a girls best friend... her credit card?

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i think japan can be summed up in one word... shopping. if nothing else, you can find more shopping in any corner of the city then even NYC. I have yet to find many shops with western sizes, but when i do... haha. In Osaka we stayed at the strangest hotel, where there were no bathrooms in the room, just toilets per floor, and shower rooms on the first floor... and men and women had different shower times. Apparently I was not allowed to be clean before 9am... needless to say we didnt recommend that spot to many people. One plus was this huge spa called Spa World right next to us where for $10 we could use the pool, gym, and sauna... the only way to describe this place is to think of yet another mall... but a naked mall. There is no chance for shyness in the locker rooms haha... in order to get to the saunas you must make your way through about 4 pools of bathing naked women. Apparently communal bathing is really popular in Japan and people spend alot of time at these types of spas... as for Osaka it was a fun city for shopping and people watching.

We spent two days in Hiroshima which was amazing... seeing the bomb memorial and museum is definitely a must for Japan. There were some amazing photos of the before and after effects of the nuclear bomb in 1945... again really sad images of the locals and side effects of radiation. We rented a little voice recorder that explained different stages of the museum for $3... well worth it! so much more interesting having someone explain the historic events...

We took a day trip out to the island of Miyajima from Hiroshima which was incredible in the winter... i can´t imagine in the fall! the first thing we see getting off the ferry are deer walking around, so tame and trying to eat paper and maps from the tourists. The deer are so tame they go in and out of restaurants and shops on the island... such a fun thing to see walking around. we also saw Otorii Gate which was beautiful... really familiar from photos of Japan. The 5 story Pagoda is another famous image of Japan... the colour orange makes all their temples so striking. I really enjoyed spending the afternoon wandering the island, although every shop sold these maple shaped cookies... im thinking maple cookies... instead they are filled with beans and no maple at all.

From Hiroshima we´re working our way to Kyoto, Yokohama and again back to Tokyo... only 9 days left! So excited for the return back to Canada, but already have that bittersweet feeling... but you know what that means... there will just be more traveling to be had in the future. Can't wait to see everyone back home!

Cheers,
xo
jenna

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Photos

Hiroshima
At the Peace Memorial Park... building in background survived the nuclear bombing of 1945

Miyajima
Me petting the deer... good thing i got that rabies shot... oh shoot.

Otorii Gate
in low tides you can walk out the gate... a little too cold to attempt

Comments

[Aunt Marilyn]

love ya
Hey bear...you are having a fantastic trip...wow...

[Heather]

haha kul says that deer looks like it wants to eat your purse. 9 days left! wow, that went by so quickly. enjoy the time you have left :)