Osaka, Kyoto and Hiroshima, Japan

Asia » Japan » Osaka » Osaka
October 14th 2014

Published: October 16th 2014

Edit Blog Post

blancheque

Kaohsiung Airport

After checking in and making your way through security and customs, the departure area welcomes you. The surroundings are gorgeous. You can play Wii or get a massage for $10 while you wait for your flight.

Peach Air, a Japanese discount airline, offers cheap direct flights between Kaohsiung and Osaka, so we decided to visit Japan in small pieces. That way, we could save our longer holiday times for more extended trips. We decided that we would visit Kyoto on our September (Moon Festival) long week-end, and then the October (10/10) long week-end, we would visit Hiroshima. We would use the high speed rail called JR Rail to get to and from Osaka airport.

Japan has a population of 127 million people and because 70% of the country is unavailable for habitation, it is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. They have developed an intricate and effective rail system to move people about including a lot of High Speed Rail and many many local trains. The Japanese are obsessed with cleanliness, and it showed in how clean the city streets were. They carry that through to personal hygiene as well, most bathrooms are equipped with "bottom wash" toilets and there are bathrooms wherever people congregate. We.

We flew from Kaohsiung on Saturday, September 6th at 1PM and landed in Osaka. We managed to make our way from terminal 2 to terminal

Peach Airlines

This budget airline flies daily from Osaka to Kaohsiung and back. Return flights for the both of us are about $550 CAD.

1, and found the JR station in the airport easily enough. The staff spoke English, thankfully, and we purchased our Osaka Area Pass. We crossed the aisle to the train station and managed to find the right track for the train to Kyoto. When we arrived at the elaborate new Kyoto Rail and Transportation Hub, we exited facing the amazing Kyoto Tower. Thanks to Google Earth, we recognized exactly where we were and followed our Google Map directions straight to our B&B.

Our hosts were located in an older area of the city which used to be a somewhat seedy part of town. The area has since been cleaned up and many of the older houses which used to be brothels are now B&B's. The company we booked with had 6 or 7 of these houses, each with 3 or more bedrooms. They have a lucrative business going, as accommodations in Kyoto are expensive. We met at their local restaurant/bar, had a beer and were then escorted to our house. The main floor consisted of a narrow long kitchen with a bathroom at the rear. Stairs near the front door led upstairs to 3 bedrooms. We had a large

Kyoto Tower

After landing at the amazing rail station in Kyoto, we were told to use the exit facing the well lit Kyoto Tower. We couldn't miss it as it dominated the downtown core.

room with an old double bed, and a sheet. We were comfortable temperature wise, and made do with the lumpy mattress and thin pillows.

Next morning, we hit the streets, and headed for Kiyomizu-Dera Temple, which happened to be walking distance from where we were staying. We spent an hour or so making our way uphill, generally following the crowd. The temple sits on the mountainside overlooking the city and is spread over quite an area. It is made up of many different shrines and buildings that are located amongst the hills, the trees and the streams. We climbed the steps, peeked into the various venues, and after an hour or so made our way through back to the main entrance. We found a lovely local restaurant and dined on authentic Japanese cuisine. They did not speak a word of English, but were able to understand that we wanted to visit the Kyoto International Convention Center (KICC), and were able to convey to us that we should take the local bus #27 to the metro station and from there, to the Kyoto International Convention Center stop.

We walked down the hill, found the bus stop, waited for the

On Our Way

We visit one of the many temples in Kyoto. This one was walking distance from our B&B.

27 to come along, climbed on and disembarked when the bus driver indicated the metro entrance to use. We made our way uneventfully by metro to the KICC. We emerged from the subway into a world of greenery. In the distance we could see the convention center itself which turned out to be closed as there was no event on at the time. We walked along the front of the huge building, then made our way across the street to the Grand Prince Hotel. This was a luxury hotel so we had to have a peek. We entered the lobby and walked through to the restaurant area and then outside into the gardens. It was truly a grand place, definitely suitable for heads of state attending world conferences. After crossing the street, we continued on through the park and strolled around the small lake. It was very tranquil, very green and very lovely. People were out in paddle boats enjoying the scenery and taking in the sights, while on the jetties, others were feeding the huge and bountiful goldfish.

We left by metro once again, and traveled to the Gion district, a location known for its shopping and

Up We Go

We reached the edge of the city and started the climb to the temple that is situated on the side of the mountain.

restaurants. We found Teramachi Street, a covered walking street lined with shops and restaurants. We selected a French restaurant, climbed the stairs, and were soon seated. The first thing the waiter did was bring us warm wet cloths to wipe our faces, then brought us Kirin to drink, and took our orders. Delicious!

From there it was back to our B&B. Next morning, we ate our breakfast, took the train back to the airport, bought the obligatory sake at the duty free store, and flew back to Kaohsiung. We were back in our apartment by 3 in the afternoon, early enough for Linda to get a few hours of homework in. We felt rested and refreshed, and we felt the short trip was well worth the cost and the effort. We looked forward to our return to Japan on the 10/10 October long weekend.

