An American abroad in Hikone, Japan

2006-05-25T03:28:00.000-04:00

And so ends the first half of my free travels. Everything from here on out is from my journey to the East towards Tokyo. Along the way, I stopped at other major cities such as Kyoto (finally had time to photograph it!) and Nagoya, as well as my mountain hideaway, Hakone.

2006-05-25T03:25:00.000-04:00

I very much enjoy the colors surrounding the moat.

2006-05-25T03:23:00.000-04:00

It's unfortunate that the massive size of these walls and the stones that form them are not shown with another person in the picture to emphasize the gargantuan scale they are on.

2006-05-25T03:20:00.000-04:00

These were all taken from the front courtyard (a huge expanse, really) - alas, I arrived in Himeji too late to enter (nearly everything touristy closes early, leaving most tourists with no idea what the hell to do after 4pm). I was free to walk around the perimiter, though, so I made the best out of what I could do.

2006-05-25T03:17:00.000-04:00

Don't be too suprised, the rock declares "Himeji Castle."

2006-05-25T03:16:00.000-04:00

Head-on view of Himeji Castle, largest and most popular in all of Japan. Unfortunately, this is probably one of the least magnificent views of the structure. Check here for a few nice ones: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himeji_castle

2006-05-25T03:13:00.000-04:00

Okayama Castle, on the bank opposite that of the garden.

2006-05-25T03:12:00.000-04:00

Walking around (and in an attempt to dodge the oncoming tour group), I happened upon another stone path - this one leading to the mouth of a waterfall. From this partly hidden vantage point, I was able to capture one of my favorite shots from the Enyo-tei garden.

2006-05-25T03:10:00.000-04:00

Underneath the pink veil.

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This sakura was easily the most spectacular sight to grace the garden. At this time, the other trees like it had mostly begun to shed their flowers, but this one remained in a defiant, full bloom.

2006-05-10T09:30:00.001-04:00

A bamboo grove flanking the valley below.

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Curious island with a lantern and waterfall concealed by brush.

2006-05-10T09:19:00.000-04:00

Every step I took in the grove was another unique view with a beautiful smattering of colors.

2006-05-10T09:18:00.000-04:00

Okayama castle overlooking the path to another flower-covered lunch area.

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Some people enjoying their seasonal "obentou" lunch under a tree. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obento)

2006-05-10T09:14:00.000-04:00

A view of the forest of color that surrounded the far end of the garden.

2006-05-10T09:07:00.000-04:00

The open room with a stream passing through it. The signs reminded you to take off your shoes.

2006-05-10T09:06:00.000-04:00

Another interesting bridge leading to a roofed spot for meditation. A variety of colorful trees are at the far end from here.

2006-05-10T09:04:00.000-04:00

A view of the central, open area from atop the stone-bridged island, looking back at the wood-bridged one and a few others that cannot be reached but by boat. The colorful area at the far right is a giftshop and tea hut.

2006-05-10T09:03:00.000-04:00

A different island, this time linked to by a wooden bridge and hosting a small hut.

2006-05-10T09:01:00.000-04:00

I love seeing stones being used as bridges and stairs - something about the pure, natural feeling it evokes. Unfortunately on that note, Japan doesn't usually cater very well to the needs of handicapped people. The rest of the garden could be enjoyed equally, but this little island would pose a problem.

2006-05-10T08:54:00.000-04:00

The following morning, I headed to Okayama for the privelidge of viewing the expansive garden called "Enyo-tei." This view represents a mere fraction of the property, which seemed to take up all of the peninsula between the two rivers near Okayama castle.

2006-05-10T08:18:00.001-04:00

And before heading out to find my net cafe for the night, I took this Night-scene (aka blurry) picture of the outer wall and moat.

2006-05-10T08:18:00.000-04:00

At this point, my camera battery had fallen to one remaining bar of strength, so I was trying to conserve as much power as possible. There weren't many varied angles from which the castle was worth photographing, so this is all I took.

