28th April 2018,

Hi,

Following on from our six day stay in Tokyo, on Monday 16th April we headed for a four day visit to Kyoto and Hiroshima. Visitors from outside Japan are allowed to purchase a JR Rail Pass which is available for a variety of time periods. We had bought a seven day pass prior to leaving which cost £192. The pass makes it very easy to get around the country and can also be used on local JR trains within cities but not on the subway or private lines.

Our first journey using the pass was on the Shinkansen 'bullet' train from Tokyo to Kyoto. I have a few pictures of the train which you can view. It is a fantastic service. The three hundred and twenty miles were covered in just over two and a half hours. There are acres of legroom and being in Japan cleanliness and efficiency are a given. I took quite a few photos from the train. The first impression is that the countryside close to Tokyo is very built up. You can see the hills and they look very densely forested but the flat land is pretty much filled with buildings. Further out the land does open out a lot more but by then most of the journey to Kyoto was over. The arable land looks to be well cultivated.

Kyoto:

Kyoto was Japan's capital for more than ten centuries until Tokyo took over in the mid 19th century. It is packed with palaces, shines, temples and impressive public buildings. Over the two and a half days we did a fair bit of sightseeing and sampled the local cuisine. The city has a grid system, is compact and easy to get around with a good bus and subway system. The Suica card we used in Tokyo also worked here for bus/subway/trains and ensured continuity for easy travel without the need to fiddle about with change. There are a number of important sites on the outskirts but most journeys would take no more than thirty minutes from your hotel if you stay centrally. We stayed at the Rich Hotel and would have no hesitation in recommending it.

On the first afternoon we walked across the Sanjo Ohashi Bridge, which is downtown and after a walk along the river took a stroll in Maruyama Park. There are a number of temples there. The largest was Chion-in. In the evening we tried the Ramen again for dinner. Main plate plus a drink was less than a tenner.

The following day we got a bus up to the Ginkaku Temple also known as the Silver Pavilion. (The gold one comes later!). Main point about this site is the dry landscaping in the gardens. We then took a stroll for an hour down a picturesque route called the Philosopher's Path. We passed many temples too numerous to mention. Once you have seen a few you tend to concentrate on the main ones. At the end of the walk is the Nanzen-ji Temple where once again the gardens are stunning to look at. In the afternoon we took a short train ride and visited the Daigo-ji complex where the oldest building in Kyoto, a five story pagoda dating from 951 is located. The day was a bit dull so the photos are a bit subdued.

In the evening we had yet another excellent culinary experience. In passing during the day we had noticed a restaurant featuring lamb which immediately drew both of us to it. The food is served in Genghis Khan BBQ style. Again the atmosphere was intimate. Seven or maybe eight customer sat around three sides of a square counter and the food was cooked in front of you. Firstly crisp vegetables were cooked followed by thinly sliced meat which we then ate off the hotplate with bbq sauce, soy sauce and wasabi, using chopsticks of course. Great fun and very tasty to the palate. Possibly the best meal of the trip.

The following day the weather was better and we visited another two major tourist draws, one south of the city and one in the far north west. Our day started in the south of Kyoto at the Fushimi Inari shrine. What is unique about this location is that there are literally thousands of orange coloured gates straddling the paths throughout the complex. These are donated by businesses seeking a blessing from Inari, the alleged god of rice, sake and prosperity. The purchasing of merit seems to be a feature of religion which I came across and was reminiscent of the simony in the mediaeval roman catholic church. Later in the day we visited the Kinkaku-ji Temple in the north west of the city. It is called the golden pavilion and is quite spectacular. Originally built as a holiday home it was converted into a temple and is very photogenic due to the top two floors being covered in gold leaf. In the evening we ate out again in Gion, which seemed to be the best area to check out for eateries.

Kyoto is well worth a visit if you are going to Japan. Like most small cities it has a character of its own compared to larger conurbations and is welcoming and friendly with lots of sights to experience.

Hiroshima:

We caught the Shinkansen from Kyoto about an hour and a half's journey west to Hiroshima. The main purpose of course is to visit the site of the first nuclear bomb dropped in a war situation. The location is called the Peace Park and you can cover this in half a day.

It is a moving and sombre experience. The sun was shining is a beautiful park and you are taking a few photos of the A Bomb Dome (one of the few existing building which survived because it was directly below the blast which spread out from 600 feet), when the enormity of the event begins to overtake you, as photos of the area before and after the bombing emerge on the information boards. There is a Children's Monument and a Peace bell which we rang. There is a mausoleum which has tiles representing the 1400,000 plus people who died (the exact number is not known). In the Peace Museum there is a huge amount of information on the event but most harrowing was the filmed interviews with survivors recounting their experience on the ground at the time of the explosion and thereafter. School teachers, school children and mothers looking for their lost children related some desperate tales. It was striking that a number described the scene as similar to what they would imagine hell to be: unimaginable horror. Poignantly, there is watch which was stopped at the exact time of the bomb dropping.

There are of course many arguments as to whether the action was justified in bringing the war to a close earlier and thus potentially saving more lives, or whether the Japanese, having been the initial military aggressors and a very warlike nation for many years, had to accept the consequences of their own previous actions. People will make up their own minds but a visit to this site does focus you on the awful impact of the people on the ground at the time of the nuclear strike. At the very least it should remind us of the consequences of bombing non military targets or indeed of the real effects of nuclear war itself.

We only had one evening in Hiroshima and Ed had advised us to try the local version of Monjayaki cuisine tried in Tokyo the previous week. It is called Okonomyaki. We did try this with shrimp, octopus and squid along with the basic ingredients of pork and egg. I had it with Chinese noodles whilst Duncan went with the udon variety. It was cooked for us this time, so there were no home made efforts. Delicious! We stayed at the Candeo Hotel. It had just opened so all the facilities were brand new and modern. The location is central, a twenty minute stroll to the Peace Park. If you like gadgets in your hotel this would be the place.

Tokyo and the end of the trip:

We took the Shinkansen directly back from Hiroshima to Tokyo which took us an afternoon. Highlight of the journey was that Mount Fuji popped out for us and was majestic to behold. During the last days we did take in a couple of sites worth mentioning. We witnessed the 'Pedestrian Scramble' in Shibuya, where a huge number of people try to get across the road at one time. I photographed it but don't know if it does the event justice. Better to see it for yourself! Shibuya looked like a great shopping area if you like that kind of thing on holiday. We also spent a quiet afternoon in Ueno Park, not far from Askusa, where we were staying. There are museums there but the weather was too good to go inside. There is a lovely pond to sit around and watch the world go by plus plenty of activities in the park which is a major public space. We also tried sushi, guided by Ed as usual. We had ignored it for two weeks but will no doubt feel more confident in a sushi restaurant when we get back.

Final thoughts:

If you like travelling I think Japan is a must visit location. It is beautiful with friendly, welcoming, helpful people. It is cleaner than most countries I have visited and comparatively safe. Contrary to popular myth it is NOT expensive. There is a lot to see that is unique and hopefully the two blogs I have written and some of the photos will open that up to you and possibly inspire you. I will be happy to field any questions about travel to that part of the globe.

As always, I hope you enjoy the photos.

All the best

Murdo