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Hisashiburi--Long time no see! Sorry for the lack of posting. August has gone by so fast we haven't had a chance to catch our breath! Since our last post, Tina and Marco came to visit us for about two weeks, and a day after they left, our friends Joel and John came!
We picked Marco and Tina up from the airport on Tuesday, hung out in Yokkaichi on Wednesday, and then left for our first trip on Thursday. We took the shinkansen, or bullet train, for about 3 hours before we reached our destination: Hiroshima.
This is us on the shinkansen before having a sobering day in the city.
The Peace Memorial
The A-Bomb Dome (left standing since the bombing)
This was my second trip to Hiroshima, and although I strongly believe everyone should visit Hiroshima if they have the opportunity, I can't say I was entirely keen on going again. The dome building and the peace museum are heart breaking beyond words.
Despite the tragedy that surrounds Hiroshima, this time around I was able to look beyond the tragedy and instead focus more on the beauty that Hiroshima has been growing in its place. Thursday was the anniversary of the bombings, and that night a commemorative ceremony was held in which lit paper lanterns were released down the river. I felt that this symbolized not only the remembrance of what happened that day 63 years ago, but also the peace that Hiroshima advocates so strongly today.
Chad getting attacked (Tina's clearly okay with this).
Chickens at Mos Burger are happy, even if their heads are on fire.
Breakfast on Friday was a fine mix of convenient-store food.
Despite the tragedy that surrounds Hiroshima, this time around I was able to look beyond the tragedy and instead focus more on the beauty that Hiroshima has been growing in its place. Thursday was the anniversary of the bombings, and that night a commemorative ceremony was held in which lit paper lanterns were released down the river. I felt that this symbolized not only the remembrance of what happened that day 63 years ago, but also the peace that Hiroshima advocates so strongly today.
After the ceremony, we headed back to our hotel, grabbing dinner along the way.
Chad getting attacked (Tina's clearly okay with this).
After much deliberation, we finally settled on Mos Burger, a Japanese version of McDonald's, for dinner:
Chickens at Mos Burger are happy, even if their heads are on fire.
Breakfast on Friday was a fine mix of convenient-store food.
We decided Friday would be an excellent day to go to Miyajima. Home to one of Japan's three best views, Miyajima is a beautiful little island only a tram and a ferry ride away from Hiroshima.
Chad, Marco and Tina pet the tame deer.
Buddies!
Tanuki! A Japanese Raccoon Dog!
Chad, Marco and Tina pet the tame deer.
Buddies!
The view from one of the trails.
Tanuki! A Japanese Raccoon Dog!
Note: We also saw an awesome monkey, but failed to get a good photo. We were all going on and on about the raccoons when suddenly Chad got curious about a steady stream of fruit hitting his head. He looked up to see a monkey eating lunch in the tree above!
Above is a picture of Senjo-kaku, or the Pavillion of 1000 mats. There are many interesting paintings hung on the ceiling throughout this peaceful hall. Just as cool as the inside of Senjo-kaku is the view looking out -- you can see the five-story pagoda pictured below:
After our hike, it was time for lunch. We decided to have some traditional, Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki. We also tried freshly baked clam, another Hiroshima specialty, for the first time.
Then, we were off to Miyajima's main attraction: the giant orange torii, or gate, near Itsukushima Shrine.
The last time I visited Miyajima, there was a high tide, but this time, the tide was so low you could walk through the torii! Low tide or high, Miyajima is incredibly beautiful. What was especially lucky about our visit this time was that it happened to fall on the annual Music Festival on Boats, or Kangensai. According to our ticket to the shrine, music is played in front of the shrine to "comfort the sacred minds of the enshrined deities... Since the 14th year of the Meiji period (1881), the divine carraige has been carried across the sea by boat while priests play ancient court music."
I didn't catch the name for sure, but I'm pretty sure this is part of Nishi Hongan-ji, a five-building temple of which the main building is under construction. The architecture of the buildings not under wraps was quite intricate.