2006-05-10T08:16:00.000-04:00

South and I were finally dropped off at the station (having stayed out much later than I anticipated), and we talked in the waiting room for a long while until our Rapid train finally arrived. I got off at Matsue and headed straight for the castle as dusk was rapidly approaching. I made it in time to get some nice pictures of it illuminated, and was able to walk around the castle grounds freely. I ran into one person walking their dog, but it was otherwise a perfectly still night.

2006-05-10T08:12:00.000-04:00

This was some nice woodwork at the entrance to the temple also on the property. South knew there were some artifacts inside, so North asked the guy if we could come in and look, which we were allowed to. Most of these had been reduced to twisted piles of rust, so I didn't bother to photograph them.

2006-05-10T08:10:00.000-04:00

Later, we stopped by a shrine which at first didn't seem too unusual, but after walking back through rows of headstones, the cave we had come to see was visible. This cave had a tomb in it (pictured here) that was for some important figure and his family. The catch? He was Korean. North explained that the design and style of the tomb was traditionally Korean, etc. I asked what was the problem this time, and he said that outside the government had dug away much of the larger hill to make way for a road. "They wouldn't have done it if it were a Japanese tomb." To tell you the truth, there was a lot of hill left, and I personally wouldn't care whose hill it was, the important part was still intact.

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The scene at large.

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Of course, this mock "dig" was roped off, but the Koreans had no reservations about ignoring the signs and climbing all around the setup. I was hesitant to go, but we were at the end of the giant field and secluded by brush, so I went in as well.

2006-05-10T07:59:00.000-04:00

Continuing from before - the Korean travel saga. North drove us out to a seemingly random empty field, but after walking a little while back, I noticed the museum and trail markers guiding pedestrians back to a replica of an excavation. The place was called the Archaeological Museum of Kojindani. Here's what it's all about: "Kojindani Ruins
(Izumo City)
In 1984, an important archeological discovery was made at this site. A huge trove of 358 copper swords was unearthed, testifying to the power of the Izumo region in ancient times. The next year, 16 other copper pikes were found, along with six copper bells; these have been designated as National Treasures. Research at these ruins continues apace, as scientists seek to unlock the mysteries of Japan's ancient past."

ただいま！

2006-05-07T06:38:00.000-04:00

While not yet continuing my series of pictures from ages past, I thought it was worth mentioning that I'm actually alive. Not to suggest that Fate didn't test me with it's old tricks...

The 747 I was on had to make an unscheduled stop in Seattle, WA because our "fuel wasn't balanced." This may be pilot-speak for "OH MY GOD AN ENGINE DIED", but I'm not up to date with such technical matters, but two hours of fuel-balancing later, we finally made it back in the air. Since we were an international flight, they wouldn't let us off (customs issues, etc.) - not like I was actually expecting them to - so the grand total time I spent on the airplane came to a grand total of fifteen hours. I'm not going to complain, because I'd much rather sit on my ass another 120 minutes (once it's numb, it stays that way) instead of being sucked out into the air when the plane broke in half somewhere over Montana.

Such are life's compromises.

So I'm sitting in my house on the computer at 6:44 AM (EST is important to note), not having slept in anything other than two-hour bursts. Note: this isn't because of jet-lag, but because I'm finding out that in 4 months of absence from my house/belongings, they need some severe attending to. It was refreshing to have Taco Bell, I must say!

Without derailing the original intent of this blog too much, I'll end it here and say that I've got some catching up to do. Whether it takes priority over all of the other catching up I have to do or not is a different question ;) Hopefully, I'll be able to comment and upload a day's worth of pictures each day this week.

(the flight attendants really loved the Astro-boy shirt)

2006-05-05T05:50:00.000-04:00

Anyhow, after walking around the shrine, they invited me to join them on their other travels in the area for the day. While shocked and moderately skeptical as to if they planned on murdering me for not being a "Korean enough dude", I agreed to go. After all, I could have just pushed the older guy over and kept the Dr. at bay by virtue of the Hippocratic Oath. Before leaving by car, they ate lunch and I quickly looked through the shrine's museum. I was utterly amazed to find beautiful Masamune and Muramasa swords encased there. I wish I could have snuck a picture - they were outstanding to see! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masamune has some confusing material, but the legend at the bottom is brilliant.) The Masamune presented there was made circa 1300 AD... who could know what history it has seen? Soon though, I had to leave my state of wonder to meet my companions...

