Japan - Tuesday, September 15, 2015 - Miyajima & Hiroshima

Well, we all woke up about 2am Kyoto time.  Who needs sleep anyway, right? Well, let's just wake up and get ready and head to the breakfast buffet. Then board the Shinkansen to Miyajimaguchi. This is the port. From here we took a ferry across to Miyajima Island. We were off to see the Torii Gate (the red item in the water) and the Itsukushima Shrine (also lots of red paint and in the water along the shore). 

First, views from the ferry to Miyajima Island.  Being from Kentucky, we are familiar with horse race tracks. This big building along shore is for racing, but not horses. It is for racing speed boats.

In the water were lots of platforms. I was told these are where they are raising seaweed.

This is the Torii Gate. The red building behind built in the water along the shore is the Itsukushima Shrine. When the tide goes out, the Torii gate in not in the water. When the tide is in, the Torii gate is in the water and boats with tourist are rowed through it. 

We had our first encounter with the little deer. When we went to Nara we would also see many, many of this little deer. These deer are protected. It is believed the gods came on them so they are sacred and protected. They have food you can buy and feed them. They will eat any paper item you have in your hand. They assume it one of the things of food and just go for it. These are elementary school age children. You can tell by their hats. 

We caught lovely glimpses of this beautiful structure as we wandered through the Itsukushima Shrine and then the community that lives on the island. 

This is a boat you can buy passage on and they will pole and row you through the Torii Gate.  

This stone gate is like the Torii Gate, except stone. In front and on either side is a statue on a pedestal. The difference in the statues is the shape of the mouth. The one on the right has its mouth open as if to say Ahhhh. That is the first letter of their alphabet and represents the beginning. The statue on the left has its mouth closed as if to say Mmmmm. That is the last letter of their alphabet and represents the end.  

This is a groom and his bride who were just married at the shrine. They are being carried away in a rickshaw. And they just came through the stone gate between the beginning and the end.  

Well, we just had to have a picture of us in front of the Torii Gate. 

This is a view of the Itsukushima Shrine as we walked from the ferry boat to the shrine. 

Here is Claude taking a moment to ponder the magnificence of this adventure. Take it in Big Guy, take it in.

When you enter a shrine there is always a place with running clear clean water. There is always a cup or ladle of some kind to dip the water out and rinse your hands and, if you so desire, have a little drink. 

These pictures are a few of the many taken of the Itsukushima Shrine and Torii Gate. 

In the water at the Itsukushima Shrine, is a No Theater. This is used for a particular type of Japanese play. The theater sits in the water. When the tide is out, then you can find the stone steps to get to the theater. The tide when out as we were touring and we were able to see the steps.

These barrel looking things are all Sake barrels and are presented as a gift to the gods. 

The people receive a fortune written on pieces of paper. If it is a good one and you want it to come true, you tie it to this line inside the shrine. 

When the tied was out, it left behind little crabs. Got a video clip of them scurrying around. Cute little things. 

Just a very pretty bridge. 

People do live on the island. We walked past some of their homes. The ditch is stone lined. There was a pretty crane in the water of the ditch.  

Another view of the pretty building.

I was fascinated by the line and construction of this roof.  It looks almost like a thatched roof in Ireland.

I cannot remember what these were for. But they were very cute. 

I read a book about Japanese tales. It had a section about cats, ground hogs and fox. Each of these animals is thought to have magical powers. Sometimes they transform themselves into things or people. The badger is kind of a naughty character according to this book. 

And this picture is the Miyajima rice scoop. The story goes that a Buddhist monk had a dream. In this dream he saw the goddess of good fortune. She was carrying a lute. The monk traced the shape of the lute and made a rice scoop. It was a very handy tool and from Miyajima Island the use of this tool spread across Japan. It is thought to be a lucky ornament and scoops happiness, good fortune and victory. 

