Don't you love spring?, originally uploaded by docfranxusc.

1 ½ days in Tokyo, 3 in Kyoto and 2 ½ days in Hiroshima and Miyajima, Justin and I are sufficiently “vacationed”…an unpressing schedule, plenty of crisp spring air, lots of walking, food, and sake later, we have enjoyed our unfettered time together to explore Japan.

Kyoto was lovely, and I have to say that we were smart to take the ½ day trip to Nara to see the largest wooden building in the world and Japan’s largest Buddha. I was pleased that we good both see a piece of the past (geisha, temples, shrines) and enjoy the commonalities of the future (the bullet train, CNN international, internet connections!)

Hiroshima and Miyajima, by far, made this trip worth every cent. Miyajima is a little island off of the south coast of Hiroshima, home to a “primeval” forest – trees that have never been touched due to their spiritual heritage. On a day as pristine as crystal clear glass, we ventured to the island of the “floating Torii gate”, hiked (!this was great!) up the mountain to a viewpoint that spanned the southern shores of Japan and the mountains in the distance, and ate traditional okonomiyaki and oysters (cheap!!) and eels on rice. Yum. We even did (shock!) some bargain shopping. Miyajima reminded both of us of Catalina Island in California both in size and culture (minus the language differences).

Hiroshima, though, really took me by surprise. I don’t know what I was expecting…a gloomy post-WWII town, still shanty after the bombing? An angry conglomeration of buildings too embittered from past wounds to care about appearances??

No. What we found was a lively, sleek, bustling little city, nestled against the hillside, spreading out toward a busy port. It was green – green everywhere! Beautiful treelined walkways lined the many river banks. The streets were mostly wide (much wider than in other parts of Japan) and the sidewalks comparably “roomy”. Cyclists were everywhere. There was a smart system of trains, buses and “Green” trams crisscrossing the area. I mean, it wasn’t Tokyo, but it was modern and interesting and appeasing…and in some ways more attainable than Tokyo.

And amongst it’s regrowth was the Street of Peace…tree –lined and wide…leading to Peace Memorial Park, which of course, held all the monuments and reminders of the horrifying day that occurred now more than 60 years ago. The A-bomb dome, not more than 500m away from the hypocenter of the blast was particularly interesting…bricks still lie where they were strewn in the blast. But you’d never guess, other than this building, that Hiroshima was chosen as the inauguration of the atomic age. I guess I was a little overwhelmed by it all…we bomb insurgents every day, and at the time, the Japanese were no different. But I guess this felt different – with miles of area demolished in milliseconds of the explosion, hundreds of thousands of lives lost then and in years to come….and all rebuilt to be this beautiful port city.

I’d have to say it is one of the places I’ve enjoyed most in our travels in Japan thus far.

We are back to life and work now…hope you enjoy the pictures.