2006-05-05T05:33:00.000-04:00

After a while of walking around the area, I noticed a strange anti-Japanese slant in everything that they were talking about. It wasn't something shallow on my part (ie. "Oh gosh, they don't think Japan is the best!"), but in their talks about architecture, pottery, any sort of history of Japan's, it was always being compared to Korea. It makes perfect sense of course, considering that the geographical proximity of Izumo to the Korean Peninsula and the migration of peoples to Japan; importing culture, horses, rice paddies, etc. However, the two had an aura of nationalism that turned all of their observations into a petty dick-measuring contest between Japan and Korea. I came to understand that they were upset because so much of Japan's stuff was from Korean influence, albeit thousands of years ago. Not like there's any historical or cultural ambiguity from the Jomon and Yayoi periods (10,000 BC to 200 AD). At least it was interesting to have a different dose of nationalism for a while.

2006-05-05T05:19:00.000-04:00

So here is my "guide" that I've kept mentioning. The guy on the left was born in North Korea and came to Japan when he was young - he is fluent in Korean and Japanese, with some English. The guy on the right is a doctor from South Korea who knows English quite well, and was visiting Japan for a month vacation. Due to my not remembering their names, I will address them as North and South. North still lives in Japan because he is fearful of returning to the Korean Peninsula, and acts as a tour guide for people who are interested (this is actually a common thing to do if you are older and have lived in the same area for a while). South happened to find out about North's Korean-speaking abilities, so they decided to travel together around the area. While I was reading the info pamphlet in front of the shrine, North came up to me and asked me where I was from in a kind-of English, so I naturally assumed he was Japanese and replied in Japanese. He was pleasantly suprised and asked if I wanted to walk around with them since he was already escorting one fellow. I thought it would be great to get some info from a real Japanese person about the history and culture regarding the shrine. South soon met up with us and introduced himself in English, and we started to walk around.

2006-05-05T05:08:00.000-04:00

This was interesting. 27 or 29 (fuzzy memory) of these little living quarters exist, one row of them on either side of the shrine. What I forgot to tell you about is the reason this shrine is popular: (from japan-guide.com) "Izumo Taisha is dedicated to Okuninushi no Mikoto, the nephew of the Sun Goddess. Because Okuninushi is the kami of marriage, visitors pray at Izumo Taisha by clapping not twice but four times, twice for oneself and twice for one's actual or desired partner." So these two sets of shacks are for wealthy-types to come and get married. One side being all men, the other side for their female partners. I have no details regarding the ritual, unfortunately.

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The backside

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The wall you see fully encircled the inner area of the shrine, but you could still see the top half and front to the real shrine where the "holy of holies" (as was written on my pamphlet) was kept. I was quite curious to see exactly what it was... maybe a rock or a sword or some jewel. Could have been a book... gah, I know if I just jumped through the gate and ran I could've made it in to see without a problem - there is no security around these National Treasures. It's a shame I would have destroyed all the positive cultural ambassador effects I've had on the Japanese so far. Actually, I'd have single-handedly created a *huge* debt in foreign relations that other gaijin would have to suffer through for decades to come. I still am curious, though... why can't they just have a picture?

2006-05-05T04:57:00.000-04:00

The front entrance of the real Izumo-taisha. There were gates on either side, but when I asked how one gets in, the reply from my companion was that you had to be a believer and probably had to donate something to get in beyond there. Sure enough, the people who I watched enter were all native Japanese and business-looking ones at that.

2006-05-05T04:55:00.000-04:00

Some omikuji tied to the trees and ema way in the back, behind the statues of a horse and bull in their pens. Shimenawa hang overhead the stable. I like this picture because you get a good dose of Shinto imagery all at once.

2006-05-05T04:52:00.000-04:00

Some smaller shrines - the architecture is most interesting. It was explained to me that the "X"s you see on the roofs are to signify male dieties, whereas "V"s are for females (compare with the Ise pictures later on). The number of horizontal cylinders between the ends also apparently ranks the importance of the shrine, and has something to do with age. According to my newly-met guide, the number of these horizontal markers can change with time.