While on the island, we found a place to eat. It only had a Japanese style toilet. No men's or women's restroom. Just one bathroom with a Japanese style toilet. The old version is simply a hole in the ground. The newer version is a ceramic thing that is long and narrow and flat to the ground.  I went to the bathroom and could not figure how to use this facility. It became our quest to look for signs that said "western toilet". Those we all knew how to use.

After lunch we took the ferry back to Miyajimaguchi Port and caught the Shinkansen on to Hiroshima.

In 2005, Claude and toured Israel. One of the sites we visited was Yad Vashim. This is the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem. It was a most sobering experience. I shall never forget the feelings that came over me as we went through this thoughtful tribute and remembrance.  When we walked up to the A-bomb Dome, I immediately felt that same feeling. What mankind can do to mankind is staggering. 

This is the A-bomb Dome. It has been shored up so the remains can stay as a reminder of this event. Masterfully done and very moving.

The Peace Gardens carry this same feeling. We walked along the river, over a bridge and found the monument to the children. A young girl, Sadako, was injured by the blast. She began folding paper cranes to help her heal and bring peace. She eventually died. The cranes are now a symbol of peace. This monument features Sadako on the top with a crane. There are glass cases all around one side of this sculpture filled with folded paper cranes made into chains and pictures.

From this monument, you cross the highway and walk down a path on either side of flowing water. There is a big sculpture that is stylized hand with the inside of the wrist touching and the palms up and tips of the fingers curled upward. Down from that is an arch that looks in shape like the canvas cover of a Conestoga wagon. This is a shrine at which people place flowers and say prayers. When you look back you can see all the way to the A-bomb Dome. 

There is an expanse of grass before you get to the buildings that house the actual museum. I mentioned to Claude that, in a country with lands that is carefully filled with homes, farms, businesses, etc., you know how important the people feel something is when they dedicate open grassy areas to it. This is the museum.

A lot of the museum is under renovation. But we did see a portion of it. I honestly didn't take lots of pictures in the museum, even though we were allowed that privilege. These two I will share. The picture of the cloud that rose after the bomb was dropped. And the diorama of how the bomb was dropped and actually exploded over the city. We were told that Tokyo was trying to get a report of what had happened. They were told the city was no more. It just disappeared.

One final view from inside the museum of the Peace Gardens.

As we walked to find a bus or taxi, we passed these unique items. The first is a mail box. The second is a telephone booth.

We would have dinner in Hiroshima. A true unique Japanese experience. The dish is called Okonomimura. It was described as a crepe like pancake and you choose what you want on it. Let's just say that the man and lady preparing this dish just kept adding to the top, incorporating an egg in the middle, turning it and flipping it as it cooked. It was amazing to watch. The two children at the end of the counter are the daughters of the two cooks. To get to this restaurant we went down an alley I would not have traveled had Kelly not said it was perfectly fine. Then up a little elevator to the floor where all these little grill areas were designated by walls and curtains. We found one that all of us could sit at and had a really good meal. Honestly, Claude and I could have shared one there was so much food in this dish. It was great fun and we are very happy we got this uniquely Japanese experience.

What a day! What a day! Back to Kyoto and try to rest to prepare for our next day.

Japan - Monday, September 14, 2015 - Himeji Castle

Now we are on Japan dates and times.  

Monday, September 14th, we had lunch in the hotel restaurant buffet. We would follow this pattern in every hotel for breakfast. I opted to stay with a little fruit and a croissant. Not knowing what we would have to eat and that the plans were for three meals a day. At home I usually have a bagel for breakfast and a Greek yogurt and banana for lunch. Then Claude and I eat one big meal together. It appeared we would be eating much more than that and breakfast was one meal I could control. It turned out to be a great way to start my days in Japan.

Our tour today was to Himeji Castle.  We would ride the Shinkansen to Himeji and tour the Himeji Castle. This is a World Cultural Heritage Site. It all started in 1333 AD. 

There is so much more to the grounds that we toured. However, what we toured wore us right out. 

