Arriving in Kansai airport mid-afternoon at Halloween does not really bring a typical arrival experience, especially for my parents who have traveled for more than 24h. So landing in a dazed and tired mood was refreshed with a series of firsts that would continue throughout the journey.
*The first Japanese toilet experience upon arrival and in the hotel ('omg the seat is warmed up!')
*The first ride in a shinkansen headed to Hiroshima (store luggage between seats) after staring and ekiben
*The first kombini meal in Hiroshima ('what is that sponge looking thing?' referring to fried tofu in cup noddle)
*The first Japanese castle (Hiroshima castle)
The already long day stretched into a walk around town to view Hiroshima by night. I found it appropriate to start our journey in Hiroshima because of its history and story of rebirth. We looked at what remained of the past (int he form of A-bomb dome), and the tear jerking memorials and testimonies at the Children's peace monument beautifully display what and who were sacrificed for peace. Grapes and fields of senbazuru (One thousands origami cranes 千羽鶴 ) echoing the wishes and thoughts dispersed in the wind and punctuated by the peace bell.
For a generation that did not live in wartime or experienced its hardship for years, we were reminded of the value of the current peaceful times once again.
To continue our appreciation, the next night we headed to the okonomiyaki village (okonomimura お好み村) to sample the experience and history of the food that sustained the survivors and brought us the current modern city.
Finally we wandered about to digest and fight the jetlag, as we enjoyed our reunion, thousands of miles away from home.
There are more to Hiroshima than the most visited places, and I would love to come back to experience current local life such as watching the Hiroshima carp baseball team, making kokedama, kyudo, pottery, etc..
It is a laid back starting point to visit the southern part of Honshu island and close to Kyushu and Shikoku.
*The first Japanese toilet experience upon arrival and in the hotel ('omg the seat is warmed up!')
*The first ride in a shinkansen headed to Hiroshima (store luggage between seats) after staring and ekiben
*The first kombini meal in Hiroshima ('what is that sponge looking thing?' referring to fried tofu in cup noddle)
*The first Japanese castle (Hiroshima castle)
The already long day stretched into a walk around town to view Hiroshima by night. I found it appropriate to start our journey in Hiroshima because of its history and story of rebirth. We looked at what remained of the past (int he form of A-bomb dome), and the tear jerking memorials and testimonies at the Children's peace monument beautifully display what and who were sacrificed for peace. Grapes and fields of senbazuru (One thousands origami cranes 千羽鶴 ) echoing the wishes and thoughts dispersed in the wind and punctuated by the peace bell.
For a generation that did not live in wartime or experienced its hardship for years, we were reminded of the value of the current peaceful times once again.
To continue our appreciation, the next night we headed to the okonomiyaki village (okonomimura お好み村) to sample the experience and history of the food that sustained the survivors and brought us the current modern city.
There are more to Hiroshima than the most visited places, and I would love to come back to experience current local life such as watching the Hiroshima carp baseball team, making kokedama, kyudo, pottery, etc..
It is a laid back starting point to visit the southern part of Honshu island and close to Kyushu and Shikoku.
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