Where Globe-Trotting meets Beach-Combing
If I had the opportunity to head west of Kyoto once again I would completely skip the depressing peace park (don’t hate—I’ve put in my time) and go straight to the coast. From Hiroshima Station it’s just 400 yen for 30 minutes down the coast by train, then 170 yen (less than $2US) to board…
The A-Bomb Dome stands across the river from the Hiroshima Peace Park. A monument in front of the museum frames the dome with the inscription, “Let all the souls here rest in peace for we shall not repeat the evil.” It embodies the hope that Hiroshima, now regrown after the devastation of the nuclear bomb…
Hello, Hiroshima! Despite some not fun excitement getting on the Shinkansen, the sun was shining when we arrived in this seaside city toward Honshu’s western tip. I’m pretty well-organized and I’m usually good at trip planning. This included having a nice clear plastic zip-top folder to organize our maps and tickets (I do this for…
“We shall die in the sea,We shall die in the mountains.In whatever way,We shall die beside the Emperor,Never turning back.”~Otomo no Yakamochi “Saddened by the lossOf the precious livesOf so many of my people,I ended the war.It mattered not what became of me.”~Emperor Showa “When you receive word that I have been killed in action,…
Free Pocky with all seats today! Chris suggested a baseball game; Luke and Amber agreed that sounded fun. I bought the tickets (with help) from Lawsons. Tonight we settled into our seats in the Tokyo Dome nosebleed section to cheer on the Giants as they took on the Softbank Hawks. What an enthusiastic crowd!! Chanting,…
Luke and Amber gave me mostly free reign planning their trip. “Most of what I know about touring Japan is what I read on your blog, so I want to see that stuff,” Luke flattered me. How’s that for motivating? “You talk about fish markets; that sounds cool,” Luke added, followed by, “The Ninja restaurant!…
Today’s forecast: rain rain rain. No problem—now that it’s warm and not raining continuously, rain can evoke Japan’s peaceful, atmospheric charm. We began our day with a quick visit to the Daibutsu (Kamakura’s Big Buddha), then continued on to Enoshima Island. It was getting toward afternoon and we hadn’t yet stopped for lunch. I had…
