Tag: backlog

Hiroshima Voyage [Day 1]

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During the spring of my first year here, I ventured to Hiroshima on my own to scope out the city and enjoy many of its sights and sounds (not to mention foods). :) My initial impulse was to see a lot of sakura for my first spring season in Japan, and I definitely accomplished that, but I encountered much more than that on the journey. There were tasty treats, awesome visages, crazy weather days, and there was definitely a lot of walking. Here I’ll cover my first day in Hiroshima, which started with taking the shinkansen up from Kumamoto. It is a pretty easy 3-hour journey if you catch a speedier train that continues running after Hakata Station. You get on, sit down, and you can do whatever you like until you reach your destination! It’s pretty convenient, especially if you’ve got a book you’ve been meaning to read.

2014-04-03 14.17.56Once I was off the train I had to find my hotel to check in. Though I was a little confused initially by the massive subterranean walkways, I made it pretty easily. It was a bit of a jaunt, but it was nice as it provided with with my first impressions of the city. Hiroshima has several rivers and offshoot waterways running through it, which gives it a really peaceful feeling. I also immediately thought that the city was quite clean on average, which impressed me. A lot of people were biking peacefully along the side road I travelled, and I spotted a small shrine and torii gate, which I snapped a picture of impulsively (this describes the method behind my picture-taking on the whole).

My next stop after the hotel was to head out to the closest, most renowned landmark in the area, which was Hiroshima Castle and what are the remaining buildings of Ninomaru, the second circle of defense. Visitors pass through Ninomaru first, and come into the main grounds of the shrine. There are some ruins and also a shrine on the grounds following. I liked Hiroshima Castle’s outside viewing area. It was a little scary, but it made me feel like a part of the history, being able to see all around the city. Though the castle is mostly complete reconstruction, I enjoyed it quite a bit and I believe it’s worth a visit. I’ll leave it to your judgment though! :)

This was one of my first treks all on my own in Japan, so my actual first visit to this area was only the Ninomaru area and the Shrine, because I met a couple of nice ladies at Ninomaru who offered to guide me to the famous ruins from the atomic bomb. Here’s more of the castle that I actually saw on Day 2. The castle grounds were quite beautiful for sakura viewing. And the ruins created an interesting atmosphere as I walked over that next morning.

My first day in Hiroshima was quite cloudy and a bit drizzly. I lucked out the next day getting fair weather, with a nice bit of sun to take photos and get outside for a bit. But the first day was very drizzly. I had to stop and buy an umbrella on the way to the A-bomb Dome. As you can see, it was indeed a dreary day, so I didn’t bother to take too many photos.

After viewing the dome, I walked on to a little bit of shopping and to grab a bite at well-renowned Okonimimura, the okonomiyaki village! If you’re looking for it there’s a large sign (see below) – you can’t miss it. Okonomiyaki is a well-known dish in Japan, and several areas have their own special varieties. 2014-04-03 17.46.54At it’s most basic level it’s a pancake with veggies and meat in it, but that’s simplifying – you can really put anything in it you want! It’s really delicious. Hiroshima’s specialty is okonomiyaki with yakisoba in it – basically like a mashup of the two meals together! The first time I ordered though I went for normal okonomiyaki just because I wasn’t sure I could eat two meals in one as some Japanese people can. Because of the high standard of okonomiyaki here, most of it is delicious! So if you’re not sure where to go, you could pick one of the stalls in Okonomimura at random and I think you’d be alright. :)

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That just about wraps up Day 1 (with a small inclusion from Day 2), with days 2, 3, and 4 to follow! It’s a long one but I really enjoyed Hiroshima. Thinking about it now makes me want to venture back…. Until next time.

Kamegawa Dam -亀川ダム-

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One of the local sights in Amakusa is a dam in the small locality of Kamegawa, aptly called Kamegawa Dam. This dam’s construction began in Showa 43, Western calendar 1968, and was completed in Showa 57, Western calendar 1982. It is based around a Doumeki Lake, also known as Doumekiko (道目木湖). There’s not a whole lot to the dam itself but a few simple but beautiful views, but across the way from where I took these pictures is a small park, where my earlier pictures for Sakura in Bloom were taken. It was a pleasant excursion indeed. I hope you enjoy the pictures!