2006-05-05T04:48:00.000-04:00

At first I was faked out - I thought that due to the freakishly large size of the Shimenawa (the rope and paper strips), this was the actual entrance to the shrine... wrong. Apparently the rope weighed at least a ton, as described to me by the Japanese-Korean fellow I met there. They signify the boundary to something sacred.

2006-05-05T04:43:00.000-04:00

The next day I took a train up to Izumo, to see the second most important shrine in Japan, "Izumo taisha."

2006-05-05T04:27:00.000-04:00

The main street and trolley of Hiroshima - this platform is an island in the middle of two one-way streets. Those are probably drunk businessmen.

2006-05-05T04:25:00.000-04:00

Heading back to town.

2006-05-05T04:24:00.000-04:00

Wild cats.

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Lovely park.

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A map of the entire area from the bridge to the castle. Most of it was a lovely park with many wild cats.

2006-05-05T04:22:00.000-04:00

This was quite suprising to find, a statue of Sasaki Kojiro - rival of Miyamoto Musashi. These two Japanese swordsmen are legends, and even now make appearances in books, video games, movies, etc. I'm not quite sure as to what this statue is doing in Iwakuni (I couldn't translate the inscription on the rock)... chances are he must have traveled here. More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sasaki_Kojiro

2006-05-05T04:07:00.000-04:00

The Iwakuni castle off in the distance. Apparently it was previously destroyed due to a law stating that only one castle was allowed per prefecture. This is why Wikipedia notes it's a replica: "Iwakuni Castle was the castle of the Iwakuni Han during the Edo period of Japanese history. A replica stands high on a hill above the Nishiki River and the Kintai Bridge in the city of Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture. The Kikkawa clan held this castle and Iwakuni Han, which was assessed at 30 000 (later 60 000) koku." (Koku is a historical unit of measure defined as the amount of rice a male adult would eat in a year's time. Hah, still remember something from that history class!)

2006-05-05T04:02:00.000-04:00

There's the missing 1/5th. Take note that it is actually quite long, not sure how long anymore (it was in my pamphlet), but its a bit of a hike due to the arched nature. Here's to shamelessly take from Wikipedia: "The Kintai Bridge (???, Kintai-kyo?) is a bridge in the city of Iwakuni, in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. It spans the Nishiki River in a series of five wooden arches. The original dates from 1674, but flooding from a typhoon destroyed it in 1950. The 1953 reconstruction, with partial restorations in 2001 and 2004, stands today."

2006-05-05T03:59:00.000-04:00

Ah, Iwakuni and it's famous 5-bowed bridge. I'm not sure if that's the correct bridge-architecture terminology, but it sounds sensible. Note that this picture only shows 80% of the entire structure.

2006-05-05T03:58:00.000-04:00

Judging by the ample number of souvenirs around, it seemed that Miyajima was for this enormous rice spoon (official name unknow, sorry). You could get your family name engraved or painted onto them in the shops.

2006-05-05T03:56:00.001-04:00

I'm a sucker for waterfalls, and the camera handled the moving water quite kindly, I think

2006-05-05T03:56:00.000-04:00

Wow, these are kind of old, but it makes most sense to continue where I left off, right? This is still walking around Miyajima :O

Four Months, For Ever

2006-05-02T02:28:00.000-04:00

As my travels are winding down, I felt it would be good to make a brief note of what has happened thus far. At the moment, I'm sitting in my college friend and soon-to-be-room-mate's apartment in Hon-atsugi (kind of near Odawara, kind of near Tokyo, not anywhere near Hikone). I've seen all that I came to see save for a second meeting with the people behind SHARPNEL SOUND - that concert I went to so long ago in Shibuya. I met with Miho, the host sister from the first time I was in Japan, in Shinjuku yesterday and spent a pleasant afternoon in the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building observatories (45th floor, looking out at an endless cityscape), walking around Harajuku and Shibuya, and finally returning to Shinjuku for some drinks and a chat about our separate futures. We were able to see some May Day demonstrators parading towards the building before coming to a sit-down stop on the front steps. I have many pictures of the skyline, hopefully they will turn out well.

