Hello again, friends!
You're read about the first half of my adventure, and now here's the second half! So far, I've given my account of Hakone, Tokyo, Takayama, and Kyoto, which took up the first week. And now for week two, one that brought some extremely different experiences that I was not expecting.
Hiroshima
The next leg of our trip was one I knew would be interesting. We took the train to Hiroshima, the site of where one of the two atomic bombs was dropped in 1945, thus bringing the end of WWII. We checked in at our next hostel, then made our way to the Genbaku Dome, now the Hiroshima Peace Memorial. This building was the epicenter of the atomic blast and still stands today.
It was a very solemn location, and one of the few places where I saw fewer tourists. There was one local man there who had survived the blast in utero and had a display of anti-nuclear weapon statements in multiple languages.
Next, we were taken to a tourist shop that was built over The Fuel Hall that had been destroyed in the blast. The basement was still intact, and the one man, Nomura Eizo, who had been down there at the time of the blast had survived, with his story was on display.
Not too far from there was the next memorial, the Children's Peace Monument. A girl who hadn't been at the blast named Sadako Sasaki had still been in a radiation area and had tragically contracted terminal cancer, and before she passed she made folded over 1,000 origami cranes, each one of them symbolizing a wish to get better. This memorial was a place where visitors could also leave origami cranes. Our wonderful guide had prepared cranes for everyone in our group and we all contributed one.
We continued on our next destination: the Hiroshima Peace Museum. I took only one picture inside and chose not to take any more after that. This museum was an extremely hard one to get through. There were pictures, testimonials, debris, burned clothes and toys, and most disturbing of all, pictures drawn by survivors. I don't think I'll ever forget the drawn pictures as they added an element of horror that no other photographs taken could have captured. I left that place needing a hug.
Outside of the museum was the Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall that I took the time to visit before heading for the shops. Hiroshima has an enormous shopping district, and the city itself is now thriving. Going into it, you wouldn't have believed that it had recovered from one of the most devastating events in history. Despite this, Hiroshima is not much of a tourist destination. Most visitors come from other towns or cities for day trips. Tourists who stay overnight aren't as common.
Our group reunited for dinner, but I decided to take a night off. We had a big day tomorrow for our next destination.
Miyajima Island
Located off the coast of Hiroshima, this island is known for its incredible views, remote shrines, and deer that will eat just about anything. One of the tourist attractions there is the Itsukushima Floating Gate, a torii gate that is just in the sea. It's viewable from the starboard side of the ferry you take to get to the island, but it's really just a gate out in the water. Quirky, but not that impressive.
Once we made it to the shore, we were led through a busy market area to get to the ropeway. The center of the island, Mt. Misen, is a tall peak that is hikeable. Two of my friends and I were insistent on hiking up the mountain, and our guide told us that it takes most people 2 hours to climb, and if we climbed up in less than 2 hours, he would buy us drinks!
He don't know me very well, do he?
We set off on the trail, and as it turns out, it's a trail mostly comprised of uneven stairs carved from the rock. This made it harder for me to climb due to my asthma, but we still made it up to the observatory at the top of the mountain in well under 2 hours. One of my friends went on ahead while the other stayed with me, so he had about a 20 minute lead on us.
One of my personal observations about this area was that it is the only place in the world I've been to that reminded me of Azeroth in World of Warcraft. I wonder if any of the game devs came here to find inspiration for some of the playable areas.
After taking some amazing pictures, we made our way to the ropeway and took a car down. I've taken a few ropeway cable cars before, but this one was ridiculously steep! The fact that we were going down at a slow, steady pace at the angle we were at was nothing short of a miracle. The views from the car were just as amazing.
We zipped over to the Miyajima Brewery stand right next to a Starbucks (by golly, they're EVERYWHERE!) and grabbed some beer and snacks before meeting up with more of our group to do a little shopping before returning to the pier. The pedestrian traffic there is pretty congested, but there is an alternate route along the shore that isn't as busy, so we took that way and found some niche little shops and restaurants out there.
