A new adventure has begun…with a delayed flight in Seattle. Hopefully the high altitude winds will speed up this high speed fighter and we will make our connection.
Right now we are enjoying the nice service on Asiana Airlines.
Posted from WordPress for Windows Phone 8!
Today we started out with a nice 10K run down to the bay 🙂
and then took the electric street cars to head over to the atomic museum and ground zero in Hiroshima. It was another day of gorgeous weather.
The Hiroshima peace park and museum is a must see.
The city view after the bomb was dropped.
The museum is one of the best I have ever been to…and I am only limiting my photos out of respect of what happened here 70 years ago.
One gem was the National Peace Memorial Hall for the victims that is not visited by many, but when you go down and stand in the middle, you truly FEEL like you are standing in the middle of the devastation.
Very emotional…
This was the still standing “dome” after the blast which was only 150 meters away from the actual calculated ground zero.
So much to see here…it is all hard to believe what occurred.
For the afternoon, I then headed south with Brian (Australian friend) to a city called Kure to explore a little more military history. Kure is one of the active Japanese naval self-defense bases. The standard choices in the Kure train station are…a little “edgier” than the larger cities…
The nice attraction is two museums right next to the submarine base.
One museum provides a current view of their minesweeper mission and also a tour of a recently retired submarine.
Completely free admission.
The other museum is the Yamamoto museum which is more of a Japanese WWII naval history focused on the battleships.
Detailed history on the ships, weaponry and role of aviation on the battleship.
Excellent museum and self-paced audio guide for only 500 yen.
It was a great historic visit. How many people can say that ran in Hiroshima?
Running around the world is always fun. Some of my other favorite spots:
We received the alert that the Asimo robots were on the loose and the authorities needed help in locating and capturing them. http://topekasnews.com/asimo-robot-kills-two-scientists-japan-escapes-laboratory/.
The rumor was they were headed to the islands, so we hopped on a train through the mountains to see if we might be able to thwart their escape. We first stopped at the Mihara Station where they were having an octopus festival, but no luck.
We then headed towards the Tadanoumi Port.
From there, we boarded a boat for Omihima Island. We were afraid that they might have hijacked the liquid natural gas (LNG) boat to create a huge explosion, but our fears were mitigated.
We then went to the Shinto temple area to check out the 2,000 and 3,000 year old camphor trees that were still living.
We were concerned they may try to hide in one of them and attack some tourists.
From there we were able to get a nice view of the Tatara bridge. I only wish we had some more time to go running along that bridge. We will hopefully get a nice run in Hiroshima tomorrow morning.
OK – dead end on this island. We crossed the bridge and went over to Ikuchi-shima island. We had a nice traditional Japanese lunch and then took a side trip to visit the nearby Ikuo Hirayama Museum of Art in Setoda.
Ikuo’s art was an interesting story as he was a survivor of the blast in Hiroshima when he was very young and in junior high school. He then travelled the world and the silk road to experience the sites and Buddhist heritage from around the world. It was amazing that even travelled to Afghanistan to visit the giant Buddha in Afghanistan before it was destroyed by the Taliban a few years later.
We then took a hike up the Kojo-ji temple which is a three tier pagoda to see if the robots might be paying homage at that national shrine which has a fantastic view of the Inland Sea area.
Unfortunately, when we looked out amongst the islands, we saw they were ahead of us and we needed to return to the mainland for any hope catching them.
We grabbed a ferry back to the mainland and the locals wished us well to get the rogue robots when we left.
We were so tempted to get the fried octopus for a snack on the train back to Hiroshima.
Only $10 (US). What a deal! Stay tuned for the next chapter…
The one thing we learned today is that pagodas in Japan are the same as Stupas in India and Nepal. The purpose is the same, but the culture and style are different in every country. Learn something new every day!
We took the bullet train west to Hiroshima and checked into our hotel. We then headed a little bit south around the bay.
