Hiroshima

August 2 & 3, 2017

Hiroshima, Japan

The smell of tatami welcomes us into the apartment when we enter. That is a smell unique to Japan. The boys continue to wrestle and scrap in these tiny, delicate places. The dividers to make the rooms are not permanent walls, but thin sliding doors. They can not take the abuse of boys! Trying to maintain my good rating of damage free on airbnb seems like a challenge. Just over a week to go.

Being across the street from the Peace Park, we can easily walk and enjoy it any time. This evening (to remove the wrestling from the apartment) we spent an hour watching the fish jump in the river while sitting across from the A-Bomb Dome.

The preparations are underway to commemorate the bombing of Hiroshima on August 6. Daily we see the park transform to accommodate the mass numbers of people that will attend.

Yesterday a guide took us through the Peace Memorial Museum. This is in my top five museums that should be visited in the world. My fourth time here, I notice the changes made by renovations. Some realia that stands out is the watch that was found, stopped at the exact time the bomb hit.

Sadako's cranes she made from the paper on her medicine bottles.

Our guide came with us to tour the grounds in the Peace Park. The cranes that are deposited daily in cabinets replace older ones. The older cranes are sent to recycle depots and made into graduation diplomas. Neat idea!

A tree that survived the bomb.

We left Kio after touring the park knowing we would see her again on August 12 on the flight to Vancouver. Turns out she is going to visit her son the same day we leave. Coincidence.

Hiroshima is famous for one food in particular, Okonomiyaki. Although it can be found throughout Japan, it was invented here after WW2. It is an 11 layer pancake consisting of a thin crepe, fish powder, cabbage, tempera crisps, green onions, bean sprouts, bacon, noodles, egg, okonomiyaki sauce, and sprinkled with seaweed on top.

I am proud how my boys have tried every food we have thrown at them. This one was entertaining to watch being made on griddle in front of us.

We all agreed it was delicious, but would prefer less fish powder and seaweed.

Last night we watched a Kagura performance. We couldn't get tickets to watch the Carps play so thought we do something more cultural.

Two - 45 minute plays. We read the synopsis before watching; the story line was of Japanese fables, performed in Japanese so we did our best and used our imagination to try and follow along. The costumes were amazing.

Miyajima island took our day today. This touristy island has the famous photographed Torii Gate.

When the tide is in it looks like it is floating.

These deer are in the town and along the pathways. A nice change from monkeys!

 Bean paste cakes are mass produced on Miyajima. Although a well loved favourite by the Japanese,  I don't blame the boys for their reaction. How can beans possibly be considered dessert, even if sweetened. I lived here for a year and never looked forward to eating them.

The temperature is high everyday so Kaki Gori (shaved ice with flavouring) was much more appreciated than bean paste cakes.

Bullet Train

August 1, 2017

Tokyo to Hiroshima

August already! I think the summer is flying by but we have been in summer since February so I have lost all concept of the seasons. The boys are counting sleeps until we are home. Me, I am looking forward to going home but enjoying being back in Japan. The boys think my Japanese is amazing. What they don't know is how broken and basic it is. I am happy to be able to read a few signs and recognize some of the symbols.

We left Tokyo station on the Shinkansen for Hiroshima.  Japan is so organized and orderly. No wondering when/if the train will come. The stations are so clean and peaceful. Announcements made ask people to turn their phones to silent mode and refrain from speaking on them. We can't get over the change from SE Asia.

Queue here for car #7. It will arrive and leave exactly on time.

Kiosks every 200 meters. Another icon of Japan.

The smoothness, and speed of between 270 - 300 km/hour makes for a short travel day.

Smoking rooms are small, sealed capsules off the entrance to each car.
The leg room and comfort of the seats is great.

Hiroshima is even more clean and quiet than Tokyo. Our apartment, across the street from the Hiroshima Peace Park, is up some steep steps, but so clean and spacious for Japanese standards. Well organized airbnb. Quite a change from the Tokyo one.

Grocery shopping in a large supermarket provides so many options of which my knowledge and preparation abilities seem limited. I feel illiterate.

We did not opt for the octopus, but did go for a veggie stir fry.

It took a bit to figure out how to work the cook top. Cooking on full blast is not always the best.

I like that our apartment has many traditional Japanese features. Luke lounging on a futon in the tatami room. There is an alcove to showcase ikebana or Japanese scrolls. Our shrine alcove however, is being used as a linen closet. The toilet is high tech with more button than we need.

A-Dome across the street will be explored tomorrow.

So Quiet

July 31

Tokyo, Japan

The quiet calmness of this city of over 13 million is unreal. Coming from SE Asia, where quiet rarely existed (except Laos), we constantly comment on the near silence. Standing on the balcony of our apartment and walking down our laneway is as quiet as that of our home in Carman. We have heard two horns honk (or hoot as is it is called in South Africa) over the past two days. The sidewalks are not littered with garbage, food stands or mopeds. It is no life-threatening to cross the street. Japan is the perfect ending to our adventure!

The thrill of buying something from vending machines.

We made good use of the JR train route in Tokyo today. The train system is extensive and does not include the subway system. First stop, Ikebukuro. Known as a laid back version of Akihabara, it is just as focused on anime. I discovered that is a language and culture onto itself.

There is so much stuff and I was in search of specific Sailor Moon memorabilia for Stella. I almost needed a personal guide to help lead me through the floors of never ending products. I felt illiterate. In the end, we found that Sailor Moon is not too popular in Japan, but there were very few items in the stores we checked here as well as Akihabara.

The boys were not into anime cafes were the girls are in costume and role play different characters. At this point we were a bit done with the anime and moved onto the Ginza district.

