One whole month
Now I’m settled into things my time in Japan is already coming to a close and that is bittersweet. I have met some wonderful people, seen amazing things and ate cracking food and yet I feel I have only seen the tip of iceberg. I still have a good few days left in Osaka before its onto Brisbane.
This has not just been the start of my physical adventure, but my writing one, rewiring my ways of thinking and enjoying little things… oh not to mention lots and lots of podcasts.
Fukuoka & a Nagasaki day trip
I feel like my time in Fukuoka was donkey’s ago now and it wasn’t really in the grand scheme of things.
Having reflected now had the typhoon not rolled through things may have been different, but in the end I went with Fukuoka as a base and decided on a day trip to Nagasaki. I wish I’d maybe dived more into the food scene in Fukuoka but I have a bit of fear that I’ll get food poisoning and that kinda ruled out trying the famous food stalls.
The main park is gorgeous and is a really nice place to wander around and people watch. I enjoyed snapping a few pictures and spending time here.
The big nature park I spent time in was impressive (on my second attempt to get in I should add) and it is definitely somewhere you could spend a whole day and I could imagine it being somewhere you’d have fond family memories from, plus I got to go to a petting zoo and see baby capybaras so whats not to love.
My day-trip to Nagasaki was something that I didn’t really know how it would pan out and I have to say it turned into a lovely day and I’m glad I did it (almost wish I had spent more time there). Going to the Atomic Bomb Museum was a double edge sword as you can imagine but something I’m really glad I did and I would say to anyone thinking about going its worth the trip!
The peace park and Hypocenter park are both powerful reminders what occurred and are really poignant and get across what they are trying to convey.
Im super glad I made time to go to Nagasaki and spend the day there. My time in the park overlooking the river in the evening was super chilled and something I’m glad I did.
My final morning was spent (admittedly over budget) going to a Keith Haring exhibition which was worth every penny in my opinion. As a big fan of his worth it was amazing to see pieces in the flesh and up close.
Hiroshima - Baseball, Mazda and whole lot of emotion
It might not come as surprise but Hiroshima put me through the emotional wringer a little bit. Again I didn’t know what to expect from Hiroshima and its bustling city with skyscrapers and good transport links.
Please read Micro Blog #2 which was ‘live from the ground’ and reflects my first thoughts sitting across from the Atomic Bomb dome.
I explored Motojinamachi island which sits in city’s harbour and was a lovely walk, with some cracking views and the biggest plus point of them all was that I was the only tourist there. There were locals enjoying the relative peace and quiet to fish, swim and sunbathe and it was quite nice to have stumbled upon it. I’m hoping the shots I snapped here pan out because they seemed cracking at the time (in my head anyways).
I then made a day out of going to the wonderful Miyajima island, renowned for the Otorii gate which was as impressive as the pictures. I did a number of temples all of which had their own flavours and I’m glad I spent time in them. I didn’t manage the mountain walk, it was pushing 35° and would’ve been pushing a 3 and bit hour round trip hike and I decided against it and I that was probably the best shout. But the island itself was a great day trip and really beautiful.
My accommodation in Hiroshima was a sports bar which meant I had free access to watch the baseball, the local team the Hiroshima Toyo Carps did not bring their A-game while I was in town but I enjoyed watching the games and considered attending one but that really would’ve blown my budget so it was a no go this time round.
My last full day I had booked a tour of the Mazda museum in the afternoon so decided to head out early and see the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum… that was definitely a day of 2 halves thats for sure.
The peace museum was much harder than I expected, maybe the fact I’d been to the Nagasaki one lulled me into subconsciously thinking I’d be able to process it. It was hard, emotional and frankly really hit me. Even writing this now I have got a bit of lump in my throat. Only a few times before has this happened and I’m glad it does because it grounds me and reminds me of the human impact of history.
The Mazda museum was the opposite, it was super cool to see the history with everything from the first 3-wheeler to the 1991 Le Mans winning car. And while unfortunately we didn’t get to see the whole assembly line which is something you do normally get, we did get to see the engine, transmission and gearbox installations. This was a museum I’d definitely go back to and do again.
*I did write a blog post on Nagasaki and Hiroshima prior to going to the Hiroshima museum and I didn’t click with it and if I’m honest its something I might revisit at some point or might not. But I wanted to mention it.
Osaka is the Japan we imagine
Let me tell you after just 1 and a bit days here this is the Japan you imagine. Its got everything from the historical castle to the bright signs, oh and lots of maid outfits…
I’m going to try and get some nighttime photography in but man its not an easy thing to do it turns out.
I’m not planning to do loads over the next few days as it leads up to the close of the first leg of the trip.
Stuff I have been enjoying
Podcasts:
F1 Beyond the grid - Formula 1
Books:
The Lost Bookshop - Evie Woods
It’s now quarter to midnight and I’m off to bed.
Toddy
Current Locale - 🇯🇵
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