We would entered the largest gate and climb the hill to the Main Keep. This keep is 6 stories tall. We would climb all the way to the top. It seemed on each floor that the stairs got steeper and the height of each step increased. It could have been that this is hard work and I was getting tired. However, going back down was harder on the knees than going up.

There are so many beautiful angles from which to take pictures. It was so much fun to look at it through the lens of my camera and take pictures I can look at over and over again as my memory loses some of those images. 

I've decided to post pictures of the visit to Himeji Castle by the features that piqued my interest. These are in no particular order.  Except these first two. They are a frame of wood that replicates the frame of Himeji Castle. One of the big differences about the Japanese castles is that they were made of wood. Usually we think of a castle as being stone or marble. But in Japan they were made of wood.

The second was a replica made of Himeji Castle and all the land that would have been included with the castle. So much more than what is today included with the Castle and its grounds. If you find Himeji Castle and look at the wall around it, that is about what is included today. But in its heyday, it would have extended much further.

I loved the use of bamboo fences. Bamboo grew everywhere along the mountain sides. It made perfect sense to use it for fences. Some times it was curved and woven to make the fence. Simply...beautiful.

There are seals on the edges of the tile roof. Each ruler had their own seal and these would be changed with the new ruler. 

The gutter system throughout where we walked was impeccably clean and in great shape. We found this same type of stone gutters in all the historic places we visited.

There are actually 21 gates in Himeji Castle today. I'm posting two of them. The first is Hishi Gate. This gate is unique in that its side is on a stone wall. The second Claude and I named the 'Bonnie Gate'. This is because Claude's mom, Bonnie, could walk through it without bending over. When we were all in Israel and went to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, you enter through a very low doorway. Bonnie was the only on in our group that didn't have to bend over to get in through that doorway. Hence, at Himeji Castle, this will always be the 'Bonnie Gate' to Claude and me.

There are fish on the peaks of the roof. It was explained to us that, with the fear of fire and the castle burning down, fish were places on these peaks. They symbolically represent the water level coming up to that fish. Therefore, no fire can happen where the fish is located as they are 'under water'.

There were several rooms or large hallways that served as armory rooms. Racks and hooks line the walls to store weapons for war.

I mentioned the stairs earlier. The following are three pictures showing the stairs. The first picture is on one of the lower floors and the last picture is going into the 6th floor of the Main Keep. 

When in Blarney Castle we learned of the 'murder hole' as a means to defend the castle. On the top of the castle was a hole with a clear shot to the ground. From this hole hot oil could be poured on one's enemy to defend the castle. Himeji Castle had something similar but it was called Stone Drops in the brochure we were given. In the first picture you can see them under the flat windows. The second picture was taken from inside and over these windows. If you lift the handle, it removes the board covering the holes from which to drop rocks on one's enemy.

The windows on the eastern and western walls are located high, so platforms are installed to make use of the windows for monitoring and shooting. Stairs are located at the ends of the platform for access to the top of the platform.

On the top floor is a the Osakabe-jinja Shrine. Watching the people worship at these shrines was a very sweet experience. 

Here is our intrepid group on the top floor of Himeji Castle. We made it!! And we're smiling!!

There would be several places we visited where our shoes had to be removed. I carried a pair of footlets to wear as needed in my backpack. Some of our group just went bare foot. Claude's feet just ached. It was one of the worst things he could have done to his feet. They really needed the support of a good shoe. He pressed on... Rooms were always provided with cubbies for you shoes and sometimes slippers to wear.

Outside the Main Keep we found the top of a wall. It gave us a feel for how thick those rock walls really were.

And here is the rock wall. The stone wall's contour is called 'fan curve' for its resemblance of a folding fan. The incline gets steeper as it goes up, making it very hard to climb.

We found a stage for plays and performances outside the Main Keep. What an amazing place to perform. 

As we walked away from the Main Keep and made our way out of the castle area, I noticed this little place. It left me wondering how many hidden passages and places there might have been in Himeji Castle.

