Hiroshima

After finally managing to catch our train we ended up in Hiroshima mid afternoon. It was still raining when we got to the hostel and found we couldnt check in until 3pm (Japanese hostels are very strict on when you can and cannot check in) so we headed to the nearest 7, 11 and got something to eat and then wondered what we were going to go for an hour. We had our bags with us so were a little limited.

We decided to head back to the hostel and wait it out, but luckily there was a very friendly member of staff there who let us leave our bags so we could head for the museum.

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum is dedicated to educating visitors about the bomb. The Museum has exhibits and information covering the build up to war, the role of Hiroshima in the war up to the bombing, and extensive information on the bombing and its effects, along with substantial memorabilia and pictures from the bombing. It was fascinating but quite depressing and shocking so we delighted that we were able to hook up with Berin and Nic (a couple who had been living in Japan for 6 years) that night to see another side of Hiroshima.

We ate our way through numerous tasty dishes and had a fantastic time chatting about the complexity of the Japanese, from their need to belong to a group to their four costume changes as weddings!

After much Sake, beer and food we headed back to our hostel for a cosy sleep before jumping on another train.


Within the museum you can see all the letters that the governers of Hiroshima have written to numerous countries asking for an end to nuclear weapons

The bomb

Near the center of the memorial park is a concrete, saddle-shaped monument that covers a cenotaph holding the names of all of the people killed by the bomb. The cenotaph carries the epitaph, "Rest in Peace, for the error shall not be repeated." The arch shape represents a shelter for the souls of the victims. The Memorial Cenotaph was one of the first memorial monuments built on open field on August 6, 1952.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park is a large park in the center of Hiroshima. It is dedicated to the legacy of Hiroshima as the first city in the world to suffer a nuclear attack on Aug 6^th 1945, which led to the death of as many as 140,000 people by the end of 1945

View of the museum

The Children’s Peace Monument is a statue dedicated to the memory of the children who died as a result of the bombing. The statue is of a girl with outstretched arms with a folded paper crane rising above her. The statue is a reminder of a the true story of Sadako Sasaki, a young girl who died from radiation from the bomb. She believed that if she folded 1,000 paper cranes she would be cured. Today people (mostly children) from around the world fold cranes and send them to Hiroshima where they are placed near the statue. When we were there a group of school children were singing a song infront of the statue.

View of the atomic bomb dome, a building which was bombed during the war

A noddle snack in our room in J Hoopers, a very cute hostel in Hiroshima

After a draining day at the museum we met up with Berin and Nic for a bit of light relief. Here you can see Sake being poured from the giant bottles it often comes in. Just a few glasses are enough to give you a monster hang over!

Thank you Berin and Nic for introducing us to one of Japans more interesting dishes - Deep fried chicken cartilage - just a little bit crunchy!

Sushi with eel on top, yum!

Himeji castle

We woke up early and got the train from Osaka to Himeji to visit the castle before heading to Hiroshima.

Himeji is an excellent example of the prototypical Japanese castle, containing many of the defensive and architectural features most associated with Japanese castles. The tall stone foundations, whitewashed walls, and organization of the buildings within the complex are standard elements of any Japanese castle, and the site also features many other examples of typical castle design, including gun emplacements and stone-dropping holes.

The castle really looks like something out of Disney World and was definitely worth the visit, even in the pouring rain!

After the castle tour we had a mad dash to catch our train for Hiroshima, we must have looked like total nutters rounding about trying to find the station. People don't run in Japan so we certainly got a few looks.

Osaka

After Nara we got on a train and zoomed to Osaka for the night. We spent our time people watching and walking through areas that were a little like a Japanese Camden or Soho. Lots of trendy young things were wondering about and wearing outrageous outfits, they looked like they had just stepped out of a music video!

Crazy giant crab and lots of bicycles - just some of the interesting sights in Osaka

Flashing and neon lights were everywhere

These outfits are typical of a lot of Japanese girls. Apparently they're not on the pull, it's just their group look!

Playing on the slot machines is HUGE in Japan. People of all ages and types while away the hours here

Our lovely loo at the hotel, once you've tried a heated loo you can never go back!

Nara

Nara , known for its historic temples and roaming deer, is located 42km (26 miles) south of Kyoto, so we visited it on the way from Kyoto to Osaka. It was a lovely little day trip.

Japanese and foreigners alike flock to Nara for a glimpse of old Japan. Many of Nara's historic buildings and temples remain intact, and long ago many of these historical structures were enclosed in the peaceful confines of the large and spacious Nara Park. Wandering throughout the park and temple grounds are loads of deer, who are protected as a treasure and regarded as messengers of the gods and are fed a lot by visitors!

Little pagoda on the way to the main attractions

Colourful shrine

Kofukuji is a Hosso Buddhist temple. One of the great temples of the Nara period, it features a tall five-story pagoda and many Buddhist art treasures

Deer being fed by some visitors

Tim getting up close and personal with a deer

Stone lanterns along the path to Kasuga Shrine

Water feature deer statue in the Nara park

Entrance to Kasuga Taisha

At Kasuga Taisha, thousands of bronze lanterns hang from the
shrine buildings. Nestled in the midst of the woods, Kasuga Taisha is approached via a long pathway intended to give the visitor time to prepare for worship.The shrine itself features vermilion-colored pillars and 3,000 stone and bronze lanterns.

