More adventures of Travelgirl!

 Read on for the exciting conclusion of my story....

Now, it was on a rainy morning that the Jay drove us to the harbor and after buying a one way ticket we were whisked away over the bright blue sea to Shimabara. Due to some meticulous planning it was still early so us travelers were able to see all the highlights downtown Shimabara has to offer. On the way from the ferry terminal we came to the famous bird tree next to the fish market (the tree was white, I swear, from bird droppings as they sat there in a big huddle overlooking the fish store....) and, more importantly, a big temple. It was famous for a statue of the Buddha reaching enlightenment and I must say it was pretty good. After skulking around in the cemetery for a while we came to the koi street. There were actual koi fish swimming in the (very clean) gutters, a brilliant idea in fact to attract tourists and brighten up life. I fed the fish my last cookies and on we went, past the castle (no time to go in), the old samurai herb garden, past the genki schoolkids who waved and shouted "herro, hao aa joo?" (japanese equivalent of 'hello, how are you'), and some hidden artifacts from times long since passed. Our main concern was finding an old samurai town that had been turned into a museum, which was no small feat - we ended up walking in several circles but thankfully the streets were full of townspeople so we had no problem asking around for directions. The always drop what they are doing and walk you half the way to the plae you´re trying to find so if you have some japanese skills or just plain pointing and gesture skills getting around in Japan is no problem!
Finally, we came to the narrow street along which were very old Japanese houses that you could get into and explore, get an idea of how the Japanese lived some 100 years ago. We noticed some shy Japanese women dressed up in samurai clothes and a kimono and when we finally walked up to them and got brochures and info about the area they were so relieved that we spoke Japanese, they had been afraid to approach us because they thought they would have to speak English, a fairly common reason behind Japanese people being so shy. Anywho, by the time we had had enough of pretending to be back in the 1700s our train was leaving so we ran back to the station and headed toward Nagasaki, with a small stop in Isahaya.

And how I love Nagasaki! Such a wonderful magical place!
The very first thing I noticed was that there are nearly no old houses to be found near the center of the city, everything was obliterated in the bombing and so had to be built from scratch. The city is heavily influenced by its Chinese and Western inhabitans, as for over 200 years it was the only city in Japan that foreigners (mainly Dutch and Portuguese) could do trade with. We arrived just before the lantern festival that is held at the end of february so above every street were strings with magnificent Chinese lanterns that gave the city a magical look. We ate some heavenly food, drank Chinese beer, stayed at the most organized, tidy and helpful hostel I have ever been in, and walked endlessly around this beautiful city.
We saw the Peace park, peace statue, Urakami Cathedral (which had been rebuilt after the bombing), memorial museum for the victims of the A-Bomb, A-Bomb museum (very horrible), the hypocenter where the bomb hit, a torii with only on leg (the other had been crumbled to dust by the blast), the Dutch Slope, the only Confucian temple built outside of China (but it was closed, sadly), the oldest Cristian church in Japan, some western houses and much, much more. Unbelievable how much we managed to see in one and a half day. The atmosphere in Nagasaki is so peaceful and calming, not to mention international, this place is a must for everyone visiting Japan.

The next day, that would be the 11th of February, for the last leg of our trip we hopped on a bus to Fukuoka, where it was raining buckets so we decided to quickly move on to Hiroshima.
As it is way bigger than any of the other cities we had been to, getting around was more tricky and took considerably more time so I spent three nights before returning back home.
We found our hostel quickly and met up with Svanni and Stefán who had come down from Tokyo to explore the city with us. On our first day we went to Miyajima, an island just off the mainland, an extremely holy place. Back in the day there were no women allowed and old people were shipped off the island before dying so not to defile the island. I was very excited to go there to see the temples and the red torii in the ocean, the trademark of Miyajima but little did I know that it held so many more treasures! A highpoint was when we met an Australian nun named Tenzen, her Tibetan name, who was touring with some relics for show in one of the temples and she gave us a small tour and lots of info about the statues and relics. Furthermore, Kobo Daishi, the founder of Shingon Buddhism, went to the island´s tallest mountain, Mt. Misen, and you can see many relics and temples related to him. We took the ropeway up there (like talking a walk in the sky... ) and enjoyed the spectacular view.  Up in the mountain you can get to the famous 1200 year old fire that is used in fire ceremonies, but we very in a hurry to catch the ropeway back down so I just got a picture of a picture and as I gulped down some of the island´s famous grilled clams I silently swore to go back there some day.

The temples were one of the most beautiful ones I have encountered in Japan so far, and that is saying a lot considering I live in Kyoto, and the parks, shrines, statues, trees, deer that roamed freely around the city... it was breathtaking. Another must for anyone visiting Japan.
Henna had to hurry back to catch the bus to Kyoto so it was up to me, Svanni and Stefán to continue exploring the city. We took bike rides, had lunch in a park, ate some delicious food - Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki and very good pizza with red wine, followed by an apple pie... I always eat like a queen when I travel around here, should do it more often.
Visiting the A-bomb museum in Hiroshima I didn´t get the same feeling as in its sister museum in Nagasaki. Some of the stories in this museum were just too sugary and designed to pull your heartstrings, I felt it was just a bit too much. Looking at the burnt, torn and bloody clothes on display and pictures of the scars and swollen heads is horrifying enough. I do like how at both the museums they do say that they too have a hideous past and started the gulf war, leading to the misery of many people.

Outside the museum, in the peace park, the A-bomb dome stands as a monument to that horrible August day of 1945. It used to be a Prefectural Products Exhibition Hall and somehow managed to escape complete destruction when the bomb exploded a few hundred meters away and still stands, crooked and half collapsed, as a memorial for all the souls lost in the first A-Bombing in history.

The next day I just barely caught the 4 o'clock bus back home with four minutes to spare, we had been riding the tram around and I underestimated the largeness of the city and had to hop off our tram onto the next one in the other direction, find the platform and run on board. Six hours later I was back in Kyoto, planning my next trip. I went this morning and bought a ticket for Tokyo and should arrive in the morning. Day trip to Kamakura, chilling in the big city and then I finally get to try snowboarding!

Spring break is goooood ^^

Kudos to all who read all of my ramblings, make sure you visit Kyushu some day.
Besos,
Travelgirl.