Tonight, I'll be going out to an all-you-can-eat, cook-it-yourself restaurant with Jason, his fiancee, and his co-worker, Hiroki. Afterwards, I'm headed back to Shinjuku to meet with Jea and Lemmy for a "drive." The Japanese verb for driving (operating) a car is untensuru, but the English-sounding doraibusuru means to go driving around for pleasure (something that most Americans can't do without fretting over gas prices, unfortunately). We will be doing the latter. Where we are going exactly has yet to be decided, but I'm thrilled at the chance to meet with them once more before returning home. The following day I think I'll be returning to the Kyoto area by normal trains or bus, hopefully it won't be too crowded due to Golden Week, but it will take a good 5 hours at least. The Shinkansen is another option, but I already feel guilty about how much money I've spent on last-minute souveniers and things.

A brief description of what I've seen so far should serve well... Ise was a spectacular journey to the heart of.. nature. It was a very relaxed and suprisingly quiet environment in spite of being the "number one" shrine in Japan. (I was told by the Korean pair I met in Izumo that the importance of these shrines actually changes over time as the heads are replaced, but I can't confirm or deny it yet.) Anyhow, the forest scenery was unrivaled in beauty compared with anywhere else. The varying shades of green, the tallest trees I've seen in Japan, the surrouding mountains.. it was incredible. The shrines themselves were also as impressive due to their unique style and aura of importance. The pictures would do better than words, unfortunately the inner shrines aren't supposed to be photographed. I spent that night in Nagoya and took a Shinkansen for Odawara the next morning.

From Odawara, my next day and a half was spent exploring Hakone via the "Hakone Round Course." I was suprised at just how steep and mountainous the region was - the train we took had to zig-zag up to the top, I'm not sure how to describe it other than that. The cable car was a bit misleading in the sense that we were tugged up a giant inclined plane with train tracks. The ropeway was by far the most amazing; we sailed over the smoking rocks of Mt. Hakone, the sulfur strongly assaulting our sense of smell. This activity is the source of the area's superb variety of hot springs. The pirate ship was indeed a fun journey over Lake Ashi, exposing all of the mountain scenery and scattered buildings. I disembarked at Hakone-machi and walked along the coast towards Moto-Hakone. This part was very pleasant due to the well-kept gardening accompanying the path and the view out across the lake. I stopped in a ramen shop for some negi ramen, prepared extra-spicy to my tastes. After wandering around in search of a particularly elusive Youth Hostel, I stopped in at the friendly neighborhood police-box and consulted them. After maybe 40 minutes of tedious page-flipping and muttering rhetorical statements with the purpose of avoiding awkward silence, the building was successfully located and the route described. The police and I were then able to exchange our little anecdotes and separate with a good impression of one another. An interesting observation I had was that both officers were wearing bullet-proof vests underneath their uniforms, which might be mandatory for all of them in the force... I'm not quite certain; but I was somewhat suprised because of how small and "risk-free" the town appeared.

The walk up the mountain to the Hostel was a tough one. While not too far from the town in 2D space, the added vertical dimension made the hike feel a lot worse than I could have guessed from looking at the police map. I once again had been unlucky enough to fall victim to a "low detail" Internet map that under-described the location of a building to the point where I scoffed at just how unexpected the actual location was. Oh well - I've gotten a lot better at navigation and (gasp) remembering location and route information than I could have ever imagined. I shocked Miho at how well I had remembered the location of most areas of Shibuya, and failing that, just happened to correctly wander to wherever we were trying to go. I could have used this about 10 years ago... It's funny to think that I know some of the largest metropolitan areas in this country, yet don't know a whole lot about traveling around Michigan - where I've lived my entire life. I postulate that trains and walking are better for my memory than trying to drive around places, which is entirely unavoidable in the States.

