Ride on the Shinkansen -
We did some traveling over Christmas vacation to Hiroshima, Miyajima and Matsuyama to visit historic landmarks and take in a few of the top Japanese tourist sights. We took our first ride on the Shinkansen or bullet train out of Osaka and really enjoyed the experience.
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| First ride on the Shinkansen traveling at 150 - 200 mph |
We could not believe how quiet and smooth the ride was even though we were traveling at speeds of 150 – 200 mph. The inside of the cars look and feel a lot like an airplane without the uncomfortable takeoff and landing. You could barely feel it glide to a stop and it seemed to start as effortlessly. There was not much of a view from the train because you are frequently traveling through tunnels and the track is partially enclosed for noise reduction through the cities. It is a fun trip, very comfortable ride and great way to travel a long distance in a short amount of time.
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| Picture with the world famous bullet train |
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| Picture of the front car of the Shinkansen |
We stayed in a traditional Japanese hotel with futons and tatami mat floor. I thought some of you might enjoying seeing the table and layout of a Japanese hotel.
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| Someone pretending to be asleep |
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| A little Japanese TV anyone? |
Hiroshima Peace Memorial and Peace Park -
We toured the Hiroshima Victims Memorial, Peace Park and other historic landmarks within Hiroshima city. We knew this visit would be somber and I am really glad we went. We all learned a lot touring the memorial and Peace Park and it had a profound impact on us all.
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| Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall Peace Park Hiroshima, Japan |
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| Memorial Cenotaph in Peace Park with the Peace Flame and A-bomb Dome in the background |
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| Picture in Peace Park with A-bomb Dome in the back ground |
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| A-bomb Dome before and after |
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| Closeup of the A-bomb Dome |
The A-bomb Dome is a World Heritage Site and is the most famous landmark in Hiroshima. It was originally built as the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall in 1915. The dome was 328 feet from what would become ground zero on August 6, 1945 at 8:15 am. As you can see from the pictures, most of the building was destroyed in the blast.
Hiroshima is now rebuilt and Peace Park is beautiful. There is an awareness and commitment not to repeat history. The day we were there high school students were in the park near the memorial collecting signatures to abolish nuclear weapons worldwide. They were planning to send the signed petitions to the United Nations. A very memorable trip and one well worth making.
Miyajima Island -
Miyajima is a small island less than an hour’s ferry ride outside of Hiroshima. It is most famous for its giant orange torii gate which appears to be floating on the ocean at high tide. Miyajima is ranked among one of the three top views in all of Japan and is closely associated with its main shrine Itsukushima, which like the giant torii, is built over water.
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| Miyajima O-torri Gate |
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| Low tide in front of O-torri Gate in Miyajima, Japan |
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| Five story pagoda on Miyajima Island |
We had a great time on this island hiking the ocean beach, petting the tiny deer, perusing the small gift shops and sampling a variety street food. There were many beautiful buildings and it was a really nice combination of beauty and culture.
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| Famous O-torri floating Gate on Miyajima Island at high tide |
There was a sign at the entrance to the park warning tourists about the deer eating paper and being generally pesky. I was taking a picture of the torri in the water and a deer came up beside me and grabbed my park map. I was not willing to give it up that easy and yelled, “Hey, dumb deer, give me that!” My family thought this was hilarious and teased me about my half eaten map the rest of the day. The dear happily ate the other half and we joked about whether or not it would give him a stomach ache.
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| Dumb deer ate my park map! |
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| The deer ate the most useful portion of the map leaving me with only the legend. |
Miyajima Island was my favorite place to visit on this particular trip. We had a great time as a family exploring the islands and interacting with Japanese culture. I have a lot more to write but will save the rest of our trip and Christmas in Japan for next week.
Thank you as always, to our friends, family and supporters both near and far. We really appreciate you and enjoying hearing how you are doing via e-mail and letters.
Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and we wish you a wonderful, Christ centered 2016.
K. Chadduck