We sat down for a picnic lunch of sushi among the blossom

Todaiji is a temple of grand proportions: it has the largest wooden building
and largest Buddha statue in all of Japan. This is especially impressive in light of the fact that the present reconstruction (from 1692) is only two thirds of the original temple's size.

Entrance, or exit, to Nara Park

Street vendor, the Japanese love their sweet potatoe

Kyoto

As soon as we landed in Japan I knew I was going to like the place – the loos were amazing! The seats were heated, you could play a flush sound if you wanted to disguise any noises and even have your derriere squirted with water too, so much fun from one toilet! These wonder loos were labeled 'Western toilet' a Japanese toilet is in fact just a hole in the ground!

We were also amazed by the size of the vending machines and the ATMs, everything at the airport was big but when we got off the train at Narita and walked to the hotel all the shops and restaurants seemed just a little shorter and smaller than they should be. Even our hotel room felt like it had been shrunk a little.

After spending the night in Narita we collected our Japan Rail Pass, navigated the train station and boarded for Kyoto. Trains in Japan are bliss – quiet, clean and efficient. ‘Leaves on the track’ will never be an issue here.

With minimal fuss and hassle we arrived in Kyoto and quickly checked out a 7, 11 convenience store, gulped at the prices (a banana was 70p and apple £1) and then brought some sushi for lunch which in comparison was relatively cheap at £2. We looked at some of the restaurants and quickly realized that our budget would pretty much only stretch to meals from 7, 11. We checked into our hostel which was very cute and clean and there were little labels everywhere to tell us what things were and what we could do, or not do. Life in Japan is very orderly!

We set off on foot to visit the Imperial Palace and quickly encountered the cherry blossom spectacular. It really is pretty so you can see why the Japanese go mad for it. We spent the rest of the afternoon visiting temples and walking around among the cherry blossom. Kyoto is an amazing place, there’s so much to see and at this time of year it’s quite magical.

After walking for hours we stopped for some dinner and entered a tiny restaurant recommended in the LP. We were greeted with loud calls in Japanese from the kitchen , I presume they were saying 'welcome', and then promptly served up two steaming bowls of Ramen. It was delicious, and we could help ourselves to a number of different sides, like pickles and tofu for different tastes. Everyone around us was slurping their Ramen so we joined in; apparently it's totally acceptable in Japan. Our huge bowls of noodles were about £6 which wasn’t too bad considering the amount we ate!

After dinner we took a stroll through the Geisha district, it was like entering a film set. There were narrow streets lit by lanterns and lined with tiny hidden bars and restaurants packed full of people eating and drinking. You could peek through the tiny windows and watch the activity inside. We didn't see any proper Geishas but did see quite a few ladies dressed in the gear, which was good enough for me!

We went to bed completely knackered!

Day two in Kyoto was a tour of more temples, the market

Picking up our Japan Rail Passes

The super efficient Shinkansen or Bullet train

Lovely blossom at the Imperial Palace gardens

River bank scattered with people enjoying the sunshine

We're a bit lost at this point but we eventually found the temple we were looking for!

Ginkaku ji temple and the Ginshaden sand garden

The zen gardens were beautiful and relaxing, depsite the hordes of tourists

Enterance to the temple

The temple from a different angle!

This little area full of shops and cafes just down from the zen temple was beautiful

Sweet potato covered in sesame seeds, yum!

Street life

More cherry blossom

Quite a few Japanese women dress up in traditional kimono dress when the blossom is out so we saw loads of them. These girls were giggling when we asked them for a photo, they asked for one too, so Tim might be up on a mantel piece in some Japanese home!

Nanzenji is an important Rinzai Zen temple on the Path of Philosophy, Nanzenji has a fine Zen garden and extensive grounds.

Pretty fountain, Kyoto is a very romantic city especially when the blossom is out

The entrance to the temples were marked by these huge red gates

Kyoto at night

Ramen restaurant

Restaurant in the Geisha district

Geisha district

Strawberries and cream sandwich, yuck!

Our room in Kyoto. It was really comfy sleeping on these mats

Inside a shrine

Entrance to shrine

On the 2nd day we went on the walking tour which took us to many temples and shrines

I dont actually know the name of this one but the different coloured 'flags' warranted a picture!

This poor guy has to literally run tourists about all day

Tim trying on a Yukata (dressing gown)

Entrance gate of Kiyomizudera, or Kiyomizu-dera, "Pure Water Templeis one of Japan's most popular temples. Founded in 780 AD it still functions as a temple associated with the Hosso sect of Japanese Buddhism

More pretty kimonos

Visitors drinking the sacred water of Kiyomizudera, which is believed to bring health and good fortune

Bridge with more blossom

Sanjusangendo houses 1,001 statues of Kannon in Japan's longest wooden building.

Crazy statues!

The food market in Kyoto

Vending machine inside a restaurant, you order your food here by looking at the pictures (and reading the descriptions if you can read Japanese). I ordered what I thought was beef noodles but when I tasted it I realised it was liver!!!!

We stumbled across this photo shoot happening in a back alley