Reconstitution Vacation: Osaka

Our next destination in Southern Japan was the bustling city of Osaka. It's the third largest and second most important city in Japan, and reputedly the culinary capital of the country. I felt it was important to spend some time there if possible during our time here. However, I found it difficult to come up with an itinerary. We basically had an afternoon in this metropolis and I didn't even know how to scratch the surface of all there is to do. So we decided to intentionally do something different. No historical buildings or temples. Instead we explored the Osaka aquarium, rode the giant ferris wheel at sunset, and then wandered around the neon-lined restaurant and entertainment district called Dotonbori Street until we found a perfect little ramen shop for dinner. Below are some photos!

The aquarium

Feeding the trained seals. We also saw dolphins!

They have a huge tank in the middle of the aquarium with a small whale shark

HUGE manta ray!

mini recreation of the Great Barrier Reef

giant crabs. Super creepy!

Osaka harbor at sunset, seen from inside the giant ferris wheel

At the top!

cool bridge

For some reason there was a giant stuffed Stitch in our car

Giant ferris wheel

Dotonbori Street

this bowl of ramen was SO GOOD after walking in the cold all day

Reconstitution Vacation: Miyajima Island

The next day we took a train and then a short ferry out to Miyajima Island - reputedly the most beautiful spot in Japan. The giant "floating" torii gate in its Itsukushima shiinto shrine is one of the most internationally celebrated symbols of Japan. So, of course, I couldn't pass up an opportunity to take several dozen photos of it!

Funny sign on the train to Miyajima encouraging safety and courtesy

 

One of the unique things about Miyajima is that the whole island is populated with small, tame deer. When we got off the ferry, we were immediately greeted by a handful of these seemingly gentle, sacred creatures. Soon, we would learn that this is just a front they put up... They are cute until they see that you have food and you refuse to give it to them. Then they come after you with reckless abandon. I had one try to steal my ice cream cone. Thankfully I managed to save my ice cream cone, but it stole a postcard I had bought for my grandmother out of my purse and ate it instead. Craziness!

Don't be fooled by this cute face!

James scolding the deer for attacking me. It's not paying attention. It just wants his bottle of CC Lemon.

The deer are a fun but fleeting distraction from the stunning scenery of the island - both natural and man-made. There are so many temples, shops and beautiful hiking trails to explore that we were happily occupied all day.

5 Story Pagoda behind the Senjokaku Buddhist Hall

Side view of Itsukushima shiinto shrine

Us in front of the floating torii gate

After we'd had our fill of temples, we took a hike up to the gondola that takes you to the top of Mt. Misen (the highest point on the island.) The higher we rose into the hills, the more the trees started to turn colors. I love fall in Japan, so I was happy inspite of being a bit winded.

The gondola ride was relaxing. I was surprised how far we rose on that track. The view from the top of Hiroshima across the bay, as well as the neighboring islands was very pretty. I'd read there are supposed to be wild monkeys at the summit of Mt. Misen, but we didn't see any. We were very disappointed!

As the sun started to set, we headed back to take pictures of the torii gate at low-tide. It's pretty cool because you can walk right up to it. I was also surprised to see that the two main posts are made of two trees that were not reshaped into perfectly cylindrical poles. James had a field day with the fisheye. Below are a few of the best pictures we snapped before we went back to the hotel.

Reconstitution Vacation: Hiroshima

After a couple days of R&R, James and I hopped on the bullet train for a week of sightseeing in Southern Japan. It was a long and expensive trip from Misawa to Hiroshima (our first destination), but the experience was well worth it! The 8 hour train ride was very relaxing. The scenery was beautiful, we had plenty of time to read, we grabbed some real Starbucks treats to perk us up in Tokyo, and of course - the company can't be beat!

Beautiful view of Mt. Fuji on the way south

While in Hiroshima, we stayed at the Hotel Granvia Hiroshima, which is attached to the train station. We got a great deal on our room reservations and so our home base for the first leg of the trip was pretty ritzy by Japanese standards. It was also a very convenient location since we could take local transportation from that central hub to all of the sights we toured.

That night we ate dinner at the "Western" buffet in the hotel, then hopped on a tram to Hondori Street. This massive downtown shopping district is full of interesting stores and restaurants. We didn't buy anything but enjoyed window shopping - especially since many of the stores had hilarious english names.

Hondori Street

Silly name

Hiroshima is a big, bustling city. As we walked its streets taking in the city lights and all of the people and activity, it was hard to believe that less than 70 years ago this entire city was completely distroyed by an atomic bomb. Incredible.

view from our hotel room

The next morning, we made our way to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial and Park. It's a beautiful area full of all kinds of memorials and statues dedicated to the victims of the tragedy and encouraging future generations to prevent such an atrocity from happening again.

The most iconic landmark in the park is the Atomic Bomb Dome - what remains of the former Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall. When the bomb exploded over the city, it was one of the few buildings to remain standing. It was a very creepy sight.

Other memorials were dedicated to various groups affected by the blast - students, foreigners, etc. Hundreds of brightly colored peace cranes adorned the various monuments as an expression of peace.

birds-eye view of the park and its various memorials

After walking through the park, we grabbed some lunch at a Mediterranean restaurant called Zucchini on Hondori St. Then we went through the Peace Museum. I would hardly say that the museum was peaceful, though... It was very well done and I feel like I learned a lot. But it was so uncomfortable being in there as an American among throngs of Japanese school children learning about how we slaughtered their people with a single bomb.

 



After that, we needed a bit of a distraction. Something to lift our spirits. So we walked over to Hirosaki Castle and explored its grounds.

 



exhibit commemorating the annual chrysanthemum festival

Soon, the sun began to set. So we made our way back to the hotel and enjoyed a fancy meal at the Chinese restaurant in the hotel. I enjoy going on dates with my husband!

Our Next Assignment!

Soon after James returned from his deployment, we received word that our next assignment will be to Osan AB, South Korea! It will be a two year assignment (unless we choose to extend, which we don't plan to.) We will leave Misawa in early March, take a couple of weeks to visit family and friends in the States before James starts the 8 week Squadron Officer's School in Mongomery Alabama. I will go with him to S.O.S., and then in mid-May we'll make our way to Osan. James' brother Jon is currently stationed in Osan and we are excited that our time will overlap a little bit before they move on. We don't know much more than this yet. We're hoping that I will get command sponsored so we can live on base and take all of our stuff with us. But we won't know that for a while yet. We will keep you all posted!