Kansai Area and Hiroshima Trip with Family
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| Shinzaike Matsuri 2024 |
My brother Daniel and Julie were able to come visit us for about 2 weeks! We tried to take them to many places in the Kansai area and Hiroshima. The first trip we did was a day trip to Kobe. Meriken Park is a waterfront park in Kobe's port area which Blake & I have been to before. In the park, we went up Kobe Port Tower. The last time we were in the area, the tower was being renovated.
From Meriken Park we walked to Kobe Chinatown. It is always so busy with people! Eventually, we found a Chinese place to eat lunch. There are also many stalls in the area to grab some street food, if you want something smaller.
The last place we visited that day was Ikuta Shrine. It's a shrine known for health and resurrection. It was founded in the 3rd century, and has been reconstructed throughout the years from natural disasters and wars.
Day 2 Shinzaike Festival
The Shinzaike Autumn Matsuri (festival) is a local shrine festival that
is done every year in our neighborhood. There is a small portable shrine
called a mikoshi or yatai that is carried around the neighborhood. There were also other local mikoshi being carried. Blake, Julie and I followed the one for our area around. Since they were short of male carriers, they invited Dany to help carry it.
Day 3 Osaka Castle
We visited Osaka Castle and Dotonbori, a famous tourist area along a canal with shops and restaurants.
Day 4 Osaka Universal Studios Japan (USJ)
We spent most of the day at Universal Studios Japan, and since it was October they had Halloween events going on at night. We also saw the fairly new Super Nintendo World area that opened in 2021. It was amazing, such vibrant colors, but since it's so popular they had timed entry if you wanted to go.
Day 5 Osaka to Kyoto
We had an obligatory stop at the Pokémon Center in Osaka Station before catching a train to Kyoto.
Sanjūsangen-dō (三十三間堂, Temple of thirty-three bays) is a Buddhist temple with a hall that has about 1,000 statues. Photography is not allowed inside the main hall, but it is amazing to see all the Buddhist statues. This was Blake and I's first time visiting too.
In Kyoto, we stayed in at a ryokan. A ryokan is a traditional Japanese inn with tatami flooring, futon bedding, and communal baths.
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| Ryokan in Kyoto |
Byōdō-in has various buildings, but only one, the
Phoenix Hall, has remained intact since the Heian Period. It was
completed in 1053 and has not been destroyed to this day. In Japan that
is rare to encounter since nearly every temple, shrine, or castle that we've
visited here has been destroyed by fire or had major reconstruction at some point
in its history. Besides its historical significance, today Byōdō-in
is probably most famous for being featured on Japan's 10-yen coin.
Fushimi Inari Taisha (伏見稲荷大社) is famous for Sendbon torii or rows of thousands of torii gates lined
up one after the other. Behind each torii is the name of the person or
company that made a donation. The shrines in Fushimi Inari are all
dedicated to Inari, which is the god of kami (rice). All of the shrines we saw had a couple of stone kitsune (foxes); since the fox is considered to be the messengers of Inari they are often seen on the shrines. It's a bit of a trek to get to the top, but somehow we made it!
Day 7 Kyoto
Kiyomizu-dera is one of the most famous tourist and
religious destinations in Japan and is particularly well-known for its
massive balcony overlooking the Higashiyama District that lies against the
city's eastern hills. It is also known for the Otowa Waterfall near its
base. The water gets divided into three streams that visitors can drink
from. Each stream is said to have a different benefit, but drinking from
all three is frowned upon and viewed as being greedy, so you have to
choose wisely and be prepared to wait in line for your turn.
Chion-in temple near Maruyama park was a new place for us too. It is a Buddhist temple from the Jōdo sect and has relics from the founding monk Hōnen.
Heading west of the Kamogawa River is the Gion District, a famous Geisha district. During the evening Geisha and maiko (geisha
apprentices) can be seen walking as they head to and from work.
Tourists have become a bit of a nuisance to the point that new signs
have been posted around the Gion District about being respectful of geisha
and maiko.
Day 8 Nara
Todai-ji is a Buddhist temple. Its Great Buddha hall has one of the
world's largest bronze statue of Buddha. The temple's political power
grew so great that eventually Japan's capital was moved to a different
city in order to remove the temple's power on the government. In the
temple, there is also a pillar with a hole. They say if you can squeeze
through the hole you will be granted enlightenment in the next life. Dany and I waited in line and we were able to pass through!
Kasuga Taisha was established at the same time Nara became the capital city. The building we walked through is not the original one as there was a custom to rebuild the shrine every 20 years. This custom has no longer been continued since the Edo Period. There are hundreds of lanterns hanging inside and they are all lit twice a year during two lantern festivals. There were many tourists and locals alike visiting the shrine. There is an outer hall that is free to walk around and an inner area that you can walk through for 500 yen.
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| Kasuga Taisha, Nara |
Day 9 Himeji
We returned to Himeji for a "rest" day and repacked our bags for our next trip: Hiroshima!
Day 10 Hiroshima
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park is in the center of the city and is
intended to memorialize the victims of the atomic bombing of the city
and to advocate for world peace. The park includes the Peace Memorial
Museum, the Children's Peace Monument, and the Atomic Bomb Dome. The
hypocenter – the location directly below the point where Little Boy
exploded in the air – is located near the Atomic Bomb Dome, a building
which incredibly managed to partially survive the explosion. The atomic
bomb exploded 600 meters above the ground, sending out a huge blast of
heat rays, wind, and radiation on August 6, 1945. Since it exploded in
the air, the radiation never settled on the ground, meaning it's safe
today for humans to live in and visit Hiroshima.
Day 11 Miyajima
We took a ferry to Itsukushima Island, also commonly known as Miyajima. By far
the island's biggest claim to fame is the massive vermilion torii arch
at the edge of Itsukushima Shrine. Because the foundations of the torii are
on a beach, it appears to "float" when the tide is in. The Itsukushima
torii is one of Japan's most famous sights and often appears in
promotional materials for tourism in the country. Last time we had visited, the torii had been completely covered while undergoing renovations. This time we were able to see it.
Daiosho Temple is a temple of Shingon Buddhism. When walking up the steps, there are metal wheels with sutras (Buddhist scriptures) on them. If you spin the wheels as you walk up it has the same effect as reading them, so you don't need to know Japanese or Sanskirt to receive their blessings.
Day 12 Himeji
We left Hiroshima and took the Shinkansen back to Himeji. We were exhausted but content with how much we were able to do with Dany and Julie's short time visiting here.
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