Another day another bullet train. On our way to Hiroshima we stopped off in a town called Himeji known for its picturesque castle and gardens. While we were there the Himeji Marathon was on and the finish line ran into the castle grounds. We love to cheer on a marathon and at the end this one had brass bands, cheerleaders, shell horn players and people dressed as samurais to celebrate the finishers. As the marathon was on we got to enter the parks for free, result! But because it was free they wouldn’t let us stamp out stamp book, sad times. If you’ve ever been to Japan you will know that there are stamps everywhere - train stations, castles, shrines, parks - and people get obsessed collecting them, which we are now too! We have a special book for the shrines which opens up like a concertina and can be hung up.
Himeji marathon finish line with Himeji Castle in the background
Koko-en garden
Goshunicho - shrine stamp book
After Himeji we went to Hiroshima and visited Peace Memorial Park. The A-bomb done building still stands in the park a reminder about the horrors of WWII and nuclear weapons. The whole park has memorials to those who lost their life with origami cranes featuring a lot. There is a heartbreaking story of a girl who developed leukaemia from the radiation after the bomb and tried to make 1000 paper cranes as a symbol of hope, healing and longevity; she hoped it would help her live but unfortunately she didn’t manage to make them before she died and so her school friends completed it for her. Now children from all over Japan and the world make paper cranes as a symbol of peace and thousands and thousands are displayed around the park. Walking around the museum was very harrowing and upsetting, especially when you get to the bit with all the personal artefacts of children. It’s terrifying to think how the number of nuclear warheads in the world now have the power to completely eradicate human life!
Hiroshima A-bomb dome
Monument in Peace Memorial Park with thousands of paper cranes hanging
View from the cenotaph down past the peace flame and the A-bomb dome
We needed some happiness to help us through Hiroshima and went on a day trip to Miyajima Island nearby. This island is incredibly beautiful with a tori gate outside the shrine which looks like its floating in the water in high tide. We climbed up the mountain on the island past hundreds of cute mini Buddhas with crocheted hats. We saw lots of signs warning us about the mamushi viper snake on the island but managed to hike without trouble. The views from the observatory from the top were stunning, Japan is just gorgeous and we cant get enough of the landscape.
Floating tori gate on Miyejima Island
Route up Mount Misen...
... past all the mini Buddhas ...
... with all cutest little hats!
View from the top of Mount Misen Observatory
Gorgeous sunset over the tori gate
After this we headed to Naoshima Art Island known for its modern art museums and outdoor sculptures, probably most famous for the yellow pumpkin by Yayoi Kusama . We cycled around the little island feeling very cultured and taking in all the art. We particularly enjoyed the traditional houses made into art installations.
Getting involved with some art
Japanese people are kind and really want to make sure you are having a good time or help you get somewhere if you are lost despite the language barrier (nothing google translate can’t help). In lots of bars and restaurants they love to give mini origami as gifts - so far we’ve got cranes, ninja stars, mini boxes.
Rach and Alex x
Rach and Alex x
Crane love 😘🕊
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