Blogs from Hiroshima, Japan, Asia - page 9

From Itsukushima Shrine to the Atomic Bomb Dome We are sorry to say this but it's got to suck to live in Hiroshima. Pretty much everybody in the world know about Hiroshima for one reason only, the city was once wiped out by an atomic bomb. Even though the atomic bomb is a central part of the history of Hiroshima there is more to that city than that. Hopefully this blog entry will make at least a few people aware of other places worth mentioning in and around one of the most well known cities in the world. But if you read this blog entry for the sole purpose of learning a bit more about what a piece of weaponry named Little Boy did to Hiroshima in the end of the summer in 1945 we will ... read more

Sakura Season, the Onomichi Trip, and the Return Home Well, I returned from Japan on Tuesday, April 1, and have been meaning to finish up the blog with one last post. It’s a bit late, but here it is now. Towards the end of my last week in Japan, the cherry blossoms came out, and so I was able to do some flower viewing. The pink ume blossoms had been out for a while, and they were beautiful, so I didn’t fully appreciate why people kept anticipating the cherry blossoms. When they came out, it was spectacular. Lining the Nikokawa (river) in Kure, a formerly bleak winter scene, rows of cherry blossoms exploded with life, and with the blossoms, people began returning from their winter hideaways. The river banks were lined with old men ... read more

We took a day trip from Hiroshima to the island of Miyajima. It is meant to be one of Japan’s most visited places, though it wasn't somewhere we had heard of before coming here. We had however, seen photos of The O-Torii Gate, we just didn't realise where it was. Even way back in 1643, Miyajima was being described as one of the three most scenic spots in Japan. This was by a Confucian scholar, Shunsai Hayashi, who had written a book about his travels through Japan on foot. In 1996, World Cultural Heritage status was bestowed on part of the island including the O-Torii Gate, Itsukushima Shrine and the Mt Misen Forest. Mt Misen is the tallest peak on Miyajima at 535m. It is covered with primeval forest and has been considered sacred since 'ancient' ... read more

The last full day of my vacation, I traveled out to Onomichi, which took 90 minutes by the local train, which was one of the most beautiful train rides I've had here. It was definitely taking us through the countryside, dotted with houses and farms and temples nestled against the backdrop of the hills and trees. Completely amazing, and I really enjoyed it. The purpose of going to Onomichi was to hit up Shimanami Kaido, which is a 70km bike trail that goes across six islands. I knew I wouldn't be able to make it the whole way, because I hadn't been on a bike in about fifteen years, but I wanted to see how far I could go, and to take in the oceanside views the route offered. When I arrived at Onomichi, I grabbed ... read more

I woke up feeling ready to tackle the day after my first night's stay (though my hostel was wonderful and comfortable, a reoccurring issue with hostels in general is the other guests and how loud they are). I had an itinerary planned out so that I knew what I wanted to do, and my main reason for going to Hiroshima was to visit the peace museum and atomic bomb-related memorials. Since I'd walked through the remains of a concentration camp in Germany, I knew I wanted to do this to round out my World War II visitations, and to make sure that I never forgot the horrible things that humans can do to other humans. It's important never to let history die, lest we risk making the same mistakes again. Seeing as how Japan is my ... read more