Live from Japan!

Last weekend we went to Tokyo for four days. It was Golden Week in Japan (a string of four national holidays in a row) so we had a little extra time off to travel around and play. Aaron planned a trip for the two of us, in honor of my birthday. We decided to take our time in Tokyo a bit slower this time and spent most of the four days going to different neighborhoods and then walking around them and exploring.

One neighborhood that was high on our list was Ginza. Ginza is a shopping mecca in Tokyo, it is one of the most expensive and classy neighborhoods in the whole country and it was definitely a sight to be seen. After coming from Chicago, home of the infamous Magnificent Mile, I was doubtful that I would find somewhere more glittery and shiny and busy and consumery, but there it was, right there in Ginza.

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I think it is strange that I spent so many years in school as a young child and, yet, I have few vivid memories from those experiences. Somehow all those years have contributed to who I am without me really understanding which experiences had the most impact, instead they seem to have all mixed and muddled together with the end result being the person I am today.

I do have a few specific memories, however, and one of them sprung out of the dusty depths of my brain during our trip to Hiroshima.

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When I came to Japan I knew there were a few places that I simply must visit. Hiroshima was one of those places. I knew that it would be a difficult place to visit, but I also knew that it was one of those places that I should go to. In some ways I almost felt as though I had to pay my respects.

While we were there we visited all the memorials and statues relating to the A-bomb and we visited the museum as well. What surprised me most was that the museums and memorials didn’t focus on pointing fingers or placing blame. Instead they focused all that energy, which I have to believe is there, into making the point and the statement that, regardless of blame, nuclear weaponry and warfare is a destructive choice and that the world we live in would be a better place if that threat didn’t exist. I couldn’t agree with them more.

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On Miyajima island one of the key activities was riding the ropeway to nearly the top of the mountain.

Miyajima has a two-stage ropeway. You get in one small car which takes you the majority of the way up the mountain. Then you must transfer to another ropeway car which goes almost horizontally between two peaks. These cars were much larger and only came every 15 minutes.

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This Shinto shrine, more specifically the gate to this shrine, is reported to be one of the most photographed sights in all of Japan. So, when we decided to head down to Hiroshima for the weekend, I knew that a visit to Miyajima, a small island off the coast, was high on the list of priorities.

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This one really isn’t Engrish. The English on these signs is actually delightfully perfect. Even still, I really liked the ways they chose to translate some of the ideas. Charming! Click on the photos to make them bigger and more clearly read what they have to say.

I love the way they say, “If you do so, we are not responsible for what will happen.” I think that I should start saying this more often. Could be fun!

Last weekend we participated in a bicycle ride around Japan’s largest freshwater lake, Lake Biwa. The bike around Lake Biwa is approximately 220km (136 miles), but we cut off the last chunk by crossing a bridge instead of riding around the entire way. This meant that the trip was only about 160km (100km). The ride was organized by a fellow JET who will be participating in a trip to Cambodia with the NGO, PEPY. She, and a few others, were riding to raise money for their trip to Cambodia, a very worthy cause!

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On our day trip to Ise we made a stop in Futami to see the Meoto-iwa (Wedded Rocks). We made the stop for a few reasons. First, we weren’t quite done sight-seeing for the day. Second, we were so close to the ocean that I wanted to make sure I saw it before we headed back to our little landlocked town.

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Found this guy in Nara as we were walking around the botanical gardens. There was a bridge with a koi pond underneath. Obviously many people that cross the bridge have treats to give because these koi responded almost immediately to footsteps from above. Unfortunately we didn’t have anything to offer them, but we enjoyed watching them anyways.

Lest you think that all the deer in Nara are vicious attacking creatures, I thought I would post some photos of a few more benign deer. Having so many deer wandering around really gave Nara a particularly different and unique feel. Great place to visit, if you get the chance!

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