Hiroshima - the name alone of this city speaks for itself. And I believe it to be a profoundly important place to visit should you ever find yourself in Japan. Here are some photos of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima Castle, the small local island of Miyajima, and more. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park Hiroshima Day – I believe there must be bones Under the paved street. - Shigemoto Yasuhiko What a sombre yet beautiful site. It was almost surreal how pleasant the summer day was, as I carefully explored the entire park, taking in everything it had to offer in terms of commemorating one of the most tragic and devastating man-made events of the 20th century. Things to see in and around the park include:
Hiroshima Castle This was one of two feudal Japanese castles I visited while in the country (with the other being Osaka Castle). Alas, as with Osaka Castle, Hiroshima Castle is a reconstruction. The original fortress, constructed in the 1590s and once the home of the local daimyo, was a wooden structure that was destroyed in the atomic bombing. The current castle, primarily made of reinforced concrete, was rebuilt in the late 1950s and serves mainly as a historical museum. Such is history. While I'm a stickler for the authentic (whatever that means), I did enjoy checking this place out. After all, check out the dork wearing the samurai outfit in the photos. He clearly had fun... Hiroshima, more generally Other snaps of Hiroshima - now a charming and thriving city of 1.2 million people. And by the way, if you get the chance, definitely try Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki. This savoury pancake was probably the best thing I ate while visiting Japan. Miyajima Officially called Itsukushima, Miyajima (which is Japanese for 'shrine island') is a small picturesque island an hour's boat ride out of the city. It is a sacred place that, for the longest time, forbid ordinary visitors. While things are much laxer in these modern times, it is said that to this day no births and deaths are allowed on the island. Located on Miyajima is the Itsukushima shrine: a delicately stunning Shinto compound, with its epic torii gate and its five-tiered pagoda. Also located on Miyajima: the world's largest wooden rice scoop, weighing 2.5 tonnes and nearly 8 metres long. Cool. Also with Miyajima, think mountainous terrain, forests, as well as peaceful and overly-friendly deer (that like to come up and nibble at any snacks in your hands). Close to Itsukushima shrine is the historic Buddhist temple complex of Daishō-in, which I found even more spell-binding. I loved the charming little Buddhist statues and iconography everywhere, and the temple steps with the row of spinning wheels inscribed with sutras. From Daishō-in, I took a hiking trail up to the summit of Mount Misen. It was hot and exhausting, but I was swallowed by the natural landscape and the view from the top was completely worth it. Where else in the world can you experience such a heady mix of contrasts in two short days? Beauty and horror. Sombreness and celebration. Commemoration and survival. The power of men and the power of gods and the natural order. Hiroshima and Miyajima.
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Built originally in 1583, it was destroyed by American bombing raids during World War II. Luckily, it was restored into the surface image of its original splendour in the late 1990s – albeit as a concrete reproduction with an elevator and modern museum within it. Definitely a must-see if you are ever visiting the city of Osaka!
During my summer university stay in Tokyo back in 2012, I took a few memorable jaunts out of the city. One was to Kamakura, a seaside city to the south of the capital, as part of a class trip and the another to Yokohama, also to the south and the second-largest city in the country. Kamakura Our visit to Kamakura was mainly focussed on Kōtoku-in, a famous Buddhist temple. I'm sure I say something similar to this about the religious sites I've explored around the world, but I feel that Japanese temples are truly something unique in terms of their ambience and ability to blend in with the natural world. One thing in particular I love about Japanese temples and shrines are the colourful decorative sake barrels on display. They are known as kazaridaru and are empty barrels meant to honour the gods – the traditional idea being that delicious, delicious Japanese rice wine is meant to connect the people to the deities themselves. Kōtoku-is temple of the Jōdo-shū or "The Pure Land School" of Buddhism which was introduced to Japan in the 12th century and continues to be one of the most widely practised forms of Buddhism in the country. The literal and spiritual focal point of the temple is the Great Buddha. Excluding the platform, this magnificent bronze statue sits at a height of over 13 metres and weighs over 120 tonnes. It's also unusual for being an open-air buddha. This is because a tsunami washed away the original building housing it in 1498 and the statue was the only thing that endured. It's remained out and open to the elements ever since. Fun fact: close to the Great Buddha are a pair of huge traditional Japanese straw sandals that are nearly two metres long and weigh around 45 kilograms. These sandals were first woven and donated by a group of children back in 1951 when the country was still recovering from the ravages of the Second World War. The wish of these children was that “the Great Buddha would don them to walk around Japan, bringing happiness to the people”. To this day, children will create and gift a new pair of giant sandals to Kōtoku-in every few years. Yokohama I visited the coastal city of Yokohama with a friend on Marine Day, a Japanese public holiday that gives thanks to the bounties and riches of the ocean. It was a pleasant outing to an important Japanese port city. Although it is a short train ride from the heart of Tokyo, it is a breezy, relaxed and walkable international city that provides a welcome respite from Tokyo's frenetic energy. I'll be honest. My trip to Japan permanently changed me. It was my first extended trip abroad on my own (this being back in my poor university student days) and I've never looked back. I got bit by the travel bug hard and that fiery wanderlust has been with me ever since. I have to travel. I have to keep seeing the world for the rest of my life. Is this a curse? A gift? An integral feature of my personality? Even now, all these years later, it is still difficult for me to coherently express.
