Himeji - West Japan Tour Part III

After about an hour ride on the Nozomi Shinkansen, we arrived at our final destination of Day 1, Himeji City, on April 4Th.We taxied it to our hotel, Claire Higasa, (which by the way, I recommend if you're in the area) and freshened up for dinner. We found a family restaurant close to Himeji-jo (Himeji Castle).

Daddy wiped out as Markus enjoys the shinkansen ride.

Amidst the darkened sky, the elevated Himeji Castle was illuminated from bottom to top. A truly magnificent site.

After a satisfying Japanese-style dinner, we mustered up our last string of energy and strolled over to the castle to take a look at the view during the evening. At that point, it was shortly after 9:30 in the evening and I was surprised to see the large crowds when we entered the main gates. Several groups of people were partaking in their ohanami celebrations eating, drinking, and singing Karaoke (see photo right).

Enjoying the nighttime view of Himeji-jo

Some final photos before heading back to our hotel to call it a night. The castle's reflection in the moat

Just a quick recap of our travels, which started at the wee hour of 4:30 A.M.: we flew 1 1/2 hours to Hiroshima from Tokyo, then travelled by short ferry ride to Miyajima Island, back again to Hiroshima to catch a shinkansen to Himeji City. It was indeed a very long and full first day of our West Japan Tour and we were all desperate for rest.

Himeji-jo

The next morning we started off with a fantastic Japanese/Western breakfast at the hotel and left early to take on the sights at Himeji-jo. We had amazing spring weather. Again, the crowds were rolling in as early as 8:30 A.M., reserving their spots under the beautiful sakura trees, which they will again continue with their ohanami partying. Obviously, this area was a very popular attraction during the infamous ohanami season. There were various types of sakura trees with the most beautiful blossoms I've yet to see. Just about everywhere in the Himeji-jo perimeter could be a photographers' dream. It was interesting to learn that in 2003 epic movie, The Last Samurai, starring Tom Cruise, many scenes were filmed at this location.

A young man carries two koto, a 13-string zither Japanese musical instrument

The main courtyard

Signature eave medallions made of ceramic

Himeji Castle was originally built in 1346 by Akamatsu Sadanori as protection against local shoguns. It was never actually used in battle, thus it remained in its present condition. Restoration work began in 1956, after it was bombed twice during WWII, and was completed in 1964. In1931, it was designated as one of the country's national treasures, and is also known to be the best preserved castle in all Japan.

We all walked to the base of the castle then Tita Jasmin and I went ahead and decided to climb up as far as we could. Rodney stayed back with Markus and Mom and managed to make it to the main courtyard. Tita Jasmin and I zipped up as fast as we could bypassing people though only made it to the 4th floor. The first two floors are hidden behind the 84 foot stoned wall. Five floors of the main building are visible from the outside, for a total of seven floors. We thought for sure we made it up higher as we walked through the spiral-like maze, which was Himeji-jo's important defense element. Even with the clearly marked routes, I'm sure it would be easy for any visitor to get lost.

Upon entering the first level, all visitors must remove their shoes and put on slippers or go bare foot. No electrical source of lighting was being used, only natural sunlight coming in from the windows. Himeji-jo was also nicknamed "White Heron" because of the white fireproof plaster covering its' exterior. The interior of the castle was essentially all wood from floor to ceiling. As you roam within, each floor exhibited facinating memorabilia from the Muromachi period such as ancient shuuji (caligraphy) scripts, armour, weaponry related to the battles. The starwells were extremely narrow, and the wood smoothened by wear and tear, so I was sure to be careful climbing up and down. As we continued, it was amazing to think that we were walking through the same small passages and secret corriders where feudal lords once lived 660 years ago.

A view from the 4th floor keep of the castle overlooking the courtyard and Himeji City.

We perused quickly since we were pressed for time. We were scheduled to catch another shinkansen early afternoon bound for Kyoto.

After descending, we caught up with the rest of our group and took some final photos of the castle grounds and more of the beautiful sakura trees.

One last look of the castle as we exited the grounds. Off to our next stop...Nara.

