Starting off the day with a macca's run or a morning coffee hit at Starbucks below the hotel, the crew had collected at 8:30 to start the sightseeing the best of what Kyoto has to offer. Starting off with heinjigu shrine with the sun bearing down on us we search for the shade in the large courtyard, with a quick bus ride or two we were off to the golden temple known as Kinkakuji. When setting off to kiyomizudera we had been pushed into the cramped bus, after the long bus ride we had landed at the bottom of the large hill looking up to see the many temples we were set the challenge to find lunch, with many crabbing lunch at the convenience store "Lawson" and others finding pockets of goodness amongst the many shops. With many hours spent looking through the large temples and walking to smaller ones we had been called back a 3:00 to head to "Gion" the geisha suburb of Japan. Tea had been shabushabu with everyone being full, from the all you can eat deal. Then the hunt had started to find a geisha girl, with myself, Miss Gamble, Mrs. Bookham and Christine to find the first and only geisha girl of the night with countless attempts to get a good photo but as they say " it was the lighting " with that ending our night.
Today began with an early start where we left Hiroshima for Kobe. This marked our last ride on the super fast Shinkansen. We arrived in Kobe - the city famous for its port, western influence and great earthquake in the 90s. On arrival to Kobe we were greeted by the student’s host siblings and headed off to meet everyone at Kobe Gakuin University and High School. We all explored a supermarket for lunch goodies where choices ranged from tempura, sushi, noodle dishes, pizza to name a few.
The afternoon was filled with activities and games where students got to know their host brothers and sisters. The students then said their farewells before departing with their.host families. After returning to the hotel we returned to Crown Palais Hotel where the adults headed off for a dinner at a local Kobe Beef Restaurant. The parents enjoyed a lovely quiet stroll around the pretty Kobe streets soaking up the nice warm weather. The following day students spent with their host families doing a variety of different activities. Some were lucky enough to visit Universal Studios. The parents had a sleep in in to recharge the batteries and then headed off to visit Himeiji Castle a World Heritage Site. Himeiji is the only original samurai castle remaining in Japan. The castle was beautiful and entrenched with history and many steps which made the hike worthwhile. We finished off the day with a night visit to Umeda Sky Building which is ranked in the 20th best buildings in the world. This was an impressive building with equally amazing views.. Despite the queasy tummy on the way up to the 41st floor via the glass elevator and glass escalator travelling between both buildings. Monday proved to be a busy but interesting and authentic experience for the students. They travelled to Kobe Gakuin High School by train and monorail for a day filled with a variety of Japanese lessons, English spelling classes and viewing of the after school clubs! The students were impressed with the building but not so much with the compulsory cleaning after school. They were also amazed at the long hours Japanese students spend at school. Finally and a little wearily we all boarded the coach to Kyoto for the last part of our holiday. Today we had a similar breakfast to that at the Ryogoku View Hotel, unfortunately the lifts weren't as reliable. After a brief delay we headed towards the train station, to catch a boat to the famous Miyajima Island. The island has large mountains, countless deer and a small population of just over 1000. The main feature of the island however was the Otorii gate, which was constructed in the 1800s and stands around 75 meters from the shrine. Miyajima also has a ropeway that takes you to the tallest point of the island, or if you were brave or fit enough you could walk the summit, which usually takes around 2 hours. But with restricted time we were not able to do either, but there was other things to do. The island houses multiple shops and restaurants, including delicious maple cakes, which are on display when made.
Later in the day we headed to the Hiroshima Peace Park, to learn about the first use of an atomic weapon. The Hiroshima dome, which is the closest building to the epicenter which was still standing, is featured on the World Heritage List, along with the Otorii Gate. Akiko guided us through the park, showing us the Peace Bell, Sakoda's Statue (where we placed our paper cranes we made yesterday) and the Eternal Flame, which will continue to burn until all nuclear weapons are destroyed. Akiko finally showed us a tree which was the first to grow back after the bomb was dropped. Here we said goodbye to Akiko, who had been a very helpful guide since we had left Tokyo. After this we headed into the Atomic Bomb museum, where a variety of recollections, items and models about and from the disaster. Many were overwhelmed with what they saw, and tried to leave as soon as possible. Those who managed to get through the whole museum, were shocked by the amount of suffering and emotional pain the people of Hiroshima have had to face in the last 71 years. Overall today was a day of excitement, knowledge and understanding of the history of Japan, with dinner at a sushi train to finish it off. Today we got up to have our traditional breakfast. Afterwards, we met up to leave our hotel and had to run through the rain to catch the bus to get to our next destination; Hiroshima! Hiroshima has a very special history, and for those who don't know about it, back in the World War 2, Hiroshima was hit by the first atomic bomb to ever have been dropped at 8:15am on August 6, 1945.
We travelled to Odawara station to catch our first Shinkansen, which is a Japanese bullet train! They can go super fast and you could get to Melbourne from Swan Hill in about an hour! So we were all definitely excited to go on the Shinkansen! We took the Shinkansen to Osaka station, where we had lunch and then met back up to catch our next Shinkansen to Hiroshima. When we arrived in Hiroshima, we went to go and check in to our hotel rooms and have a rest before going to Shukkeien park.Shukkeien park was peaceful, and we found a bunch of carp at the bridge in the middle of the pond. It was a fun, wonderful and amazing sight to see all the colourful carp with their mouths open! We then left and went down the main street and were given time to have a wander around, buying gifts and souvenirs for our families, friends and ourselves. If you were lucky and went into Fukuyama, you could find Miss Gamble, Mrs Bookham and Emily in the massage chairs! After having a wander around, we met up to go for our dinner in Okonmiyami, and also met Miss Gamble's friend Shizuka, who was coming to tea with us. The Okonmiyami was delicious, and afterwards we went to a Mister Donut and sat down for a bit and had some drinks and donuts. On our way back to the hotel, we went to see the spot where the first atomic bomb was dropped and then we went to see the a-bomb site, where one of the only buildings that survived the bomb is located. We are definitely looking forward to learning more about this tomorrow when we visit the peace memorial park This morning we met Akiko who is our wonderful guide for two days. We are so privileged to have her with us as she provided much entertainment and insight into Japanese history and culture today. We travelled from Tokyo to Hakone and stopped to take in the sights at Koutokuin Temple, Hase Kannon Temple and Lake Ashi along the way.
Koutokuin Temple was quite fascinating and had a large statue of a great Buddha and many took the opportunity to go inside the statue. Then, Hase Kannon Temple was beautiful with peaceful water gardens and statues to bring people happiness and guidance. Akiko shared many beliefs and stories about Buddhist rituals and their belief in the afterlife which was quite interesting. Then, we went to Lake Ashi and boarded a pirate boat for a cruise across the lake. The lake is beautiful but unfortunately the clouds today meant that we couldn't quite see Mount Fuji. There is an interesting nine-headed dragon legend and many Japanese people believe the dragon lives in the bottom of the lake. Finally, we arrived at our Ryokan called Ichinoyu which is a traditional Japanese style accommodation. We had a delicious Japanese meal dressed in our traditional yukata (robe) and then relaxed in our rooms to enjoy a private Japanese onsen (hot bath) in our rooms. Tonight we will sleep in a futon which is a mattress on the traditional tatami floor. A lovely and relaxing end to the day. |