like tourists with our maps and pharse books. We picnic-ed in a park then set off for Todaiji temple.

The Todaiji is currently the biggest wooden structure in the world when encompassing all of the building. But wait, it used to be a third bigger! Inside there in only room for one thing. A giant bronze Buddha statue. There is barely enough room for the hundreds of tourists all clamouring for a photo of it. We didn't do or see much today but what we had seen was very impressive. Also the tame deer were a bonus.

Geisha Girls

Over the past couple of days we have met a dew interesting people through the hotel lobby. One of which is a man called Alan. He's British born, lived most of his life in Japan but now lives in Australia with his Japanese wife. He's had several businesses in the past one of which was conducting tours in Japan. How very fortunate. He lost most of his businesses in the Kobe earthquake and is keen to start them up again. He has been so fascinated by what we are doing, in terms of coming to a country we've never been to before, bringing lots of kids with us and hardly speaking the language. In his admiration he offered to show us around Kyoto for the day.

We took a train to Kyoto where there is a Shinto temple (Shinto and Buddhism are the main religions of Japan). Also they have a lot of Maiko training houses, which are Geisha in training. The Geisha's that we saw were not strikingly beautiful but, when dressed up in their full outfit, they exude a certain curiosity. Somewhat like beautiful fragile dolls.

Kyoto itself was much the same as Osaka, busy, urban and compact. It was a short walk to the start of the temple, which could be seen at the end of the street looming high on the mountain. A short walk brought us to a temple in a courtyard where a traditional Shinto wedding was taking place. It was strange for it to be taking place there as there were hundred of tourists clamouring round for a photo. I tried to rise above it but snapped away instead. But if you have enough money you'll want to flaunt it with a public wedding.

We continued up the mountain finding small alleys abundant with shops selling all sorts, mainly tourist tat. From the top of the hillside, their were views over all of Kyoto, once again it was strange to be surrounded by centuries of history yet looking at the urban jungle below. The temple was a few structures with Shinto shrines inside. There are also lots of pieces of paper tied to trees and posts, which are fortunes that people have bought. If you don't like it you tie it to something. The walk around it and the setting was very picturesque. Whenever the Maiko appeared they would soon be followed and hounded by cameras. I saw one of them cheekily checking her mobile phone. Probably checking her Facebook, even the Maiko can't resist.

The temple gave a good idea of how the Samurai and monks lived back then; high, powerful and dominant on the hillside. Glorious.

Cherry Blossom

One of the main attractions in Osaka is the castle located in the main park. We had been there yesterday so it was a breeze finding our way back to it. By the time we arrived it was already lunch and I tucked down into it. I never seem to have enough food for me throughout the day.

After lolling on the grass for an hour we made a move for the castle. The castle is nothing at all like the architypal English castle, so it seems strange to call it a castle. It looks more like a glorified Japanese temple, and much more decorative than our castles. The castle isself is located on an island surrounded by a moat, within another island surround by a moat...so it's fairly foritfied. Inside the castle it has been renovated and is museum displaying artifacts and generally explaing the history of it and the area. I would have preffered to see it as it was 400 years ago.

The view from the top is the highlight and it is very striking to see such an ancient structure surrounded by the metropolis of buildings. It seems that much of Japan is like that, they seem to to retain their most sacred history and build around and indeed right up to it to make the best use of space.

After sauntering around the castle all day we shaded ourselves under a cherry tree grove. Walking round we could see many a buisness company coming to the park and setting up for what looked like an outdoor dinner. They had beer, sushi, rice and noodles and everything else one needs. Some had even set up lanterns, strung up in the trees. I could just imagine serious business deals taking place under the cherry blossom in the fading light. I think that's where all important decisions should be made. What better surroundings could one have?

Traditional Culture

Today we travelled to the Dawn Centre to take part in a Taiko Drumming workshop. We asked the man at our hotel desk where the subway station was and all he could infer to us was "3". 3? 3 steps, blocks, miles? Ah, maybe three roads down. After getting to the third road and realising we were no nearer to a station we backtracked to the hotel, where we saw no more than ten metres from our hotel, subway entrance number 3.

Our next stumbling block was to buy tickets for everyone. After a long and incomprehensible conversation with the guard there, he pointed us in the direction of the machines. Complete with English translation.

The Taiko drumming is part of the Japanese culture that originated in the temples and shrines. The two players were very professional and played with precision and ease. We played with irregularity and incompetence. The beats and rhythm that they use are very different to Western styles and too a while getting used to. Throughout the two hour workshop we managed to learn a short tune and even make it sound somewhat like the actual beat.


After the workshop we all walked to Osaka Castle Park with the translators from the workshop. Funnily one of them lived in Norwich for 6 months and had even visited the university where I go! It really is a small world. We dined looking out over the castle under the cherry blossom, something about being outside really does make food taste better.



From the park we travelled a short way to a traditional Noh theatre, the traditional style of theatre in Japan. It involves a lot of singing/chanting, fan work and masks. The theatre is breathtaking when you walk in and is entirely not what you expect to find. I was very fortunate, or so I was told, to have the opportunity to be dressed as a Geisha. The players kitted me out in the very extravagant robes and even had a wig made from horse hair. All that was needed was a mask to complete the piece and voila, I looked like a 20 year old Geisha.


We returned to the park where we attracted some local girls and we all got talking. After half an hour of sharing stories and asking questions, the girls left. They soon returned though, bearing gifts of sweets which cost £14. We found out later that it was there way of giving a part of their culture to us, and in return we gave them some English money which they cooed over in awe.