Days and months are travellers of eternity. So are the years that pass by. Those who steer a boat across the sea, or drive a horse over the earth till they succumb to the weight of years, spend every minute of their lives travelling. There are a great number of ancients, too, who died on the road. I myself have been tempted for a long time by the cloud-moving wind — filled with a strong desire to wander. - Matsuo Bashō Hakone and its surrounds (technically, south-west of Tokyo)For my last weekend in Japan, after spending an extraordinary month in Tokyo on a summer university exchange program, I took the train out to Hakone - a mountainous area less than one hundred kilometres from the capital. The economy of Hakone is strongly centred around tourism, with both Japanese and international visitors drawn in by its natural beauty and onsens. I've heard that it's meant to be stunning on a clear summer day, but my trip was dominated by wet and overcast weather. And I loved it nonetheless! The brooding, melancholic elements made my journey equally memorable. Without a doubt, the easiest way to reach there from Tokyo and then get around is with the Hakone Freepass, a super convenient and money-saving pass that allows unlimited rides within the designated area, including on the very popular lake cruise and gondola ropeway. My adventure kicked off with the train ride from Tokyo, which took me along the Hakone Tozan Railway, Japan's oldest mountain railway. It is a beautiful ride, regardless of the weather, with hydrangeas blooming along the narrow track at certain times of the year. The first stop for me in Hakone was Gora Park, a French-style landscape park that opened in 1914 and boasts a large fountain and rose garden. Plus, it's close to Gora Station where the train terminates. Interestingly, Gora Park also hosts a collection of beetles, including stag beetles and rhinoceros beetles. You could even buy one in a little plastic container! While I wasn't in the market for a new pet, I was able to pick up and admire one of the crawly specimens on display. The next leg of the journey for me was a ride on the Hakone-Tozan Cable Car up the mountainside from Gora to Sounzan via an old-school funicular railway. Not terribly spectacular, but it was a functional and sturdy enough method of crawling up the slope. This cable car led me to a proper Hakone attraction: the Hakone Ropeway, an aerial lift that takes passengers from Sounzan down towards the lake, with an optional stop along the voyage to the boiling sulphur pits of Owakudani. You're able to see Mount Fuji on a good day, but (as you can see from photos) I was not so lucky. With plenty of time to spare, I stopped off at Owakudani, also known as the Great Boiling Valley. This is an active volcanic zone with hot springs and sizzling, milky rivers that are perpetually shrouded in sulphurous fumes. It was delightfully spooky, especially with the signs warning visitors that the local walking tracks can be dangerous due to the volcanic gases. At Owakudani, you can purchase some novelty 'black eggs' which have been cooked in the hot, natural water. Their shells are pitch-black from the sulphur and eating one is said to prolong the person's lifespan by seven years. Well, good news, because I ate a pack of five for lunch (yes, really) and will now live an extra 35 years. Success. After my very eggy lunch, I went for a bit of a wander up a nearby hiking trail. I was by myself and it was an unsettling experience. Didn't see or hear a single soul. And after half an hour of this, due to a combination of deteriorating weather, the foul stench, and a growing fear of what could potentially happen to someone alone on an eerie volcanic mountain trail, I wisely decided to head back and boarded the ropeway again to reach the bottom of the mountain. The Hakone Ropeway terminates at Togendai on the banks of Lake Ashi. Lake Ashi (or Ashinoko in Japanese) was formed in the caldera of Mount Hakone after the volcano's last eruption around three thousand years ago. Must've been a cataclysmic eruption because Lake Ashi is huge. Here, I boarded my next transportation option: a ridiculous, pirate-theme Hakone Sightseeing Ship to glide across the lake in style. Pirates? Comical boats? I mean, this is Japan after all! After the goofy boat ride, I visited a couple of other local attractions:
The next portion of my trip (and one of my favourite spots in Hakone) was Hakone Shrine, a serenely attractive Shinto shrine on the shores of Lake Ashi. Tranquil, mossy, magical. I'll let my photos do the talking... Like every Shinto shrine I've visited in Japan so far, I was linger around here for a few precious moments and rest my heart. I was able to beside its lakeside torii and relax in nature. Afterwards, I took the bus to Hakone Yumoto where I made one final stop: a soak in the hot springs at a public bathhouse. Public bathing in Japan is undoubtedly a compelling ordeal for the uninitiated. It's gender-segregated, you have to carefully wash your body before dipping in the pool, and you must bathe naked like everyone else. While it was initially a bit of a culture shock, it wasn't a bad encounter with the unfamiliar. A mountain track, a funicular, a ropeway, a sulphurous hike, and a lake cruise. Incredibly, I was able to complete this jaunt around Hakone in a single day. One wild, whirlwind day. I was able to dip in some geothermal water, bask in the natural environment, revel in the sacred, and bumble around the modern and the touristy, all in one place. Hakone is truly a special corner of an incredible country. An old pond,
A frog jumps in - Plop! |
AuthorMing is an economist, traveller, and creative writer from Melbourne, Australia. He’s a nebulous collection of particles on the lookout for a good corner to sit with a book and a cup of coffee. Archives
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