Upon returning to Hiroshima, we went out separate ways for dinner, and then a small group of us went to the local Irish pub, Molly Malone's, to wind down. We would be up bright and early the next day to move on.
Nara
We rode the bullet train back to Osaka again, and this time, it was to visit the city. We stopped at our hostel first to drop off our luggage, and then it was right back on the train to visit the city of Nara. Nara was at one point home to the emperor, but is now renown for its Deer Park.
The ride was over an hour, so we had to split up for lunch first. I returned to the meetup spot to see some kind of rally being held in the town square. There weren't many people there, and our guide explained that it was because it was a rally being held by a local communist group. The rest of our party showed up shortly afterwards and we took the bus to the deer park.
Now there were still Covid precautions in place, so we had to wear our masks out here. We got to meet the friendly deer who will bow to you if you give them treats. Despite my wearing a mask, I started having sneeze attacks around the deer. Unfortunately, it would appear that I'm allergic to deer. I still fed those deer, but I had to get out of the area before I sneezed myself into a brain aneurysm.
Some of our group stayed behind, so the rest of us took the train back to Osaka which had 2 transfers. Despite this, the other group made it back before us because they managed to find a direct route that was a little more expensive. This now brings us to...
Osaka
Here was a cool city! Of all the cities we visited, I loved Osaka the best. The Shinsaibashi station we arrived in had a 1920s feel to it, and even the bathrooms were fancy! Osaka had several different types of neighborhoods to visit, and we were well within walking distance of most of them.
After returning to our hostel and freshening up, we were led through the Americamura neighborhood that was meant to have an American feel, which it did, but with a unique Japanese twist. We continued through the neighborhood and to the Shinsaibashisuji shopping center, passing the Dotonbori area to try out this amazing tempura restaurant.
Our amazing dinner pretty much wrapped up the first night, though I went along with some of the guys in our group to do some nighttime exploring. Despite having guys with me, I still felt relatively safe out here in Osaka. The restaurants and local shops all had their own unique look, and there was street art to make the city more personable.
The next morning involved rising early to go to Osaka Castle. It was several transfers and a decent walk to reach our destination, but it was an incredible view. Of all the castles and palaces we had visited thus far, this one was easily the most beautiful. However, the line to go through the castle was long, so our group checked out the shopping center on site before returning to our hostel.
I spent the rest of this day going through the shopping center at the train station in search of the Pokémon Café. I did eventually find it toward the top of the Daimaru Shinsaibashi tower, but was unable to get a table due to a long wait list. I walked around and explored Dotonbori, found plenty of food to try, and yet another Irish pub to check out. The bartender informed me that the mask mandate ended that day, so I did just that! However, most other locals kept theirs on.
Our group met up once more to have a final dinner together. It was here that our guide finally paid up with the drinks he owed my two friends and me, and we all had a toast to our guide to thank him for the good time he gave us. We then split off into groups, with the one I joined heading for a bar called The Space Station, a joint with a Yelp review stating that it had a retro, 80s video game feel. Those reviews were dead on!
We had a good time getting drinks, playing some of the video games, and trying to find as many Easter eggs hidden around the bar as possible. It was definitely worth the visit.
Alas, the following morning was the time to go our separate ways. Some went on to the airport, others like myself stayed on a little longer. I joined four others and we had a final meal together at Pizza Bar Fullhouse before parting ways. It was a good group of people I had traveled with.
From there, I continued to the Osaka Umeda to check in at the hotel I had booked. However, it wasn't check in time yet, so I explored the nearby area. The Sonezaki Ohatsutenjin-Dori shopping arcade was a block away that had wonderful restaurants, street foods, karaoke, casinos, arcades, and even bowling. It was finally check-in time by the time I had finished my exploration.
After I went to my room, I went to the train station to purchase my ticket to the airport tomorrow, which coincidentally and fortunately was the same platform that I would be leaving from at this time to go to Universal City. It was a 45-minute ride and I was able to check out the gates to Universal Studios, do a little shopping, and visit my second Hard Rock Café.