Regarding my visit to the Yunessun spa, my original intentions were derailed due to the alarming number of people already in line to enter when I arrived there. While not quite Disney World proportions, it was the wrath of Golden Week and the hordes of parents and screaming children that it had summoned. I assumed they were more interested in the "water park" side of the establishment, so I decided to go for the onsen only side. This also saved me the trouble of renting a bathing suit and spending too much money - at this point I was hurting on cash and had to make it all the way to Jason's place by the evening. As I've found in life time and time again, the naked option is much better than any others. That said, it was a positive and nearly necessary experience: breaking down mental barriers regarding nudity in front of others. I took a much-needed bath, eased into an onsen, relaxed, and gazed out at the mountain side. I was unfortunately deceived by a clock in the sauna into thinking it was much later than it actually was, and made a point to leave soon. I had bathed, experienced about 7 unique onsen, and bathed once more before exiting, so I don't feel that I missed out on anything, but I still made the mistake. I made it to Odawara early and thus Hon-atsugi as well. I managed to meet Jason and Takako and return to the apartment for a good night of drinking and socializing.

I'll stop here as I need to review some Japanese before going to meet non-English-speaking people for a change ;) Come to think of it, a little drinking wouldn't hurt, either.

The last time I could see this being updated before my return to America is at my host family's house on the 4th or 5th of May. Hopefully I'll be able to post all of my pictures before I go. Until later.

Yo! Yotei!

2006-04-26T09:51:00.000-04:00

So while I:m in no way done uploading and describing the pictures from my last excursion, I:ve nonetheless moved on Eastward. I:m writing this post from a net cafe in Kyoto (and my host father doubted me that there would be one ;) while snacking on complimentary ice cream, minstrone soup, and debating taking a break in one of the massage chairs over in the other room. Just.. unbelievable.

Anyhow, my plans this time are as follows:
27th - Ise Shrine, Nagoya Castle, net cafe
28th - Hakone Circle Tour, Youth Hostel
29th - Yunessun Spa, Tokyo, ???

(Golden Week, Japan:s uber-vacation for everyone begins the 29th, and I need to finish all of my tourist endeavors before then. Afterward, I can idle in Tokyo for a while - I:m sure I could explore the various districts to my content.)

I won:t be able to upload any more pictures until I get back from this mini-trip, but just think of beautiful mountains and pristine rivers. Until later.

2006-04-24T07:26:00.001-04:00

2006-04-24T07:26:00.000-04:00

The following are pictures from the nature walk behind the town at the edge of the mountains.

2006-04-24T07:25:00.000-04:00

A public garden that invited me in from the street with a signboard. Probably the only garden I've visited in Japan that has been free.

2006-04-24T07:24:00.000-04:00

Deer drinking from the stream that runs through the city. It may go all the way back the the waterfalls that will be appearing later.

2006-04-24T07:23:00.000-04:00

The nice bridge that nobody is allowed to use *shrug*

2006-04-24T07:22:00.000-04:00

Head-on

2006-04-24T05:45:00.000-04:00

People raking the sand? And also the nearest shot of the tori I could get from the shrine. Not too impressive because of how desolate everything looks, but there's plenty of professional photography online if you want to look ;D

2006-04-24T05:44:00.001-04:00

2006-04-24T05:44:00.000-04:00

The tiny channels that formed at low tide were interesting; they inter-connected all across the shrine grounds.

2006-04-24T05:43:00.000-04:00

The two pagodas (I was in the one on the left) taken from the shrine grounds. There's a white heron or something in the pool yonder.

2006-04-24T05:42:00.000-04:00

I should learn to hold the camera straight.

2006-04-24T05:40:00.000-04:00

The shrine has a boardwalk out towards the tori, but you can get much closer to it by walking along the beach - or, if the tide is low, you can walk right up to it.

2006-04-24T05:36:00.001-04:00

And the terrace of it that looks out toward the shrine.

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The pagoda next to the one I was in.

2006-04-24T05:31:00.000-04:00

This was interesting to find above my head - it's a compass and zodiac all in one.. not sure what significance each animal has to the cardianl directions, however.

2006-04-24T05:28:00.000-04:00

Inside - apparently the construction was never officially completed.

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The outer balcony of the pagoda.

