3 Sites in 5 Days

I have only seen about four cities so far in Japan but to me, Kyoto seemed like the "quintessential Japanese city". Temples around every corner, bamboo groves, wooden traditional houses lining the cobblestone streets, and....four westerners and one Japanese girl riding bycicles.

We saw about four temples and one shrine in Kyoto. My favourite temple had this amazing zen garden surrounding it. It felt, oddly enough, very peaceful! Even though there were about one million other people walking through. I tried to imagine myself in there alone - would have been even more amazing! The sand was also raked into nice designs, like those little mini zen sand things you can buy for your office. There was even one section that was shaped into a "Mount Fuji like" dome - although Masami's friend told me it looks more like a giant pudding than Mount Fuji.

Other delights of Kyoto included green tea soft ice cream (which is delicious), a ton of cute little tea pot/cup and china shops, and a quant little restaurant which was named Rangitoto and had a picture of a kiwi bird on the window. Ah, I miss NZ :)

While in Kyoto, we took a day trip over to the city of Nara which consisted of more temples and more shrines. You might think we would have been tired of them by now, but they are all different and unique. Plus, they are on my World Heritage List of places to see, so I basically have to go.

Nara is also full of deer - I did not really get the history on why this is, but it's kind of funny. They are everywhere in the city, just hanging out, being fed these rice cake things by children and tourists. But beware - the signs warn of possible "biting, kicking, butting, and knocking down". However, in the depictions on the sign, these things are only happening to old ladies and children, so I think if you are an adult you are ok.

We headed down to Hiroshima after Kyoto. It was a really good, but sombering experience to be in a place that has experienced the horror of an atomic bomb. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Museum was an educational experience in more ways than one. I don't claim to be an expert on world history or even current events (just ask Mark - I often have to ask questions about the state of the world that any conscious person really should know...) but I can say that after visiting Hiroshima and seeing the testimonies of survivors, nuclear weapons shouldn't even be an option. My opinion.

We are now back in Tokyo and I can check three whole sites off the list - Temples and Shrines of Kyoto, Temples and Shrines of Nara, and Hiroshima Peace Memorial! I am being quite productive on my vacation if I do say so myself :)

P.S. Is it bad that I have seen almost as many listed sites in Japan as I have in Canada? It appears I need to go to Quebec to catch up...