Well, that gives a flavor for the experience we had at Himeji Castle.  We would walk back to the train station. This was an opportunity Kelly took to teach us about the covered streets. Such a pleasant way to walk on a hot sunny day. The street is full of shops and restaurants. People walk and ride bikes through them. It is something I think would serve us well here in the States.

Along these streets we found a restaurant for lunch. Okay, not many of us were looking forward to sitting on a floor to eat. Crossing our legs was just not an option for me as well as several others. We found a real Japanese style restaurant and they had room for 10 people. They led us in and to the back, then past the kitchen to another hall with little rooms with tables big enough for 10 people. They were low to the ground. We took our shoes off and climbed into the room and, to our joy, found there was a huge open space under the table. We just had to get down and then our feet had a place to hang like we were sitting in a chair. Hallelujah!! Lunch was good. I am absolutely awful with chopsticks and it didn't improve any during the trip. It was amusing the servers who would notice, take pity on me, and bring my probably one of only 2 or 3 forks in the restaurant.

One last thing learned this first full day. Little children in elementary school all wear hats. They are different colors and the color tells you which grade the child is in.

Back to the Shinkansen and to the New Hankyu Hotel for a welcome night's rest.  Great first full day. We were weary but very happy travelers.

Japan Adventure Begins...

Georgetown, Kentucky is sister cities with Tahara, Japan. This relationship started 25 years ago. Tom Prather was the Mayor of Georgetown then and he is again. He wanted to put together a delegation to go over in honor of this 25th anniversary. He asked people if they would like to make this trip, at their own expense, that served in all areas of Georgetown and Scott County. Claude was asked and said he would go. I tagged along.

The delegation ended up being 10 people. Mayor Tom Prather, Bill and Deni Hamilton who were there at the beginning of this 25 year relationship, Chuck Bradley from the Scott County Fiscal Court, David Livingston from the Georgetown City Council, Jennifer Holbert from the Scott County School Board, Frank Shoop who is a good friend of Mayor Prather and a well respected local businessman, and Claude Christensen, Mayor of Sadieville with his eye candy, me! Kelly McKuen would be our guide and set up the trip for us. His background was a teacher in Tahara years ago for several years and has an amazing relationship with the people there and loves Japan. He was the perfect choice for this trip.

I shall just preface this with the fact that I have two disks for my camera. The settings I have chosen let me take 1,400 pictures with each disk. I carry a battery in the camera and one extra in the case. This gets me through an entire day of our travels. I filled both of my disks this time. I took a good bit of video and that takes up more space than a picture. However, that is still a lot of pictures. I just finished going through them and putting them in order, deleting extras or fuzzy ones, and adding some from friends that shared their pictures on Facebook this morning. There is absolutely no way I can or will post all those pictures. Just remember that I have them all stored and know there will come a day when Claude and I can no longer travel. Then we'll curl up with our pictures and remember those amazing trips we took.

Next, I need to thank my sisters again. There is absolutely no way I could leave my father for this long. They each flew or drove in for a few days so he had someone he could have help him and visit with him all but about 1 day. They were great and I truly appreciate their help. It allowed me to relax and enjoy like I have not on other trips.

This trip would be different than any we have taken before. The first few days were like vacation days. We all agreed to go several days early so that we could tour some of the historic places in Japan. I was able to learn about our traveling companions and appreciate each of their unique contributions to, not only the sister city relationship, but the work that must be done to keep Georgetown and Scott County, Kentucky moving forward. The last few days were spent on the Atsumi Peninsula with the people of Tahara. We enjoyed all that they could show us in those days.  Claude and I were impressed and loved the people of Japan. We learned so much more about the daily life of the people than any other trip we have done.  Every day just got better and better. The trip was amazing.