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From one of the pagodas dotting the island, looking into the back area of the shrine.

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More low-tide action! This view is of the shrine.

2006-04-24T05:25:00.000-04:00

While not quite high tide, the tori is still amazing to see - it stands about 16 meters tall.

2006-04-23T23:52:00.000-04:00

The walk to the shrine along the coast.

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Much like Nara, there were wild deer all around the place. :3

2006-04-23T23:49:00.000-04:00

Ah yes, it's that famous floating tori out there. The shrine itself is named Itsukushima.

2006-04-23T23:16:00.000-04:00

Miyajima was great because there were so many shrines and other interesting landmarks crammed into such a small space. Walking around the island, I ran into all sorts of intriguing areas unexpectedly.

2006-04-23T23:15:00.000-04:00

First look at the island.

2006-04-23T23:14:00.000-04:00

The "misen maru" ferry we prospective tourists took out to the island the next morning. JR apparently does much more than just Railroads.

2006-04-23T23:11:00.000-04:00

My Youth Hostel for the night... consisting of a tatami floor and futon. I'm lucky there was a TV in our "dorm" because I would've otherwise gone insane - not much to do in a small town like this at night.

2006-04-23T23:04:00.000-04:00

My last stop of the day: Miyajimaguchimae or "In front of the entrance to Miyajima"

2006-04-23T22:55:00.000-04:00

One last shot of the Dome before heading back to the station...

2006-04-23T22:53:00.000-04:00

From the "T-shaped" bridge with the A-Bomb Dome on the left, Peace Park on the right. Where I was standing was the target for the Enola Gay to drop the atomic bomb on.

2006-04-23T22:46:00.000-04:00

The Peace Bell

2006-04-23T22:44:00.000-04:00

This is the burial mound formed from the ashes of countless unidentifiable victims who were instantly incinerated. Surface temperatures on the ground near the hypocenter were estimated to be around 5000 degrees Celcius.

2006-04-23T22:38:00.000-04:00

From the front balcony of the museum facing the park.

2006-04-23T22:36:00.000-04:00

The museum was an incredible experience, and although you were technically allowed to take pictures (so long as the flash was off), I wasn't compelled to walk around like a horrible tourist, my arm permanently extended, photographing all of the horror inside like it was just for my amusement. The museum contained a wide variety of exhibits: model representations of the city before/after the bombing, documents detailing the reasons for developing the bomb and the government's ultimate decision to use it, artifacts that survived the explosion and descriptions of their owners who died, and some detailed information about today's current state of nuclear weaponry as well as projections about the apocalypse as a result of using them. All in all, it was very comprehensive, and I felt that it wasn't biased. Anyhow, this is the one picture I took from inside the museum, because never have raw numbers been utterly horrifying to me. It details the number of nuclear weapons posessed by each country over time. Note that these are nuclear weapons, and about 1000x as powerful as the atomic weapons used against Japan in 1945. The U.S. tops out at about 32,000 and Russia had as many as 40,000. How relieving to know that now they're only down to about 10,000 each.

2006-04-23T22:15:00.000-04:00

Another shot with a crow as well.

2006-04-23T22:14:00.000-04:00

This memorial clock marks the time 8:15, when the bomb detonated. In the museum I later visited, there were collections of melted and dilapidated clocks that were all forever stopped at 8:15. Surrounding this monument is rubble from various buildings that used to stand in the area.

2006-04-23T07:50:00.000-04:00

Under the Cenotaph is a stone coffin containing the names of those killed as a result of the bombing.

2006-04-23T07:47:00.001-04:00

Looking back from the Flame to the Dome and Children's Monument

2006-04-23T07:47:00.000-04:00

From underneath the right "wing."

2006-04-23T07:46:00.000-04:00

A picture of the Cenotaph and museum behind it. I forget what the plane-wing-looking monument is called, but it has an eternal flame in the middle.

2006-04-23T07:27:00.001-04:00

Strings of paper cranes

2006-04-23T07:27:00.000-04:00

2006-04-23T07:26:00.001-04:00

Behind the monument are thousands of folded paper cranes crafted by children all around the world.