Ginza is the posh neighborhood of Tokyo.

Nate sized up his future wheels.

With very tired feet, and Nate not being able to afford the car, we needed to catch the train back to the apartment. This time of day the trains are busy and Levi saw the men in the station with white gloves whose job it is to push people into the train cars from the platform. Necessary when many people need to be moved around this large city. Personal space means nothing this time of day.

A supper eaten in.
A restless night. Perhaps the aircon was not working right, or bed too uncomfortable, but not a good sleep.

The Last Leg

July 29 and 30

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Tokyo, Japan

I was looking forward to this flight for a few reasons:
1. I needed the rest.
2. It is the last leg of our incredible journey.
3. I can't wait to be back in Japan. The icing on the cake!

Restful it was. I watched two movies, read some of my book and sat with my feet up.  Arriving at 10:15 PM immigration was quick, but it took a bit of time to sort out the trains/monorail to take to our airbnb. Our stop: Shin Okubo, right after Shinjuku, the busiest train station in the world. Ours is a Korean neighborhood with lots of life to it, but our apartment is down a very quiet alley.

Haneda airport.

The apartment is large by Japanese standards, something the boys are coming to appreciate. Jack and I have a bed, but the boys are on futons. The toilet is not as complex as the one in the airport, but it has the seat warmer on pretty high and we can't read any of the buttons to figure out how to turn it off.

There were many signs and instructions for the toilet in the airport. Seems complicated.

This should not be complicated but water seems to spray from everywhere!



Ahhh it is good to be here. It all comes back. The way the streets look, bonsais, vending machines, the calmness (even in Tokyo), the pachinko parlours, dried fish, much bowing, packed trains, cleanliness.

Pachinko parlour not too busy today.

As soon as we had the boys mobile this morning we went to Shinjuku train station to cash in the Japan Rail Vouchers we had bought in Australia for the actual travel ticket. Although expensive, the passes are more economical than buying individual train tickets and we plan to cover a lot of ground. This was easy. Next, to make train reservations. In January, before I left home I had recorded each train and its name and number along with departure and arrival time from each station along with what kind of train it was and if our pass would cover it. I tried to used the bullet rain as much as possible. Planning that far ahead I was hopeful the schedules had not changed. They hadn't, the trains were not booked up so I got each reservation I was hoping for.

Business taken care of, we went to see Shinjuku. Being almost noon, I had a craving for katsu don. Easily found, we ate, and enjoyed every bite.

If reading a Japanese menu is difficult, food is shellacked and placed in window cases to make ordering easy. I remember when I lived here and how independent I felt when I finally was able to read a menu and not have to take the waiter out into the street.

The Takashimaya Times Square holdsTokyu Hands, a seven floor store listed by Tourist Info as an interesting look. It was. I am a sucker for all the Japanese cutsie things.

The views from the Metropolitan Government Building were good even on this overcast day. We had thought of coming back this evening, but ran out of steam. Perhaps tomorrow night.

Yoyogi Park is a huge peaceful green space in the middle of a very congested city. After a walk through here our legs were done and we needed to head back.

Aren't they handsome?!

We have a kitchen, and I was looking for groceries to make something - anything at home. The Korean grocery store on our street had lots of options, but alas, I was a bit confused with what to do with most of the items for sale. If it didn't have a picture, we couldn't figure it out. Being illiterate is not a good feeling. Even a picture does not always help.

Decided on ready made sushi, gyosa, and those overly fatty, unhealthy instant noodles. My standards have dropped during this trip. We stooped to eating chip sandwiches one night. Get ready boys, it is whole wheat and salads when we get home!

Time to roll out the futons and get rested for another day in Tokyo.

Kuala Lumpur

July 27, 28

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The days fly by. We are close to the Petronas Towers, KLCC park and the 2 acres of play structures within. Nate could not wait. We were some of the few in the park, or maybe the unwise in the heat.

After a bit of play we made our way back to the apartment where the infinity pool waited. I was sick thinking someone would go over the edge.

Our evening plan was to take a walking tour of the neighborhood next to us - Kampong Bharu to learn more about the Malay culture. This Malay neighborhood is an interesting mix of new and traditional. Hundred year old homes exist in tranquil gardens with skyscrapers looming.

I did not realize such quiet could exist in this busy city. It seemed like a small-town yard. A few generations ago each Malay was given a parcel of land (approx. half an acre). Today, it has been passed down and some have chosen to maintain the original, where others use their plot to commercial purposes.

Traditional Malay houses, as many SE houses, are elevated to allow for floods and air flow.

Traditionally, when a Muslim woman gave birth, a member from the community would take care of her for 44 days. Feed her, massage her, bath her, clean her house. Those days are over. It has been replaced with this gift set. Hilarious.

Many herbalist stores exist in this community as it is cheaper than western medicine and some consider it safer. The perfect man? Worth a try.

Durian, the king of fruit. Based on smell I am sure. Wan, our guide, warned us to start with durian blended with something, then try it straight up. We tried durian chocolate and no one was willing to go any farther.

We tried putu bamboo, dessert of rice flour cooked in bamboo with cane sugar and coated with coconut. A mild dessert.

Got some fresh mangoes and bananas.

A Malaysian car wash.

Friday we thought we would ride the train to the Bantu Caves. The train ride was good, but we did not go up to the temple or the caves. The monkeys are relentless and the pigeons overwhelming. We have become shy of these aggressive monkeys so we got the next train back to the city.

Tomorrow, the 7 hour flight to Tokyo. Need to get the packs organized tonight; redistribute some weight between them and discard the unnecessary. We did a big purge in Bangkok; should not be too much to get rid of.