We flew from Lexington Bluegrass Airport to Detroit. We had a four hour layover in Detroit. Then a 13 hour 49 minute flight to Nagoya, Japan.  Please note, we left Detroit at 12:26pm. The sun was up and we followed the sun around the world to Japan. There is a 13 hours time difference between Sadieville, Kentucky and Japan. If it is 5pm in Kentucky, it is 6am the next day in Japan. We left Saturday (US Time) at 12:26pm and arrived in Nagoya Sunday at 3:15pm (Japan Time). When we came home, we arrived in Detroit 30 minutes before we left Nagoya. I shall just state for this record that these time items play havoc with your biological time clock. Claude and I are still trying to adjust. Don't think we have ever had as hard a times getting back into the time groove.

The Detroit Airport was a nice place to have a layover.  There was a money exchange place located right by our gate. We had waited to use this long layover for that purpose. Dollars were changed to yen and we prepared ourselves to try and understand another currency. There was also a Max and Erma's which we ate at to have one more real American meal before turning to a Japanese diet. We walked through a tunnel upon arrival at the Detroit airport to get to the International concourse. This tunnel was all lit up and played music. The light patterns moved around to the music. I strolled back down there to try and get pictures of the colors and some video of the music and light show. Many people got a chuckle out of me standing there waiting for the lights to get just right for a possible picture or video. Then I left all my stuff with Claude and walked from one end of the concourse to the other and back. This would serve as my treadmill for the day and get lots of walking before having to sit on the plane for so very long. Poor Claude developed Plantar Fasciitis a couple of weeks before we left. He was and is on anti-inflammatory meds and was told to stay off his feet. That was not going to happen so he did the best he could. Then we were off for our long flight. 

As our plane flew over Japan, I told Claude we were going over the Atsumi Peninsula where we would end our trip. Kelly took this great picture of the peninsula and the Irago View Hotel we would spend two nights in. It is the white spot on top of the mountain.

After clearing customs in Japan, we gave our luggage to a company that would transport it to our hotel in Kyoto. It would not arrive until we returned from our first day of touring. So Claude and I packed an overnight bag inside of our suitcases. Before turning our luggage over to the transport company, we took out the bag that would allow us clean clothes and toiletries for the next morning. We would all then travel by a local train to the Shinkansen (we call it a bullet train, the Japanese do not call it that). This train goes 180 mph. It took us to Kyoto Station and our hotel, the New Hankyu Hotel, which was outside this train station.  The first picture is our hotel. The next two pictures are Kyoto Station. This is a huge building. The bus station is located between the train station exit and the hotel. Under the bus station is a place called Porta. Inside it are lots of restaurants and stores for shopping. Inside Kyoto Station are the local trains as well as Shinkansen. Around this and up many storiis are more stores for shopping and more restaurants. 

Kelly purchased each of us a week pass on the Shinkansen. This meant we could ride it all we wanted for a week and not pay any more. It paid for itself in the first trip. There are three types of Shinkansen trains. Our tickets were for the middle type (Hikari). The difference is the number of stops the types make. The highest level only stops at a few of the most major cities. The middle type stops at more of the sizable cities. The lowest type stops at all cities. The reason the highest seems fastest is that it makes few stops. There are 'green cars' on each of these types. They are located in the middle of the train. The seats are so very comfortable with lots of leg room. Definitely worth the additional price.  Local tracks are on ground level. All Shinkansen tracks are elevated so traffic does not have to contend with them and they can move quickly. 

Left to Right: David Livingston, Deni Hamilton, Tom Prather, Frank Shoop, Jennifer Holbert, Sandi and Claude Christensen, Bill Hamilton, Chuck Bradley.

Time to try and sleep and get our bodies used to Japan time.

It's Been a While Since We Spoke...

It has been almost a month since I last posted. A very, very busy month with no end in sight. No regrets for any of the busyness that is life right now. It will not always be such and the things life is filled with right now have been good for the most part.

In my last post I alluded to new living room furniture. It arrived and we love it. Now I will have to vacuum under furniture. The other sofa and love seat sat flush to the ground. So different to sit high with a sofa or love seat that is very full of stuffing. It is beautiful and comfortable and Claude and I feel good about our purchase. May it last a hundred years.

