Blogs from Hiroshima, Japan, Asia - page 3

Woke very early this morning. We have a train to catch to Hiroshima and wanted to get away early. Alarm was set for 6:00 but we were both up before the alarm went off to finish packing bags before heading down to breakfast. We chose the Japanese breakfast this morning. It was a beautiful selection of tasty morsels of fish, rice, chicken, miso soup and some fruit to finish with. Portions were sensible and it was an excellent start to the day. Because we were up so early we were able to transfer to an earlier train once we were at the station. Again, our timing with catching trains and busses has been amazing. We arrived at the station around 7:45, swapped our tickets, and were pulling out of the station at 8:00 bound for Hiroshima. ... read more

Everyone has bowed to us as we’ve gone into and out of hotels, restaurants, shops, temples and museums all over Japan, and random people have sometimes even bowed to us in the street. We’ve very much got into the habit of bowing back, and sometimes we now even find ourselves bowing to people who haven’t bowed to us. We think that this is likely to be a hard habit to break, and we wonder how people will react if we start bowing to them when we get back home. I’ve known some people who would think it was only fitting that we bow to them whenever we see them, preferably as low and as frequently as possible. Fortunately I haven’t known too many of these people. I don’t think that many people could come to Hiroshima ... read more

Today we travel to Hiroshima. As we wait outside the hotel for our taxi we see a group of girls walk past along the footpath in single file, on their way to work. There is perfectly even spacing between them, and they are all identically dressed. They look like robots. We don’t think they’re too keen on individualism here in Japan. We've rarely seen anyone wearing outlandish clothes, or with unusual hairstyles, or even behaving unusually. Everyone just seems happy to conform and fit in. We decide to have breakfast at the station. I’m still hungry after last night‘s tofu hamburger fiasco, and I suggest to Issy that we have breakfast at McDonald's. She knows that I hate McDonald's, so she assumes that I’m joking. I assure her that I’m perfectly serious, and then add that ... read more

The city of Hiroshima makes a welcoming host. Our hotel is attached to the central station, which we’ve come to find is a boon in most places in Japan - easy access from our arrival train to your room and a convenient hub for local transit. From here, three bus routes circle the places you’d most like to check out. The one-day pass is cheapy-cheapy, and the service shames the hop-on-hop-off brand (not even available here) with their frequency. Hiroshima has a castle, akin to the Matsumoto and Kanazawa versions we’ve enjoyed. Numerous museums of art, walking trails, a shrine on a hill with a roof that sticks out above the trees like a centurion hat - I imagine a giant guy kneeling under the trees ready to rise at a moment’s notice. The city is ... read more

Haïku du jour Soleil couchant La grenouille aussi Est en larmes (Kobayashi Issa) Poursuite du périple sur Honshu de Kyoto à Hiroshima avant d'embarquer demain pour Shikoku 9h à Matsue nous prenons en sens inverse le train qui nous a amenés de Okayama par la vallée de la rivière Takahashi. Bref panorama du Mont Daïzen enneigé entre deux montagnes verdoyante croqué sur mon carnet. Puis en shinzansen d'Okayama à Hiroshima où nous arrivons vers 13h. Première visite pour le Parc de la Paix à l'épicentre de l'explosion de la bombe atomique qui a tué 140 000 personnes le 6 mai 1945. Seul vestige conservé et qui n'avair pas été complètement rasé, le palais des expositions du ministère de l'industrie signe le devoir de mémoire. Sinon le parti pris du site est tourné vers l'avenir et l'espoir ... read more