Miyajima - West Japan Tour Part II

With heavy hearts, we left Hiroshima, and headed to the delightful Miyajima Island by a 10-minute ferry ride from the pier of Miyajimaguchi Station. Miyajima literally means shrine island. The sacred island is listed as one of the top 3 most scenic places of Japan. In addition, the government of Japan has named the place as one of it's National Treasures. Miyajima is a recommended visit when you're in the Hiroshima area.

Above: The view from the ferry as we approached the island

Moments after stepping off the ferry platform, we were greeted by couple of young deer, also known to be sacred wanderers of the island. The tame animals scampered around flocking toward people willing to feed them special deer rice crackers, or any kind of food for that matter. Some deer lounged about in shaded spaces sheltering themselves from the heat of the sun.

Unfortunately, Markus didn't seem too keen of the animals at first. It took him a while to get comfortable walking close enough as we ventured toward the signature red gate.

Walking on the wet sandy banks toward the torii. During the low tide, it's a famous site for the locals to dig for clams.

The symbol of Miyajima Island is the Floating Torii, at high tide.

The torii stands 16 metres tall and the roof measures 24 metres long.

Our happy family!

Here, a photo of coins shoved in the crevices of the wood, near the base of the torii.

Our "genki" (happy and healthy) child in the foreground of Itsukushima Shrine. Mount Misen in the background creates a very picturesque view.

The five-storied pagoda at the nearby Hokoku Shrine

Itsukushima Jinja was first constructed in 598 A.D., than later enlarged to its present state
in 1168.

Most of our time spent on the island was touring Itsukushima Jinja (shrine) including the enormous, red torii (gate). With the low-tide during our afternoon visit, we were able to walk right up to the torii for a look up close. I thought this was definitely cool to see. For extra stability, the gate was built in a four-legged style made of camphor wood.

After a green tea ice-cream break, we set off on the next ferry back to the main land and headed for the Hiroshima Station to catch a shinkansen to Himeji. You can bet we all took a nice nap on the hour long train ride.

In my opinion, Itsukushima Jinja would probably appear more favourable at high tide stilted in the water. Miyajima is a place worthy of visiting and definitely something to marvel, however I know I've seen several other beautiful places in Japan I would probably classify more picturesque, but that's just me.

Hiroshima - West Japan Tour Part I

Spring has sprung and we've been having pleasant weather in Tokyo. Temperatures are currently ranging in the mid 20's Celsius (70's Fahrenheit), so it's been very comfortable to be out and about.

During the first part of April, we ventured off to West Japan to tour some major attractions. In order, our destinations included Hiroshima, Miyajima, Himeji, Nara and Kyoto. Mom (Frijas) and Tita Jasmin planned on their visit to Tokyo in time for our big escapade. We've been desiring to travel to the mentioned areas for quite sometime, so we thought there was no better time than during ohanami (cherry blossom) season.

I planned our trip first flying out to the farthest distance of Hiroshima from Tokyo Haneda Ariport, then riding shinkansens (bullet trains) to the other destinations heading home toward Tokyo. Markus was psyched about riding all different forms of transportation throughout our long weekend trip. Our first leg was a flight to Hiroshima from Tokyo on Friday, April 4Th. We started our day very early and caught the first flight out of Tokyo at 6:50A.M. It was a short hour and a half to touchdown. From the airport, we rode an express bus to Hiroshima Station, then caught a street car to the Atomic Bomb Dome. In the past, I've seen photos from when our friends, Joanna and Giancarlo visited the site back in December of 2006, but to see it firsthand was definitely intense.

Amidst the beauty, lies a tragic past of historical importance

Some brief history:

During WWII, nearly 63 years ago on August 6, 1945, the first nuclear bomb in history was dropped at 3:15 P.M., causing instant massive destruction to the city limits of Hiroshima. The impact of the American B-29 bomber Enola Gay, instantly killed a reported 80,000 people. By the end of the year, injury and radiation brought total casualties to an estimated 140,000. The Atomic Bomb Dome, known as the Genbaku Dome, was the only infrastructure that survived the blast. The bomb detonated about 580 metres in the air above the Domb, causing a mushroom cloud and radiation that spread nearly over a span of 2000 metres from the hypocenter. Today, the Atomic Bomb Dome serves as a peace memorial and is preserved at the same state it was damaged nearly 63 years ago. We took several photos of the site with hopes to capture its intensity, however, it is truly a site worth seeing for yourself.



