Blogs from Iwakuni, Yamaguchi, Japan, Asia

Monday, 24th June 2019 I started my morning routine at Doutor for my usual 390-yen egg sandwich and coffee fix at JR Kokura Station before embarking on my journey to Iwakuni, some 172km away. The itinerary for this morning included a visit to the iconic Kintai Bridge, first built in 1673 across the Nishiki River. While the wooden bridge today is a replica, it was nevertheless a joy to visit as I made my way slowly across the bridge towards the Iwakuni Castle. From the top of the castle, the views over the city and Hiroshima Bay were unrivaled. From Iwakuni, I took another 23 minutes train ride to Miyajimaguchi where the World Heritage Site, the Itsukushima Shinto Shrine was accessible after about 10 minutes ferry ride from the train station. Having visited the shrine for ... read more

Ohayou Gozaimasu! Yesterday was my first full day in Japan. And it was a fantastic day! Due to some work constraints my brother is unable to travel really past the Yamaguchi prefecture. So I will not be hitting up the main tourist spots around Tokyo, Okinawa, etc etc. Am I disappointed? Hell no! There is so much to do here! And so much to absorb. I love wandering into obscure, less traveled areas. You can really get a feel for true culture – not watered down for tourists. That is not to say I do not enjoy some of the American comforts of staying on an American military base. It is quite nice actually. Feels like a little slice of home, even though I am so far away. Vacation is not an excuse to turn into ... read more

(I wrote this on the plane ride from Tokyo to Hiroshima) Disclaimer: It has been a long trip but I am currently in the air and on the way to hiroshima. I also am writing on my tablet because my laptop died. So forgive any typos! My handwriting is not great so it is hard for the tablet to recognize what I am saying. And it begins! I left Dallas at 0800 central time, and continued to time travel from there! Flight to LA was smooth as silk. Good. I get anxious on turbulent flughts. I envy those who find turbelence soothing. Got to LAX in time for lunch. Lucky for me, LA is not short on vegetariarian and vegan options. We boarded for tokyo about 50 min before takeoff. I got there just in time ... read more

OK day four in Hiroshima over and its still hot and I'm still having fun! Not as hot as the last few days have been but still hot. The Japanese people carry around sun umberellas and hand towells that they use to wipe their body with when they sweat too much, when I first saw it I thought it was a bit too much but after the last two days of sweating so much I took a hand towell with me too today! Gotta fit in you know! Actually at the moment its raining, still really hot but raining none the less, there is steam coming off the ground. So I decided to retreat to the trusty Internet cafe and write about my days adventures. I went to a place called Iwakuni today which is about ... read more