Photos © Ruud Leeuw

OSAKA

After we'd checked into our hotel, we did a stroll through the area to see where we were at. Everything seemed
normal here, people doing their thing in a park, but I found one abnormality: no waste bins! I found this common
everywhere in Japan, a lack of waste bins. So I walked around all day with some banana peels I couldn't get rid off.
Because people in Japan don't eat in the street...

We see here bicycles parked where they shouldn't, but what I found more annoying was that most cyclists cycle
on the footpath, even if there is a cycle path. I had difficulty in adjusting to the Japanese anomalies during the
first few days, and there were plenty...

We could still see the devasting effects of Hurricane Jebi, which went through this area the month prior to our visit.
It was the strongest Hurricane to hit Japan in 25 years. One of Japan's busiest airports, Osaka's Kansai Int'l
Airport (KIX), was closed for several days because of flooding and a tanker ship had hit a bridge connecting
KIX to land. Fortunately KIX reopened for international flights shortly before our visit, though we entered
the country through the low cost terminal as the modern international terminal was still in repairs.
-+-

By 18:00 it was completely dark, a disadvantage for an October visit perhaps, but the temperature was tropical.

FamilyMart and 7-Eleven soon became routine evening stops.

First encounter with selecting a meal by pictures, eventhough we were
given an 'English menu'. Worked out ok (the beer was easiest!).
But... we noticed the staff was very loud in welcoming the guest and
saying goodbye in unison to the patrons: a form of politeness ?!?

During the evening stroll we came across the castle here at Osaka; we did not manage a day visit.

A proud statue at Osaka's castle

HIMEJI CASTLE

It took me a while to get familiar with the public transport system, though every effort seems to have been made
to make it user friendly for non-Japanese. Such as a button here for an English menu. The plethora of signs in
train stations is confusing but English names are most often to be found, one just has to get accustomed to all
the signs, lines and colours. It is the same for the metro. The public adress in the trains is also often in English.

Off on daytrip to Himeji Castle. I was still coping with the jetlag, so a half day outing seemed appropriate.
Distances shrivel while travelling on the Shinkansen hi-speed train.

In the ticket office of Japan Rail one can make seat reservations for the Shinkansen. Long lines at the counter
or 'fully booked' status also made us choose the non-reservation compartments in the Shinkansen. But that meant we
sometimes had to stand, waiting for a seat to become available. Sometimes there was free wifi available, not always.

.

Even before entering the actual castle there is a gradual climb, approaching the castle in a half circle.

I was disappointed to see all the rooms on every floor empty, without any effort for decoration.
We shuffled on our socks, as visitors had to leave the shoes at the entrance.

An insight in the building of this castle.

I concluded that Himeji Castle is best enjoyed from the outside.

-+-

Popular with school excursions

Now that's better than graffiti

We went looking for lunch; this isn't so easy if one likes to sit down and this situation played on my mood during
this trip. But this location in a backstreet, almost invisible from the main street, was a delightful place.

-+-

Hyogo Prefectural Museum of History

We found little of interest explained here in English

-+-

The streets here are of little interest, I guess I expected it to be picturesque like Kyoto and Tokyo

There is a large covered shopping mall that also leads back to the trainstation. Little of interest here for me.

I did like the displays on the ground of the covered market.
One of the books I bought had prints by Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858); the traditional illustrations of
those days continue to hold with a unique fascination, equally so the modern illustrations of today.
en.wikipedia.org:_Hiroshige

Not much to learn from this table, except that we were on the right track for Tokyo.
Shin-Osaka was our stop to transfer to the subway network.

HIROSHIMA

With our Japan Rail pass we had a free ride on the loop the tourist bus drove; the Lemon Route was one of three.

Unfortunately these busses were not fitted for westerners; perhaps they were obsolete busses put in use again.

Our stop was no.6, the Atomic Bomb Dome, but those first 6 stops were not too distant from each other.

The Atomic Bomb Dome in the background

Students read something aloud or adressed their fellow students.
Hard to make out what they said exactly, but it is good that history is respected and passed on.

In the context of this place 'Seek Joy, Feel Good' is remarkable. But learning about history is in itself rewarding.

I did not know about the Korean victims here

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Hall

In the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum

Shocking to read that days after the blast the survivors thought that the worst was over, until the malignant tumors
and cancers became evident. So much pain and sorrow still lay ahead.

"I fought with myself for about twenty minutes. Then, finally, I forced myself to snap the shutter."

Before the bomb fell

Devastation on its way..

-+-

I did not find Hiroshima a very inspiring city in terms of architecture. Perhaps the respect by younger people for
the elder and established classes is too much and so marked renewal is suppressed. But that's just my two cents.

MIYAJIMA - ITSUKUSHIMA SHRINE

Perhaps I was already too tired here to appreciate the place, but I thought a Torii gate in the water very little
reward for this endeavour. However, I do enjoy making photos such as this one.

There is a street leading back to ferry dock, lined with souvenir shops and snacks.

The 'Conger Eel Steamed Bun' may be a Miyajima specialty, but I'll prefer a Snickers bar any day.
We did not break our stride here and continued to the docks, the day wasn't over yet: places to go & things to see.

OSAKA

The Namba district in Osaka is where the bright lights of Osaka are at.

Again we had difficulty in finding a nice place to eat which ticked at least two boxes: able to sit down and cold beer.
Meanwhile, the bright lights and the noise from the advertisments by loud speakers were impressive.

'Namba walk x Hello Kitty'. The Japanese have a unique fondness for 'Hello Kitty'-type advertisements.
The subway system often seem to have extended shopping areas; here they are closed due to the late hour.

We kept learning by observation, such as the option to buy two tickets in one purchase or, if you know the rate, buy
a ticket for the advertised sum. From Namba to our Hommachi station on the Hanzomon line was only one stop, JP¥ 180.
It had been a long day, but looking back on only the second full day here, I could conclude we'd already seen a lot.
And learned a lot, like it is very much a cash society in Japan. At home we'd pay these tickets by debit/credit card.

'Women Only' cars; more than once I'd line up and found I needed to find another carriage to board.

NARA

Nara is often advertised as a day excursion from Osaka or Kyoto, but we visited it the day we transferred from
Osaka to Kyoto. Not sure if we could store our bags at the Nara rail station we travelled by Shinkansen to Kyoto
first, a trip of only 35 minutes, stored our suitcases in a coin locker there and went by slow train (1 hour) to Nara.
Illustrating the ease of traintravel in Japan. We need not have worried, we did see coin lockers in Nara too.

We saw several cars I normally associate with the USA or Mexico: those who can 'bump' the car with its suspension.
The footpath crossings in Japan are remarkable too.

I began to develop an eye for the traditional Kimono (or actually 'Yukata') dress in the street.

Progress

-+-

Kohfuku-ji Temple (office)

At several temples we noticed a common presence of deer: endearing

The modern and the traditionalists

Himuro Shrine

A process of sounding the bell and hands folding in prayer.
There is also a tribute by pouring water over a stone and folding prayer papers in a tree.

Tall guards at the gate

The main building, which houses the Big Buddha

-+-

The Nara National Museum here in Nara (which was the capital of Japan from 710 to 784) we found closed but
through an underground passage from the reception area and this led to an annex building, with a collection of
Buddhist art on display, including images, sculpture, and altar articles. Pity photography was not allowed.

The face expressions on these statues are fascinating and so are the poses of the standing statues.

-+-

Back in 'modern' Nara, on our way to the railway station, to catch the train to Kyoto.

PAGE ONE | PAGE TWO | PAGE THREE | PAGE FOUR