Japan Part 1 (Travel and Hiroshima)

This all started because the four of us wanted to travel through Japan. From left to right you have Nick, Lauren, Stephanie, and Brian. This picture was taken at 6:30 am while waiting for our taxi to start our adventure.

We grabbed the bus to Busan.  This time, thank heavens, there wasn't SNOMIT!!! (Praise the Frog) The ride took us 1 hour and 5 minutes. We stopped by Mcdonalds before we headed to the subways. We then took the subway to the station nearest our ferry. For those of you who want to visit Japan, we loved our ride, you can find out more here.

  

As we pulled away from the docks the stewardesses that helped us board the boat waved goodbye

We hit land again in Fukuoka and grabbed a bus to the train station. Once we figured out the JR trains, things got easier.We are super glad we got our JR-Rail passes ( find the website here) The passes allow us to travel anywhere in Japan on specific JR-Rail lines. You can only purchase a reservation outside of the country and you redeem it when you get here.

We caught our first train from Hakata Station to Shin-Osaka. We have made Osaka our homebase for 6 nights while we take train trips to surrounding cities. Today we went to Hiroshima, and to be honest I didn't know what to expect. There was a huge Memorial Park and Museum. The museum that cost money wasn't all that great. The exhibit that I would recommend was close to the main one but mainly underground called the Hall of Remembrance. There wasn't nearly as many people and I felt like I learned more and connected more with what happened there. I don't want to overwhelm you with pictures however, I will post the ones that touched us the most.

 The A-Bomb Dome
For those of you who don't know, the Atomic bomb exploded above this building and the people of Hiroshima had split opinions about it. Some wanted to knock it down, forget the tragedy, and move on, while others wanted to keep it as a memory of what war brings.

 The Child's Memorial
This one really touched me. The elementary school was quickly turned into a foster home. It started with a woman who was asked by a government official to watch over the lost children. Her journal entries were translated into English and played in the Hall of Remembrance. She told stories of happiness where the children were reunited with their parents and ones of sadness where they weren't. Schools all over the world donated money to build this memorial for the children who died. Behind it are strings of origami cranes that are folded by visitors as a prayer for peace in memory of the lost children.  These cranes are kept in display cases and cycled out as their colors fade.

 The Rock
This rock was given by Scotland as a token of peace. The rock came from the tallest mountain in Scotland!

 The Phoenix tree's were exposed to the A-bomb, died and regrew in their place.

 The bell of peace.

Hiroshima was an eye opening experience. I'm glad we were able to visit and better understand the history behind our world today.

When we finished the park we walked down the Hondori Shopping Arcade and then headed back to Osaka.  What a great day!  Stay tuned for more adventures from the Far East!