this post was semi-written on the train from Hiroshima to Osaka, before being left to think about it/we have been too tired to write any emails or blog posts the past little while... its been way too busy!
The last 3 days which were his first were very busy with a visit to the fish market in Tokyo, a trip to a festival in Yokohoma (a suburb of Tokyo) and probably the highlight of our trip which was being in Hiroshima for the 70th anniversary of the first A-bomb attack. Dimitri and I found the city of Hiroshima to be interesting, busy and energetic city. The food was fantastic, people were friendly the capsule hotel we stayed at was... clean (about the only good thing about it for me) and the ceremonies in the morning and afternoon were fantastic.
The morning ceremony involved speeches from The mayor of Hiroshima, the Prime minister and singing from children and adults during the 45 minute ceremony that started when the bomb dropped at 8:15 AM. Doves were released during the ceremony that called for the abolishment of all nuclear weapons by countries around the world. The PM of Japan asked all G7 countries to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the G7 meetings to see what happened to the cities because of the A-bomb. Most of this I have read since the ceremony, as it was all in Japanese but hearing what the PM and mayor were saying was interesting as a foreigner visiting Japan.
On August 5th, the day before the ceremony we visited miyajima island, which is about 20 minutes from the city and is a Unesco site for the shrine there. It was a beautiful island, which is mostly walkable unless you want to do the crazy ass hike up the mountian to the top. Thankfully my broken toe and Dimitri's lack of enthusiasm regarding hiking, prohibited us from doing the hike, as it would probably have killed me :p
We timed the trip to Miyajima perfectly, and were able to see the sunset as we were leaving to go back to Hiroshima for dinner.
Now, on to the capsule hotel. This was an interesting experience, that was necessary because there were 10s of thousands of people in Hiroshima for the ceremonies, and the city was too full to find a proper hotel, or even a hostel. I wasn't a fan of the capsule hotels. They were a more traditional way that men can find a bed on the cheap in a city, mostly used by business men in areas for one or two days. They can check in, get a meal, shower, sleep and be out in the morning without much fuss. All toiletries are providied and you get a set of PJ's to wear at night (which are filled with polyester - I didn't wear them!) They are convienent for the business person travelling light, as you have to check out everyday and leave your luggage in storage, but for a longer term traveller they don't make life easy. We couldn't come back and crash in the afternoon, which in this crazy ass heat, is a necessity!
It was an experience, one that I will only do if I have to because they are a bit more work than I would want. It's easy to check into a hostel dump your stuff on the side, valuables in the lockers and head out. We just found out that we planned most of our trip around a summer vacation for students in Japan, so everything is booked up!
Both Dimitri and I agree that Hiroshima was our favourite experience of the trip, and we were honored to be able to be a part of it. On a few occasions since then Japanese people have asked us what our favourite part of the trip was and both of us immediately said "Hiroshima on August 6" the thanks and appreciation we get from these people is incredible, and shows the respect they have for others and their own country. They were thanking us for going to Hiroshima to honor the dead. It was one of the coolest things that has happened to me while travelling.
I'm going to keep this blog going when I get home in a few days. We still have more stories and experiences to talk about that I haven't gotten to! There will be pictures added once I'm back on a computer but to keep entertained, checking out my instagram account would show you a few pictures I've taken so far!
https://instagram.com/aniko25/
No comments:
Post a Comment