Monday - the first of three days when we have to "get up" in the morning! Time has whizzed by on this trip and its hard to believe this is our last full day in Yamaguchi and we will be flying home in two days.
Today Mizue had a Labo tutor's conference. She left early to catch the Shinkansen with some of the other Yamaguchi tutors to meet some of the regional tutors in Hiroshima for a day of meetings. We would meet her later in the day in Hiroshima.
This morning Mrs. Takamura came by the house to pick up Haruna, Eve and I for a mini road trip! Japan is divided into 9 regions (Tokyo is in the Kanto Region, Osaka is in the Kansai Region). Each region is divided into Prefectures, like provinces, then each prefectures has towns and cities. Yamaguchi city is in the prefecture of Yamaguchi. Today we are travelling to the Hiroshima prefecture, which contains today's destinations, Miyajima and Hiroshima city.
Haruna sat up front with Mrs. Takamura and we sat in the back. We traveled along the Sanyo (toll) expressway, so we got more great views of scenery enroute.
Mrs. Takamura's mini van, much "mini-er" than our North American mini vans, was equipped with a (talking) electronic toll unit, so we just whisked along. Her van was also equipped with GPS, which was quite helpful. The road distance between Yamaguchi and our first stop of Miyajima is about 150 kms or just over 2 hours. The speed limit on the expressway is 80 kms/hr; roads were sometimes windy and we went through lots of long and short mountain tunnels along the way.
After a brief stop at a rest area,
we arrived at the Miyajimaguchi Ferry Terminal in Hatsukaichi. Our JR rail passes included passage on the JR ferry to Miyajima (Island). Haruna and Mrs. Takamura purchased their tickets at the (talking) ticket machine. Haruna mentioned everything electronic seems to talk here in Japan.
It was a 15 minute ferry ride to Miyajima. When we left the 'mainland' we could see the expanse of the area. Eve spotted what looked to be a 2 level, very nice racetrack clubhouse. Mrs. Takamura advised us it is a clubhouse on the waterfront for the power boat races, overlooking an enclosed concrete walled 'track' in the water.
We noticed something in the water during the ride. Mrs. Takamura explained they were oyster farms. The area is known for its oysters.
As the ferry got closer to the island we could see the O-Tori (Grand) Gate, which is actually in the water and one of the most recognized sights in Japan. It is part of the Itsukushima Shrine. The shrine is designated as an UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization) heritage sight, and consists of several buildings.
The front of the Ferry Terminal was lined with colourful carp (fish) windsocks - these were left over from the "Boys Day" festivities held earlier during Golden week - it was a beautiful sight.
One of the first things we noticed was the population of deer on the island.
They were everywhere and totally tame and casual with all the visitors. Sometimes we wouldn't even notice some of them because they were just quietly lounging under a tree or just walking around with everyone else along the paths. They were even evident in some of the souvenirs from the island.
We walked through the town and Omotessando Shopping Arcade. Even though we had seen our fair share of shops and stores on this trip, this path and stores seemed quite unique. The streets had cloth valances which could be retracted or pulled out depending on the sunshine of the day. There were special foods unique to the area, such as the maple shaped cake type cookies which came in a variety of fillings such as cream, cheese, cream cheese or sweet bean paste. Many shops also had charcoal or wood barbeques to cook fresh oysters. I tried a few and they were much bigger than the ones we have at home. Haruna and Mrs. Takamura said currently they were only serving the 'small' ones as the bigger ones are only available in winter. The shops also sold souvenirs unique to the area, such as rice paddles with inscriptions. At one sight they displayed the biggest rice paddle (wood carving) I've ever seen - about 20 feet long!
The walkways along the water and in the shrine were all beautiful with flowers, trees and different views of the 'mainland'. It seemed like every spot was a great view and photo op for the O-Tori gate.
We entered the shrine, washing our hands and mouths. Mrs. Takamura asked Eve to try one of the 'fortune' stands. She shook a cylinder filled with 100 thin sticks, then shook one out of the top. Each stick labelled with a number. Each number corresponds with a small drawer. In each drawer is the 'fortune'. Mrs. Takamura translated, gave the particulars and said overall it was a good fortune! Next the paper is folded and tied to a wire with everyone else's fortune.
While we were at the Itsukushima Shrine, which consisted of several buildings, we also got our Temple/Shrine book signed. Entries are done in Japanese characters and calligraphy then signed with the Shrine stamp. We checked out a small museum filled with examples of ancient Japanese history artifacts. We walked through the various buildings and even saw a traditionally dressed bridal party getting their picture taken.
They looked beautiful!
We stopped for some island souvenirs then lunch at Mrs. Takamura's chosen Okinomiyaki restaurant before heading back to the Ferry.
We got back in the van for the hour trek to Hiroshima.
Our hosts and various Japanese friends asked us a few times if we wanted to see Hiroshima and its memorials. They said we didn't have to go. They warned us it was quite graphic and many people do not want to see to it. We acknowledged what a tragedy it was, we wanted to experience it and understood the importance of bearing witness.