Taken on the road leading up to Kiyomizu-dera.
Walk between this stone and its partner-
stone with your eyes closed and your
love will be fulfilled!
Rub this Daikoku statue and your
love-prayers will be answered!
Upon leaving the temple, we made several interesting stops--one of which was at this little area:
Drink the water for beauty!
While in Kyoto, we were able to meet a couple of Marco's band friends. Below is a picture of us at an izakaya, or (according to Tina and Marco) and old man bar.
Tina loves Ichiro!
Chad, Caitlyn, Tina, Marco, Emiko and Takahiro
(outside the restaurant)
Chad drinking a Rising Sun Pale Ale
before we head off to see the
Wedded Rocks
Meoto-iwa, or the Wedded Rocks, are located in Futami, near Ise. In the area surrounding the rocks, there are myriad frog statues. In Japanese the word for frog, kaeru, is the same as the word meaning "to return," although with different kanji. It was hard to find someone who knew the connection between the frogs and the rocks, but from what I was able to gather it has something to do with the safe return of loved ones.
Getting my lasting happiness by pouring water
on the frog's head
The larger rock with the torii on top represents the husband, and the smaller the wife. Apparently, the couple symbolized is responsible for the creation of the Japanese islands. Every year on New Years Day, the heavy, sacred ropes are replaced by swimmers.
After we left Futami, we headed for the old guest house in which Ise Shrine visitors used to stay. They had an interesting exhibit going that featured dolls exchanged between the US and Japan right before WWII. All but 9 of Japan's friendship dolls from America were destroyed in the war, but new ones have been exchanged every year following the war's end in support of today's good relationship with Japan.
Chad is clearly in support of the doll exchange
We were lucky enough to try a Japanese specialty called akafukugori (pictured above). This treat is famous in Ise, and it consists of shaved ice, green tea syrup, mochi and sweet red bean paste. Delicious!
The last time I visited Miyajima, there was a high tide, but this time, the tide was so low you could walk through the torii! Low tide or high, Miyajima is incredibly beautiful. What was especially lucky about our visit this time was that it happened to fall on the annual Music Festival on Boats, or Kangensai. According to our ticket to the shrine, music is played in front of the shrine to "comfort the sacred minds of the enshrined deities... Since the 14th year of the Meiji period (1881), the divine carraige has been carried across the sea by boat while priests play ancient court music."
After our Hiroshima trip, the next trip on the agenda was Tokyo. Rather than following said-agenda, we ended up going to Kyoto (which turned out really nice because there was a typhoon and a pretty reasonable earthquake in Tokyo when we were going to go!).
I didn't catch the name for sure, but I'm pretty sure this is part of Nishi Hongan-ji, a five-building temple of which the main building is under construction. The architecture of the buildings not under wraps was quite intricate.
Taken on the road leading up to Kiyomizu-dera.
I've been to Kiyomizu temple countless times, and each time I can't resist taking a few more pictures. Here are just a couple (photographers must love Kyoto!).
Chad is drinking from the sacred waters --
they are believed to have therapeutic
properties, aid in health, happiness, school
and more!
Chad is drinking from the sacred waters --
they are believed to have therapeutic
properties, aid in health, happiness, school
and more!
Walk between this stone and its partner-
stone with your eyes closed and your
love will be fulfilled!
Rub this Daikoku statue and your
love-prayers will be answered!
Upon leaving the temple, we made several interesting stops--one of which was at this little area:
Drink the water for beauty!
While in Kyoto, we were able to meet a couple of Marco's band friends. Below is a picture of us at an izakaya, or (according to Tina and Marco) and old man bar.
Tina loves Ichiro!
The day after we went to Kyoto, we got up nice and early for a trip around Ise. We were pretty tired, but our friends drove us and it ended up being a pretty laid-back day.