Markus sitting at the stone steps before the Motoyasu Bridge

Next, we proceeded toward the Peace Memorial Park where cenotaphs and monuments are displayed throughout the vicinity. There we visited the Peace Memorial Museum's East and Main Buildings.



I thought Rodney did an amazing job capturing many sentimental images, such as this boy (above) saying a prayer at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims. An inscription on the monument reads ""Let all the souls here rest in peace, for we shall not repeat the evil." The memorial stone chest holds a registry of the victims who lost their lives. As of August 2001, there were 77 volumes that list a total of 221,893 names. Beyond the cenotaph is the Flame of Peace, which was first lit August 1, 1964 and has burned continuously. It symbolizes the anti-nuclear resolve and is said to burn "until the day when all such weapons shall have disappeared from the earth."


Admiring the paper origami cranes at the Children's Peace Monument.

This exhibit is dedicated to Sadako Sasaki and all the children who died from the atomic bomb. At the age of two, Sadako Sasaki was exposed to the radiation from the A-bomb and developed leukemia 10 years later and died.

An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane, such as long life or recovery from illness or injury. With Sadako's free time at the hospital during her illness, she began to fold the cranes, but died before completing her goal. Thousands of childrens from schools all over Japan and throughout the world, completed her goal of 1,000 cranes. Today, millions of colourful cranes donated by children from all over the world are kept in large acrylic containers at the memorial site.

Our next stop were the Peace museums, which is divided into two large buildings. We first toured the Peace Memorial Museum's East Building where we learned mainly about the history and geography of Hiroshima. In the Main Building, we observed in sorrow as most exhibits conveyed more about the devastion wreaked by the atomic bomb. Several items and remains are collected or either donated by families affected by the tragedy, such as clothing, melted glass and metal cans.

Above: A true photo of ground zero soon after the Atomic Bomb dropped. To the left of the photo is the A-Bomb Dome standing beside the Motoyasu River.

Depicted models of Hiroshima City before (above) and after (below) the bomb detonated.

... a city vanished; instantly reduced to rubble

Children at an elementary school located over 1.5 km away from the hypocenter suffered severe burns from the blast. All died within days of the catastrophe. Many parents donated these tattered and scorched remains of clothing worn by their children.

3-year old, Shin's tricycle donated by his father, who died the night of the bomb after being severly burned.

Markus stands before the Peace Watch Tower. There are two digital displays of numbers in red. The top number, 22887 (as of August 4), represents how many days since the U.S. attack with the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. The bottom number, 543 indicates how many days since the last nuclear testing in the world. Over the past five years, the clock has been reset 11 times following each of the nuclear tests conducted by the U.S. (some in cooperation with the UK) and Russia.

We spent over five hours touring the entire site. I find it difficult to put into words the emotions that I felt reading through the information, listening to the rental PDA and viewing the many morbid photos and exhibits. Clearly, the mood of most visitors was indeed melancholic; I'm sure as always. Needless to say, it was dismal and an observation I will not soon forget.

The 35Th Tokyo Motorcycle Show

On March 29, Rodney and Markus headed out to Tokyo Big Sight international exhibition hall to see the The 35th 2008 Tokyo Motorcycle Show. In the meantime, Mom, Tita Jasmin and I enjoyed a ladies day of shopping at the nearby Venus Fort Shopping Center in Odaiba.

Aprilia

The automatic Honda DN-01

KTM Duke 690

MV Agusta

DB7 Bimota

Harley's new cruiser

Honda CBR 1000RR (MFJ National Super Bike)

Markus checks out the break performance

Below is a slideshow of the Trials demonstration held outside the exhibition hall. Markus was all "oohs and ahhs"! They were able to get a photo taken with one of the professionals.