Upon returning to Osaka, I went in search of pork katsu, with Google Maps and Yelp taking me to the top level of the Osaka City Center station. First, I swung by the Nintendo and Pokémon stores at the top of the Umeda Daimaru to pick up some merch, then continued on to find the restaurant I was looking for. Unfortunately, there was another waiting list and high prices, so I got sushi next door instead because I was too hungry to wait.
My next stop was at the lowest level of the station, and underground shopping and food area called The Whity. I was mostly looking for dessert but with this being my last night, nothing seemed to be standing out to me. I stopped the Craft Beer Market and picked up a flight of beers before returning to the surface, and went back to the restaurant district around my hotel.
I wandered for a while before deciding on going with what dishes I liked best. I stopped at a Lawson for soju, and grabbed taiyaki and takoyaki to finish out the night. I would have liked to explore more but I was too tired at this point. Plus, I had an early morning to catch my flight back to Tokyo and eventually back home.
Thank God, I found the platform I needed to go the night before, because if I hadn't, I would have gotten lost. It was an hour ride to get to the airport, and after breezing through security despite them not having TSA PreCheck, I waited in the terminal.
The Osaka airport can only be described by me in one word: chill. It was the most relaxing airport I have even encountered. There isn't much of a shopping area, and there were outlets everywhere for people to charge their phones. I never thought I would be so relaxed at an airport.
Boarding began and the gate agents announced that people in window seats would be boarding first, which I couldn't believe was such a logical notion that no other country I've been to employed! As I was in a window seat, I went aboard and settled in. It was a short flight, and I was finally able to see Mt. Fuji unencumbered by clouds. That was definitely worth taking the flight instead of the bullet train.
Narita
I landed at the Narita airport and had 7 hours to kill. I had spent a good part of the previous night researching nearby activities and settled with going to the city of Narita, particularly to visit the Naritasan Shinsho-ji Temple. I purchased tickets for the train and checked the bus schedule, waiting for the bus would take as much time as my walking. After speaking with a helpful agent at the local tourist office, I set forth for my final adventure in Japan.
I walked the streets with my carry-on in tow because I had very little yen left and the ATM would only allow me to withdraw funds of no less than ¥5000, which I didn't need for just using a locker. I found a side entrance to the shrine and was able to explore some of the gardens. I eventually made it to the main shrine and temple area and lingered for a bit.
The grounds were beautiful, as to be expected, and the city itself had a certain charm that I hadn't experienced in other cities. The people were friendly, and there were flowers planted all around the city center. There were also monuments to working women and to kabuki actors. It was definitely worth the trip.
Eventually I took the train back to the airport and found that there was an Anime Road, also called the Narita Anime Deck, in the terminal where I would be checking in. As it turned out, the airline I was taking wasn't allowing for anyone to check in yet, so I had the time to go. There were statues of popular anime characters, full walls promoting some of the favorite animes in the country, and full shop of goodies that would make any fan go nuts.
The outer terminal had plenty of shops and restaurants which I explored further as I waited. I also came across a pod hotel for anyone who needed a place to sleep. Once I was able to check in to my flight, I went through security, which once again didn't have TSA PreCheck, but came across this interesting little sign.
With about 3 hours before boarding, I did my final shopping, looked again for pork katsu but had no luck, and instead had an amazing dinner of wagyu steak ramen and sake. It was a bittersweet final meal, in which I reflected on having such an amazing time, but sad that I was leaving.
Home Again
The flights home were uneventful and stress-free, but the jetlag? Woo baby, that kicked my butt! I slept a whole 12 hours when I got home. If that ain't the sign of a good vacation, I don't know what is.
I hope you enjoyed hearing about my trip. I'll be doing at least one more piece on the Japanese culture, and still have other blogs in the works, including one about where I've traveled most recently. Thankfully, this time around on my cruise ship I have found more places for me to access wi-fi and will hopefully be posting more often.
Stick around to see what my next post will be!
All pictures were taken by me or my device and not to be used without permission. Gifs courtesy of Giphy.com
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