First, we made a stop at the Itsukinomiya Hall for Historical Experience. A pretty hefty title for a little place out in the countryside, but it ended up being really neat. The hall was built to preserve and teach about the time in which Chinese culture was flourishing in Japan. One of my favorite things about the site is that the entire building was constructed without using a single nail. Check out the beautiful joint work in the ceiling alone:
A traditional carriage
A traditional carriage
Below are pictures of us wearing juni-hitoe, a traditional outfit of layered kimonos. Our guidesheet said that Imperian women would often layer more than twelve kimonos at a time! Pretty heavy attire!
Chad knows how to work the fashion
better than most.
better than most.
(He's even teaching me!)
We also got to see traditional loom weaving in which hand-dyed thread is used. It was a really interesting site!
Next up: lunch at a fresh tofu restaurant near Ise Shrine!
MMM! Fresh tofu, hot-spring boiled egg, miso soup, salad, eel...!
Next up: lunch at a fresh tofu restaurant near Ise Shrine!
MMM! Fresh tofu, hot-spring boiled egg, miso soup, salad, eel...!
Chad, Caitlyn, Tina, Marco, Emiko and Takahiro
(outside the restaurant)
Chad drinking a Rising Sun Pale Ale
before we head off to see the
Wedded Rocks
Meoto-iwa, or the Wedded Rocks, are located in Futami, near Ise. In the area surrounding the rocks, there are myriad frog statues. In Japanese the word for frog, kaeru, is the same as the word meaning "to return," although with different kanji. It was hard to find someone who knew the connection between the frogs and the rocks, but from what I was able to gather it has something to do with the safe return of loved ones.
Getting my lasting happiness by pouring water
on the frog's head
The larger rock with the torii on top represents the husband, and the smaller the wife. Apparently, the couple symbolized is responsible for the creation of the Japanese islands. Every year on New Years Day, the heavy, sacred ropes are replaced by swimmers.
After we left Futami, we headed for the old guest house in which Ise Shrine visitors used to stay. They had an interesting exhibit going that featured dolls exchanged between the US and Japan right before WWII. All but 9 of Japan's friendship dolls from America were destroyed in the war, but new ones have been exchanged every year following the war's end in support of today's good relationship with Japan.
Chad is clearly in support of the doll exchange
A couple days later, we headed back to Ise Shrine (Tina and Marco wanted to make a stop there). This time, one of our students and a coworker joined us.
Walking along the river...
We were lucky enough to try a Japanese specialty called akafukugori (pictured above). This treat is famous in Ise, and it consists of shaved ice, green tea syrup, mochi and sweet red bean paste. Delicious!
We ended the day with an authentic Indonesian dinner (cooked on the spot by an Indonesian!) at one of our students' house.
Hanging out with Tina and Marco was really fun, but time passed by too fast! We are sure we filled every day with so much activity and culture that Tina and Marco were ready to go home and speak English, eat American (vegan!) food, and relax. Although they filled part of our homesickness gap temporarily, their visit simultaneously made us miss home even more. Can't wait to visit over Christmas! We are thinking of everyone back home everyday.
Stay tuned for our update on John and Joel's visit! Love ya'! <3
Hanging out with Tina and Marco was really fun, but time passed by too fast! We are sure we filled every day with so much activity and culture that Tina and Marco were ready to go home and speak English, eat American (vegan!) food, and relax. Although they filled part of our homesickness gap temporarily, their visit simultaneously made us miss home even more. Can't wait to visit over Christmas! We are thinking of everyone back home everyday.
Stay tuned for our update on John and Joel's visit! Love ya'! <3
1 comment:
We are excited for you to come home and drink some good beer with us all. I'm excited for christmas too, this way I can have Caitlyn and Chad time and not a simultaneous stomachache. Japan was AMAZING but real hard on a little vegan (wimpy) stomach. Miss you guys! T minus ~105 days .
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