Claude and I left Saturday, September 12th, for a trip to Japan. I will post about that in another Blog entry. However, while we were gone my sisters came and stayed in our home so someone was close to care for Papa. Could not have done our trip without them here. I am very grateful for all they did.

Before we left, Tiny, Papa's little dog, was not doing well. Then she perked back up. Papa and I talked and he knew full well this might be her last hurrah. I left the box she was to be buried in and instructions with the veterinarian's name and address on it for Junie and Neffie. There was money in Papa's wallet to pay for putting her to sleep if the need arose. Papa really wanted her buried on our hill in Sadieville when the time came.

Sure enough, during the trip, I got a phone call from Papa. We were in Kyoto and it was about 10:30pm there so that would have been 9:30am in Kentucky. How Papa managed to get through to Japan I will never understand. He doesn't have long distance service on his phone even. He was frantic and said Tiny was really bad and he needed help to get her to the veterinarian. I reminded him I was in Japan and Junie was there with him. She had instructions and knew what to do. He should call her. Her phone number was on his refrigerator. He was sure I was there and Junie was in Utah. Poor guy gets so very confused. He found Junie's number and I told him I would send her a text. Junie got my text asking her to call him as quickly as she could and she received a phone call from Papa. She went into Georgetown, gathered up Papa and Tiny and took them to the veterinarian where Tiny was put to sleep. Junie put her in the box and brought her out to our home.  Junie has surgery on both her knees 3 weeks before coming to help with Papa. Claude had me tell her to put Tiny in a bag, put the bag with Tiny in the box, then put the box in a bag and leave her in the garage. Claude would dig her grave and bury her when we got home. Junie did this.

We got home Monday, September 21st. Tuesday afternoon Claude and I went down the hill to the spot he designated and he and I dug the hole for Tiny and placed her in it. I took pictures to take to Papa so he could see that his little friend was taken care of as he wished.

Tiny is sorely missed by Papa. He is constantly looking for her and remembering she is not there. I have tried to remind him how we would still turn into the nursing home to visit mom for a long time after she passed. The other Wednesday we passed the new vet office near him home. He said, "I may have to try taking Tiny there." I gently put my hand on his knee and said, "Papa, Tiny is gone." Then he remembered. We'll just try to fill his time as best we can. Last night I asked the missionaries at Church to stop in when they are in that neighborhood and chat with him for a few minutes. They were happy to have the invitation.

This little creature fulfilled the measure of her creation. She was a friend and loving pet for Mimi even after mom lost her memory. Papa could bring Tiny to the nursing home for a visit and her eyes would like up with what must have been memory. Then she was Papa's companion until this month. They were quite a pair. Thank heaven for loving pets.

One other incidental before I do the big Blog posts. Had my teeth cleaned last Monday. For the last year and a half, I have had a very sensitive tooth on my lower right jaw, the next to last tooth. I told this to the dentist at my cleaning after it starting hurting. X-rays were taken and it was thoroughly check. It is just the nerve exposed under a crown with no damage to the nerve and no sign of a cavity. So we have opted to just watch it and I keep it very clean. This time I told Michele, the hygienist, it still hurt when I brushed and cleaned my teeth but at no other time. Michele set to doing her cleaning thing and when she got to the opposite lower gum I heard her say, "Hmmm."  She felt that under the crown on that exact spot on the left side of my jaw seemed soft like a cavity was trying to form. I don't feel anything over there. Dr. Clay doesn't feel it is a cavity yet. So I have to go back and they are going to try putting a filling over the ever so thin gap between the crown and my gum to protect it. It is just amazing that the side that hurts and I'm aware of and concerned about has no issues. The side I thought was perfectly fine is the one they are worried about and I would have never known without regular dental cleanings. Goodness. 

Now, on to the big Blog posts...