Hiroshima, Friday, October 10th, 2014. We lounged at home then took the metro once again to the airport and caught our Peach Air flights.

We arrived in Osaka, Japan and went to a fast food place (Japanese style). We ordered and paid from a machine, one of their 20

Follow the Crowds

There were many people making their way to the temple, including these "geishas"???

items, and by the time we sat down, a person took our ticket, and our order came to us. It was 2 different types of a rice bowl. There were 8 different sauces on the table and we just chowed down. Yummy!

We wandered out onto the street. Maurice had looked at Google Street View and recognized the buildings and within a few minutes we were at our hotel, Via Inn. It was perfect. Very compact but it had everything and more than we needed!

Linda needed to check out our surroundings so we headed out down a street that appeared to have some action and pulled into a bar for a Kirin beer. They also specialized in barbeque organs, like 3rd stomach, 4th stomach, diaphragm, lungs and what not .... Good thing we just wanted a beer.

We slept well and were awake before the alarm. After showering, we headed downstairs for a scrumptious breakfast which included salad, fresh fruit, juice, assorted fresh made pastries, European sausages and coffee. Then it was off to the JR train station and the 300kph train to Hiroshima. We made our way out the North Exit and onto the sightseeing

Kiyomizu-Dera Temple

We took this picture so that we would have the name of the temple for this blog!

loop bus using our JR passes. First stop Hiroshima Castle, first constructed in 1589, destroyed by the Atomic bomb, then reconstructed in 1958. The castle is now a museum focusing on samurai culture.

We decided to walk through a beautifully cared for park and stop at the Sogo Mall for lunch of bibinbap ( a broiled bowl full of rice, raw egg, fish sauce, bits of shaved beef, mushroom and a side of kimchi) as well as glass noodles and shaved beef with pepper and Kirin beer. The meal was fantastic, and every bit as good as the guide books say it is. The view from the 8th floor was nice, below us was an entire floor dedicated to hands on kids play.

We walked on to the A-bomb Dome, one of the few buildings left/still standing after the bomb destroyed 92% of Hiroshima's buildings. Some 70,000–80,000 people, of whom 20,000 were soldiers, or around 30% of the population of Hiroshima, were killed by the blast and resultant firestorm,and another 70,000 injured. In total, it is estimated that somewhere around 150,000 inhabitants died within a few weeks. Many people believe these numbers to be conservative.

The Atomic

Lots of Buildings and Lots of People

There were crowds of sightseers all over, it was difficult to get around.

Bomb Dome was an Exhibition Center built in 1915 and on August 6, 1945 it was severely damaged and burnt by the first Atomic bomb ever used in warfare. What remains is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We walked across the Aioi-bashi Bridge, which was the target of the A-bomb, to the Hypocenter which is a black empty lot in the middle of this rebuilt city. From there we strolled around Peace Memorial Park and it's 67 memorials dedicated to remembering the horror and working towards everlasting peace. The Peace Memorial Museum displayed materials and graphic scenes of that fateful day, and the ongoing devastation and abnormalities attributed to the A-bomb. They have done a wonderful job of creating a pretty and peaceful park.

We caught the 45 minute ferry from the Peace Park to Miyajima Island. We got off the ferry and headed towards the Itsukushima Shrine. The crowds enjoyed the deer strolling alongside looking for food on the way to the shrine. What a quaint place! The great Torii Shrine was constructed in 1168 and was built about 200 meters offshore. It is considered the boundary between the spirit and the human worlds and is a

Local Transportation

This guy was taking a break and getting a drink after towing his chariot up the hill.

true marvel of architecture built in such a way that when the tide comes in it appears to be floating gracefully in the sea. The Itsukushima Shinto Shrine is also a UNESCO site which consists of 17 houses belonging to the main shrine complex and is lacquered in vermillion. We wished we could have spent a night here to enjoy more of this unique area. They say that the view from the top of Mt. Misen, a 2 hour hike, is one of the most beautiful in all of Japan. Another time I guess, as it was getting dark.

We took the ferry, then the train back to Hiroshima, caught the JR train back to Osaka, completing our day. We spent a memorable day, experiencing a huge range of emotions as we toured these historical locations! And ...... another item off our 'bucket list'.

We quite enjoyed the 2 sided pillows that allowed us comfort and supported our necks, providing us with a wonderful night's sleep. We've never experience these types of pillows before, and believe the Japanese are onto something!

Next morning we were up at 6:30AM, showered, packed, and enjoyed once again breakfast in the

Kyoto International Conference Center

This was a must see for Maurice. Here, in 1997, the Kyoto Accord was signed.

hotel, including EXCELLENT coffee, which is very important for Linda. We then had a short 7 minute walk to platform 11 and were soon on our way to Kansai airport. Once on the aircraft, we were warned that we may experience some turbulence because of typhoon Vongfong while en route to Kaohsiung. However, it was hardly noticeable and after a nice flight, we arrived on time about 2PM and were back in our apartment by 3PM.

Additional photos below

Photos: 59, Displayed: 29