It was tough finding a place to park so Mrs. Takamura dropped us off along the riverbank and we strolled along the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. The Park is dedicated to the first city to suffer a nuclear atomic bomb attack, at 0815 the morning of August 6th, 1945. About 140,000 people died as a result of the bombing. Eve and I noted since the bombing was almost 64 years ago, the survivors are starting to dwindle. The river was running softly and the riverbank was lined with a variety of beautiful flowers and vegetation, a very peaceful setting.
Our first stop was the Atomic Bomb Dome,
another UNESCO heritage sight, located just across the river from the park and the most famous landmark in Hiroshima. It was one of the few buildings left standing within a two km. radius of the explosion. It is considered the hypocentre. They say though everything was levelled around this building, originally the Industrial Promotion Hall, parts of this building remained as the bomb exploded directly above it. The Atomic Bomb Dome is preserved "in memory of the casualties and a for the nation's and humanity's collectively shared heritage of catastrophe".
We visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.
It housed many displays, recovered items and many stories of Hiroshima before and after the bombing. There were models of how the area looked flourishing before and then basically a decimated charred flattened area after the bombing. The area was literally levelled. A few buildings had walls or parts still standing, such as the Atomic Bomb Dome. Pictures were displayed of people who looked like they melted from the heat. It was graphic. Just before the bomb exploded many school children were in the area assisting with an effort to prepare the city for enemy air raids, so some of the saddest stories were of the children who instantly or ultimately perished or were severely injured. The museum was created not only to honour the ones who perished, but also the ones who endured and survived as well as to teach the horrors of a nuclear attack and hopefully never have it happen again. You couldn't help but be moved.
Other memorable parts of the park were the Cenotaph, which notes the names of those who perished,
and through its arch you can see the Atomic Bomb Dome; the Children's Peace Memorial, based on the true story of a little girl who died and the Statue of the A-bomb Children. The park is located on an island in central Hiroshima between two rivers and is a wide, well kept expanse with fountains and other smaller memorial tributes. The day we visited there were many people strolling around the park and museum, including approximately 10 - 12 bus loads of Japanese school children dressed in proper school uniforms.
After we toured the museum, with our English audio guides, we met Mizue outside, she just finished her conference. The five of us had a few lingering moments in the park then decided to see if we could find an appliance I have been looking for - the elusive hot water dispenser.
We walked to a shopping area close by and went into an electronics type department store, "Deo Deo", about 7 stories of wares. There I finally bought one! We picked up the dispenser in the stores "pick up location" next door. We went right over and it was all wrapped and waiting for us, tied up with string and an ingenious little carrying handle!
It was such a hot day, we decided to go for a quick break before starting the journey home. The ladies took us through a glitzy shopping mall which Eve and I (and Haruna) agreed all of our daughters would love; lots of trendy clothes and fashion accessories in the midst of loud modern music.
We stopped at a "Mister Donut", tried out a few more varieties of their donuts, had a drink and discussed the day so far.
When we went to pick up Mrs. Takamura's car and we saw something else new.
She parked her vehicle in an electronic parking garage. Drivers pull in and leave the vehicle on a roller type surface. They are given a receipt for their vehicle and it is electronically moved into an elevator and ultimately the vehicle moves on rollers to a designated parking spot, all without any human assistance. When we returned, Mrs. Takamura paid for the time parked in a machine, then an attendant helped her enter her ticket into a slot to call up her van. While we waited in the waiting room, about 5 minutes later, the elevator opened and her car rolled out sideways all ready to go!
On the journey back to Yamaguchi, we stopped at dusk to get a closer look at Kintaikyo Bridge in the city of Iwakuni.
The original Kintaikyo Bridge dates back to 1673, although it went through a 1953 reconstruction. Originally, the arches of the bridge were made entirely out of wood, without even nails and could only be crossed by samurai. Today we could see some nails. A unique bridge it had gradual shallow wood steps leading to and from the top of each of the bridges arches. We could tell at one time the river it spans was deep and easily rushed both sides. Today the river is about half the width at some points and not near as deep. A few boats could be seen along the banks. Parts of the once river bed are now used for vehicle parking and a few tourist shops. On one side of the bridge rose a mountain, mostly green with trees and bushes and a few rows of homes, but a pagoda style building could be seen at the top. The narrow street and walkway lining each side of the river bank were lined with beautiful Japanese lanterns lights.
The rest of the trip home seem to pass quickly. We said our goodbyes and thank yous to Mrs. Takamura when we picked up Mizue's car. We were very grateful she could be our chauffeur and tour guide for the last 12 hours.
Mizue, Haruna and us stopped at the 7-11 to pick up something for supper. No Hoagies or Slurpies here in Japanese 7-11s! There was about a 30 foot wall displaying various Japanese foods such as sushi, rice, noodles, various seafoods and combinations, in large and smaller sizes. They also had some hot service items at the counter. This was the 7-11 location Haruna worked in a few summers ago - she said they were very popular for lunch with the local business people.
We arrived home about 9 p.m., Yasutoshi had just arrived home from work as well. We all sat together for supper, a few more final drinks then we excused ourselves to pack and sleep before tomorrow's journey back to Narita (area of Tokyo neighbouring the airport) to prepare for Wednesday's departure home to Winnipeg.....all too soon.
A day in Hiroshima
Monday, May 11, 2009
Yamaguchi, Chugoku, Japan
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