Yamaga Toro Festival -山鹿灯籠祭-

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This is a photo roundup of the Yamaga Toro Matsuri, an Obon festival held in August every year by the city of Yamaga in Kumamoto Prefecture. This festival is a crowded one indeed, but worth a visit, as it features several traditional dances, among which is the 1000 Person Lantern Dance, or Sennin Toro Odori (千人灯籠踊り). As you can tell from the images below, 1000 female participants perform a traditional dance in traditional garb, all with a lantern placed delicately upon their crowns. At the close of the festival, at a shrine a bit uphill from the elementary grounds the dance was performed at, many groups gift scale models of traditional buildings or scenes to the shrine, which are then blessed by a Shinto priest and received by the shrine. To my extreme surprise, as I went to grab an omikuji, or fortune, at the reception area alongside the shrine, I was told I won a prize! Which was a silver paper lantern just like those the dancers wore! So the festival ended on a nice note for me, with just the right amount of luck – daikichi, or big luck! :)

Birthday Adventure Time

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For my first birthday in Japan, which is in fall, a couple of my travelling buddies and I decided to make a weekend out of it. My birthday is usually around a national holiday, so there was conveniently a three-day weekend to really get out in the area and enjoy ourselves.

2013-11-02 11.48.41Our first stop on the way to our first major activity was Reef Burger. We’d been in Japan for about four months by this point, and by then I hadn’t had a decent burger yet! They’re quite prevalent but it’s hard to find a good, creative burger here on par with our homelands’ standards. I had heard about this establishment through a guide that a previous ALT had written up about the Kumamoto area, and we all were curious and wanted to try it! It was worth it. This burger was quite delicious, and completely on par with other countries. I’m not sure how he learned to do it, but the cook at this restaurant knows how to throw together a tasty burger and fries! I felt so incredibly full afterward. And the entire staff of three people was quite friendly with us, which is a huge plus. It’s always nice to encounter a friendly face! (And no, Japan, I don’t mean a creepy, stalky, overly keen face. Just a run-of-the-mill, kind face…)

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They even have their own bun stamp!

1398665_10151680545817046_2009654195_oAnyway, after that, we continued our trek to the Honda Safety and Riding Course Kyushu, which is in Ozu Town, just northeast of Kumamoto City. Our main goal for this expedition was to ride on their off-road course, which you can do for little to no experience as long as you pay for your rental. We went for the 4 piece set option, where you rent an off-road bike (model varies depending on your build), and along with it you get outfitted in a helmet and goggles, a chestplate, and boots, which as sufficient for a somewhat experienced motor vehicle operator. I say this simply because toward the end of our three-hour riding experience, I was getting a little too confident, landed a little bit oddly, and subsequently was off my bike. And as a friend learned that day, contacts are advisable in lieu of glasses, because it’s difficult to fit the goggles over frames. So once you get outfitted, as we did, we spent about 30 minutes getting acclimated in a smaller dirt area adjacent to the course. It was fairly easy for me to pick up as a result of my childhood on four-wheelers and such. But if you don’t think you’re very good at operating bikes and such, you may want to skip this outing. Personally, I thought it was a pretty exhilarating thing once I was on the course though! I felt like a kid again. You’re going around and there are jumps and turns everywhere, and experienced motorists are driving past you at high speeds. I really enjoyed myself! And I’m looking forward to going again sometime.

Needless to say, after this experience we were completely sweaty and dirt-covered, and to our somewhat surprise our entire bodies were sore! So I convinced everyone that we should hit the onsen on the way back to Kumamoto proper, where we planned to Cybac for the night. I think it’s an incredibly good decision for anyone who decides to bike half the day. I pushed for it because my companions hadn’t been to onsen before in Japan, and I really think it’s something that someone should definitely experience while they’re here. And I think everyone enjoyed it! I  did. There’s just some relief, especially for the muscles, lying in wait in that warm water.

So after a night at Cybac, we set out again in the morning with our main goal being to hit Reigando at Unganji, or Ungan Temple, northwest of the Shirakawa River, on the outskirts of both Kumamoto and Tamana. Reigando is the legendary cave in which ronin swordsman Miyamoto Musashi lived out some of his last days, and in which he is said to have written the greater part of The Book of Five Rings, or Gorin no Sho. We stopped quickly at a park on the way – I believe called Iwa no Sato – and then walked down to Unganji. You have to pass through the temple to get to Reigando, so if you see the temple you’re in the right area! Just keep walking. You’ll pay a small fee to get to the area, and you just follow the path down to the cave. It’s a nice outdoor space and a interesting historical spot to check out if you’re in the area. Have a look at the photos below and perhaps you’ll see what I mean! :)