We had lunch in the industrial modern city to see what might be different. There are some seafood specialties here in Hiroshima. The Australians lost the bet and they were the first ones to cave in and grab some local McDonalds were lunch. The Raman noodles with oysters and eels was quite good. We tried the local beer with lunch ourselves:
It was almost like a Red Hook beer from Seattle. Yummy!
We then took the ferry over to Miyakima Island to check out the famous Itsukushima Shrone for the Torii Gate in the sea.
Also a surprise on the island were the tame deer. They just hung out and took naps under the trees with no concerns at all.
Unfortunately, high tide was not until 7:00 PM so we were not able to experience the shrine floating on the water, but it was a nice spot to visit and take in the intent of the temple. Very popular island only a half hour away from the center of Hiroshima by train.
After visiting the shrine, we took a nice nature hike around the village to visit the pagodas and Zen streams.
We took it easy since it was pretty hot and sunny…but the cool trails were a nice way to relax.
Coming back to the ferry port, we walked back along the shore and barely made it back before being trapped by the ocean coming in.
The cool thing is we got to observe all the miniature crabs and millions of tiny nautilus that were still alive. Always an adventure!
One thing I must admit has been nice in the hotels in Japan is the fresh slippers and kimonos to wear in the room every day. A different culture and tradition, but I must admit, you get used to it really quick!
Our final day in Kyoto was to check out a few more things before we head south. Last night, we did have an opportunity to learn about and listen to a little traditional Japanese music. The Japanese bamboo flute is not easy to learn….that is for sure.
This morning, we thought the best way to check out the Imperial Gardens in Kyoto is to run through them.
Nice way to kick off the day, but it is closer to a 12K run. Highly recommend for runners visiting Kyoto.
We then headed back to the northwest of Kyoto to check out the Monkey Park.
It is known locally as Iwatayama Park or Monkey Mountain.
It is one heck of a hike.
Steep, but not crowded outside of a handful of people.
But the views of Kyoto are amazing. The monkeys run free and are very friendly.
It is fun to feed them and watch the babies compete with the adults
And the youngsters compete with the koi fish for peanuts.
It was so hot, we decided we deserved ice cream after that climb. To end the day, we went to the Kyoto museum.
It had a nice French collection this month and we were able to view a large number of Monets we had never seen before. Great collection and a small, but very nice museum. Very popular with the local crowd.
One more dinner and then we take the bullet train to Hiroshima tomorrow!
We went to the northern part of Kyota near the Togetsu-kyo Bridge where there is a couple of highlights not well known by many tourists.
We will share one today and share the secret of the second tomorrow. The first was a small hike up to the Senko-hi Temple.
It was built originally in 1614 but recently reconstructed due a typhoon a few years ago. It rum by Monk Obayashi to evangelism Zen Buddhism and maintain the temple.
Everyone is welcome and the views of the city and surrounding area are gorgeous.
We even joined a ceremonial tea session and some meditation guidance on how to solve the conflict in the Ukraine.
Definitely worth a visit and an awesome hike near Kyoto.
We then ventured out into the farming region a little south of Kyoto but not all the way to the Kobe cattle region. Many people do not know that most Samurai were from farming families. The highlight of this excursion was to check out another Samurai residence (known as the Heki Residence) which was built and used in the Edo period.
We stopped and had lunch in the house with the family (the husband is actually in Samauri lineage). Many movies are actually made here because some parts of the home are still original. But if you look close, you can see that modern Samurai are high tech now.
Yes – we had to start the day off with an early morning run along the river. Gorgeous weather and wildlife along the way.
It was so tempting to follow the river all the way to the mountains…I was tempted, but the trail stopped and you could only run along the street to get to the mountain area 😦
Running around the world is always fun. Some of my other favorite spots:
We then ventured off to the contemporary art museum on the east side of town – designated by a huge arch/gate (Tori). The largest we have ever seen before in Japan.
And then to the Noh performance hall. Today being a holiday was a great opportunity to join the half-hour long performances by many local amateurs.
Another amazing experience…and it was quite an honor to be welcomed as westerners in these activities.
Since we were close by, we could not resist visiting the Kyoto zoo.
