Miyajima, the Island of Shrines

The day we toured Hirishima it was pouring rain so we were happy the next day it had stopped so we decided to take the JR train and ferry to Miyajima Island which is about an hour outside of the city. The island is known as the Shrine Island as it is the location of one of the most famous shrines in Japan called Itsukushima which was originally built here in the 6th century and the present one being built in the 16th century. It also has a Gate which floats on the water and is one of the most photographed scenes in Japan.

Approaching the island...










Fish farms...










There were many school children also on a day trip...





And these little ones with their cute outfits...





The island is populated with deer that are quite bold and will approach you looking for food...





And will also look in your bag to find some...





We decided to do the Nature Trail up the mountain and it was a beautiful walk, so green...





Quiet streams...








View from the top...





By that time we were hungry and stopped at a traditional restaurant with no English menu but plastic food samples in the window. The food we received was very good, Don had the Japanese beef curry and I had oysters and rice...



This meal was a good deal at 25.00 for both of us!
The island has many shrines so we stopped at a few along our walk in the afternoon...



Five storied pagoda...





We saw this one on the side of the mountain as we walked by...



I love the colors around this one...


Before you entered this one you had to pull the bell and then bow...





Way up another hill was a temple dedicated to children and there were many whimsical touches...





 " See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil"



 The Buddhas must find it cold here...



Some views of other shrines...





A quiet spot to meditate...









Lots of stairs to climb...







At this shrine Don lit a candle as he has done at temples, shrines and churches everywhere...





At this shrine you had to pay money and step on this stool which was filled with incense coming out of the shape of two feet and you would be blessed so it was worth a few yen...





We finally made it back down the hill and into the main shrine which is built over the water and has a series of different buildings. It is a Shinto shrine where visitors pray to the gods enshrined within.


As we entered there were a number of places to receive blessings such as here where the worshippers would wave the white sticks over them...





These worshippers follow the ritual at a shrine where you bow deeply twice, clap your hands twice. Bring you palms together to quietly pray and then bow once more.





The shrine was very peaceful...












In front of the shrine was the floating gate which is one of the most photographed scenes in Japan...





A closer look...





Some views around the little town...



Streams running through some of the streets...


A street scene...



A typical house front...





And as in anyplace where there are lots of visitors there was lots to eat...



They harvest a lot of oysters here and lots of vendors were grilling them.


This lady was doing fish rolled in various ingredients and then deep fried...





We opted to try a very traditional Japanese dessert...maple leaf-shaped manju cakes, known as momiji manju. The more traditional ones are filled with bean paste, but now they have other fillings like chocolate. 


Here on the island they make them...





And serve them with green tea, delicious!





So ended another great day in rural Japan which we prefer more than the cities. And of course like all the rest of the visitors to the island we had our picture taken by the famous gate....

Hiroshima, Japan

We reluctantly left our little guest house in the mountains bound for Hiroshima and three trains later we arrived here in the city of 1.2 million. This time we are staying in a small apartment in the middle of the city where we sleep in typical Japanese style on mats...

 Surprisingly they are quite comfortable and we were able to sleep well.

At approximately 8.15am on 6 August 1945 a US B-29 bomber dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima instantly killing over 40,000 people. Many more died in the days after from their wounds and exposure to the radioactive material and by December of that year over 140,000 people had died from the blast. 
In the middle of the city near the epicentre of the bomb there is a beautiful Peace Memorial Park dedicated to the victims and to the goal of lasting peace. Surprisingly there is a building here where the bomb was dropped that was not destroyed since it's top was a dome and somehow it survived.

A view of the dome from the river as the park is built between two rivers...

Near the beginning of the Peace Park there is a museum dedicated to the event and its' exhibits are quite moving...



In the entrance is a clock and a day counter showing how many days have passed since the Bomb on the top and on the bottom how many days have passed since the last nuclear explosion. Scary enough there has been only 112 days since a nuclear test was done by North Korea and this is the number on the bottom.



When the bomb detonated approximately 600 meters above the city there was a blinding flash and the subsequent heat rays and blast burned and crushed nearly all the buildings within 2 kilometres. Here is a scale model of the destruction...

Here is a replica of the bomb that caused so much destruction. It had 50 kilograms of uranium but only 1 kilogram was activated and the instantaneous fission released the energy equivalent of 16,000 tons of high performance explosive. Imagine what would have happened if it had all activated?





Those who managed to survive were badly burned, their clothes in tatters as they tried to escape through the rubble...

Many of the displays in the Museum are of clothes and belongings from victims whose relatives sifted through the rubble to find their loved ones whose bodies for the most part were disintegrated...
Many of the victims were school children including this young girl...



This jacket belonged to the victim pictured at the top who was badly burned and died shortly after...



This helmut and bicycle belonged to a 3 year old boy who was playing outside and his body was disintegrated. The father buried them a,one with the ashes for 40 years in their garden before digging them up and loaning them to the Museum...
And And the stories went on and on....


Another moving exhibit were the recorded stories of survivors of the blast as they told their stories about that day and what they saw and experienced. The common theme in their descriptions was that it was a scene from hell with one woman remembering all she saw were three colours...red, black and brown. 


Survivors are also tour guides, this man is standing by one of the few photos taken shortly after the blast...







There were many Japanese school children visiting, taking notes and here signing the Book of Memories...





The park itself is quite lovely but as it was pouring rain we didn't have much time to linger and enjoy it. This is the view out from the Museum...





There are many memorial statues...






This is the Children's Memorial...

It is surrounded by displays of artwork sent from children all over the world...



The Peace Bell which you strike and say a prayer for peace...

Beautiful grounds...



The eternal flame...



Some peace statues...

This visit was a grim reminder of the effects of war both immediately and long lasting and we were glad to have the opportunity to visit.
The Peace Memorial is the main reason people visit Hiroshima but as we walked around it seemed to be another very well kept city. It is a very modern city as well since it had to be rebuilt after the war.





Many people ride bikes...



And cars park on top of each other...



We are staying in the center of the city and after a day realized that we are in the red light district but it is still very safe to walk around day and night...

The signs advertise the girls inside but they look very tame compared to what we have seen elsewhere! 
Not far from the bar street either...



We find everything very expensive here as elsewhere in Japan so we buy our food at the supermarkets and food halls that are in every department store. This one was in a very fancy store so no shopping here. 



Every store has a huge section of prepared food which seems to be in everyone's grocery cart including ours!



As an example of the cost of restaurant food here a set lunch menu which is very basic is around 2500-3000 yen which in our dollars is 30.00 and that's without a drink. So a typical lunch would cost us 70.00 if we went out to eat at a local restaurant. But the upside is I have eaten freshly prepared sushi almost every day!
It was easy to get around the city as well with many forms of transportation including the electric tram complete with conductors in full uniforms...

Hiroshima is a government Center with not much to see besides the Peace Memorial so the other day we went outside to visit a more rural area. Our stop here helped us understand what happened the day the first A Bomb was dropped and the need to ensure it will never happen again!