Hiroshima and Miyajimaguchi
Hello all,
We have left our Ryokan in Tokyo for an apartment in Hiroshima. We liked the adventure of sleeping on the futons but alas... they aren't that thick. Like sleeping on thermarests without the air... But now we have beds (not Kate but she is young!).
Our first stop in the area was Miyajima with its iconic 'floating' torii gates. There has been a gate here since 1168. The vermilion colour is used to ward off evil. The island has tons of deer that are considered sacred... they are tame as and easy to get close to.
The Daisho- in temple on the island. The colours were spectacular.
There are hundreds of little statues on the temple grounds. The characters's faces are cute and cheerful. Unfortunately, the little statues are decorated with hats and bibs by grieving families who have a lost child
The Itsukushima-jinja shrine...
Fitting that we spent the Remembrance Day in Hiroshima.
The Peace Park in Hiroshima is... something. We were able to see the A-Bomb dome both during the day and at night. The museum was thought provoking and moving. For me, the most emotional part was the children's monument. A child survived the bombing and subsequent devastation of the city (glass was broken 27 km away from the explosion and 140 000 people killed) but became ill with cancer some 10 years after the bombing. She starting making 1000 paper cranes which, once completed will make the wish come true... she died before completing her 1000 cranes but now the children's monument has thousands upon thousands of cranes made by children here in Japan and the world over. A truly moving memorial to the children who died after the bombing.
Everyone should have to visit this site to fully understand the tragedy of nuclear weapons.
Kate rings the peace bell.
Kate and I ended the day with a glorious run around the Temple Tower here in town. Amazing to be running in shorts, in November on a warm night. Feeling thankful.
Opinion Piece time...
Ok so what is up with the cycling in Japan. This is the world of rules and regulations. There are signs on where to line up for the metro, what door to go in and out of a tram, how to hold your bag so it won't disturb others on the tram, no cellphone talking on the metro and on and on.
In the Netherlands, we saw millions of cyclist. The rules was very clear. We noticed that the Dutch all ride their bikes at a jaunty pace, keeping to the far right, even when the road is clear. They hand signal and get very annoyed if they have to change their speed or trajectory. They will ring their bell in anger and they ring them often. I can understand. While the country is flat, the bridges are steep and their bikes weigh a ton. They need that momentum to keep going up and over that hill.
In Japan, cycling and walking for that matter is the wild west. We can't figure out if we are supposed to do. The cyclist weave everywhere - left, right or in the middle. Every direction, might have a light, or might not... it is chaos, made worse by the fact that this is a country run on rules and conformity... interesting. The Japanese do not ring that bell though. They don't honk horns either. In general, everything is very polite and quiet. The cyclist weave and you don't know where they are headed but they don't get upset and are very patient if they have to stop or go around you. No one honks or rings.
Another thought.... Netherlands, for all its beautiful canals, tiny streets, old buildings was blue with smoke and pot fumes. The terraces of restaurants were for smokers only and you couldn't turn a corner without experiencing a blue fog of pot (like Vancouver). Here? Not happening. No one walks and smokes. The smokers are relegated to small bus shelters like glass enclosures off in the back to smoke and there is NO pot whatsoever.
That's it for now... bye all.
We are off to Kyoto tomorrow. cheers.