They had a nice selection of animals in a surprisingly small facility. I felt bad for the animals though.
Speaking of animals, on the way back to our hotel, we saw this very strange shop/exhibit/store…not sure what. It all these animal heads and bodies in the window.
I have no idea what this was all about, so we kept moving.
And yes, Starbucks is very popular here in Japan. I think the Starbucks density is greater here in Japan than Seattle.
If interested, here are my other posts on Kyoto:
A little rain today so it felt like home as we explored this city a little further. Our first stop was the Golden Pavilion (Kinkaku-ji) that was a very picturesque park and set of small temples. The temple is covered with 300,000 sheets of gold leaf.
Next, we went to Sanjusangendo (三十三間堂) which is famous for its 1001 statues of Kannon, the goddess of mercy and was originally built in 1164. It is an amazing site to see, but they don’t let you take pictures.
In the center of the building there is a huge statue of a 1000-armed Kannon (Senju Kannon) that is flanked on each side by 500 statues of human sized 1000-armed Kannon standing in ten rows.
You do have to follow the instructions to use the bathrooms though.
We stopped by Kyoto University where the Japanese pronounced war against the US and the UK in 1941 at this spot:
and then had a fantastic lunch in a French restaurant inside of the main hall.
Later in the afternoon, we went to Kiyomizu-dera which is the most popular national site in Japan. It starts with a nice walk in the trails through the hills and trees…
It is an amazing structure on the side of the mountain. It is hard to believe not a single nail is used in the structure.
Great view of the city in the distance.
Many people flock to the temple and surrounding area and rent kimonos to celebrate the experience.
Many kilometers of shopping on the way out as you head to the famous pagoda at the exit.
Then, to end the day, we finally went to a Wagu/Kobe beef steakhouse. Itoh – which was a Nobu subsidiary http://www.itoh-dining.co.jp/kyoto_shop/index.html.
It was simply amazing…the steak melts in your mouth. It was like magic and worth every penny. What an amazing dinner in Japan and there was no sushi at all in the 5 course meal.
And surprisingly, there was a Geisha walking down the street just after we finished dinner. Always something new to see while visiting this city…
Here are some of the other places we visited in Japan on this trip:
We met with a local family in their home before leaving Kanazawa…we met a fantastic man and his wife. He was part of a big family that makes and sells Sake in Japan. Wonderful experience.
We then took the train to Kyoto. Gorgeous ride along the lake and mountains. Great time to catch up on some reading along the way.
Kyoto is full of energy without a doubt. Different than other cities in Japan.
The shopping street at night is also crazy! Definitely not to be missed.
More will be coming tomorrow after touring around the city today.
One cool thing about Japan is that you can actually drink the water out of the tap…but if you need a drink…vending machines are almost every 100 meters on every street, alley or country road. They have more coffee in a can choices than I can count!
We spent a few days exploring Kyoto, so here are some of my other postings:
Today was a holiday across Japan so we got to hang out with the various radical political groups around the city Kanazawa.
It was fun walking from location to location and joining them. The most interesting were the groups with the most police standing by.
Our true goal was to try and visit the Prefecture History Museum which has many samurai exhibits and gear you can even try on, but it is under renovation until March 2015 😦
So, instead we visited the Honda Zohinkan museum. It was small and an overpriced entrance, but it was an interesting perspective of the Honda family. The poster is the only picture they let us take.
We then found our way to Teramachi Temple area.
This a great area to visit in Kanazawa in my humble opinion…I don’t think it is a place where many western tourists visit.
But is a very quiet and serene gem to seek out.
The best hidden secret (pun intended) is the Ninja Temple, or the proper name is the Myoryuji Temple.
It is very similar to the Winchester House in San Jose, California. Hidden stairs, trap doors, etc. It is only in Japanese and you have to make reservations. But if you are sly, you can convince them to let you in and give you a English pamphlet and it will make your day. It will take some time and patience, but one place I can definitely recommend to visit in Japan.
Here are some of the other places we visited in Japan on this trip:
David Cross Travel Blog 