First Blog - Japan 3-10/03/11
Sorry for the delay in getting this up, but the connections at internet cafes/hostels has been incredibly slow at uploading photos!
I flew out of Tokyo at 8pm on Thursday, the day before the quake and subsequent tsunami. I was very lucky, but am very saddened to hear what followed and hope that the situation does not worsen.
Japan - awesome country and people.
Had a great start to the trip - upgraded on the flight out and met some nice people from Hornchurch and Canvey on my first night in Tokyo, spooky!
Tokyo is a crazy place, so busy and colourful but really easy to get around and the rush hour is no worse than commuting in London (even with a big rucksack)! My favourite places were Ueno which was mix of narrow bustling streets and a nice big park, Tsukiji fish market and the (free) view from the 45th floor of the Tokyo Municipal Govt building, which was pretty awesome at night.
I then headed to Kyoto, Japan's old capital. Really enjoyed the obligatory look round Ginkakuji and Kinkakuji temples, and busing around the quieter West side of the city. There was an awesome monkey park which was spread over the side of a mountain with brilliant views down over Kyoto and the quick rushing river below.
Then i had a ridiculously busy, but excellent, day combining Miyajima and Hiroshima in a trip from Kyoto. This was partly in the spirit of making the most of the Rail pass i'd bought - the bullet trains are awesome! Miyajima island was very picturesque, with the floating shrine and temples built into the mountainside, and lots of tame deer terrorising the tourists for food!
The trip to the peace memorial park in Hiroshima is an experience that I won't forget, really interesting and sad but important to remember the capabilities of nuclear weapons. I found the people to be especially friendly and its remarkable that their focus in on peace and harmony given what had happened.
The following day I had a nice wander round Nara and saw the biggest wooden building in the world, Todaji temple, which accomodates a giant buddha statue. It was all a bit of a rush though as I headed back to Tokyo for my last evening and had a wander round the lively (and pretty gritty) streets of Shinjuku.