Japan - Hiroshima & Kyoto

Hiroshima

Got the famous shinkansen (bullet train) to Hiroshima. Yeah its fast, and on time, and spacious - could fit my massive backpack in the seat with me! And fell asleep almost immediately...there's something about the transport here in Japan; it just sends me to sleep! You see all the businessmen fast asleep on the Tokyo metro, well I was there with them dribbling on my jumper, and the same for the train to Hiroshima. Managed to wake up in time to change trains and get off in the right place, thankfully.

Arrived late in the afternoon so wandered around and saw the famous landmark of the city, the 'A-bomb dome' which is one of the few structures to have survived the atomic bomb ( dropped at 8.15am, August 6th, 1945 - I learnt it off by heart from the museum the next day). It stands out in particular because its actually a European style building, with a green dome on the top, and the rafters of the dome survived so it really looks like a skeleton of a building. They were actually going to pull it down at one point, but fortunately decided to keep it as a reminder of the bombing. And it would be so easy to forget or not realise that Hiroshima had had an atomic bomb dropped on it a mere 60 years ago, as it is such a lively and upbeat place, with a huge street which is an entirely covered shopping area. There are millions of bars and places to eat there - it's a really pleasant and enjoyable city. That evening I had the nicest Okonomiyaki which is a pancake filled with cabbage, beansprouts, pork, and the hiroshima speciality is to add a huge lump of noodles. I chose prawns as well, and it also has a fried egg on top, with some nice strong-flavoured sticky sauce, and sprinklings of parsley. What made it the best was mostly the place, as the chef cooked it directly in front of me on a giant hotplate, so I saw all the ingredients going in fresh. Had that with some warm sake. Lovely.

Next day went to Mirajima, a small island near Hiroshima with lots of temples to visit. Its famous mostly for some huge red torii (gates) which appear to be floating in the water at high tide, but which are in fact planted in the sand. Very picturesque. Apart from the huge groups of school children swarming around (they're ALWAYS swarming around, wherever you go!), there were also lots of pretty deer hanging around on the island, even sneaking into some of the shops. And right at the top on the highest point of the islands, there are monkeys too.

In afternoon went to the Peace Museum to earn more about the A-bomb dropping and its effects, and also interestingly the planning behind the dropping of the bomb. It seems to me like it was dropped more because millions of $ had been spent making the thing and they wanted to show that it wasn't money for nothing. Pretty sick. Not that I'd think there were any good reasons to drop it anyway. Though to be honest, I found it really difficult to imagine the whole thing happening. There were models of the city razed to literally nothing apart from 5 or 6 buildings still barely standing. But having seen the city as it is now, and with all the schoolkids running around screaming, it was so hard to imagine what it must have been like.

Kyoto

Stayed in a cheap (for Japan = 2000 Yen / 10 pounds / AUD$25) hostel, Japanese stylee, sleeping on the tatami mats on the floor on a futon. Met a German girl shortly after arriving, and we went to see the famous Kinkakuji (Golden Temple), which, believe it or not, is covered in gold. It really is a beautiful sight, with a lake all around it, and the pretty maple leaves hanging off the trees. The trees are so pretty here, it's as though each leaf has been handcrafted to perfection by Gepetto and brought to life by the Blue Fairy....

All the other sites were closed by the time we'd seen that, so we went SHOPPING! Oh how I miss shopping! And how this is the best place to start shopping again!

Today, to balance out the gorgeous sunshine we'd been having all week, it rained. It rained for at least 9 hours non-stop. But it didn't stop us going round 4 temples/shrines/stone gardens. My feet are still wet coz I haven't been back to the hostel yet (eek its nearly midnight!). Anyway, the rain didn't make it look any less beautiful. It seems all these things have been designed to look good in rain, shine or snow. And it didn't stop any of the million of Japanese tourists. Everyone had the same 100 Yen see-through umbrella. All templed out again now though. We got stopped about 6 times today by people wanting their photo with us, or children wanting to ask us where we were from and what our addresses were. My friend said she was from Germany, and a poor sweet child asked for clarification: "In America?" No, the Germany in Africa, actually. No we're not from the States! I can't figure out yet if it's expected as there are lots of Americans here, or if it's hoped for coz they like Americans?? It was quite embarrassing at first, then funny, being celebrities, then a bit annoying so we just kept busy and avoided eye contact.

After Kyoto, I headed up further north in Japan, to Aizu Wakamatsu and Matsushima...