Japan Day 7- Minoh Falls

Sunday morning we got on a train and headed back to Osaka to prepare for our week in the schools.  That afternoon we decided to take a hike up to Minoh Falls.  I was really excited because I have never been to a waterfall before!  It was an overcast and cooler day which was perfect!  

This is the path we took.  

There were several little falls along the way.  

We passed a temple with a monk outside it.  

And some beautiful bridges!  

There was a little museum hidden among the trees.  I think it was an art gallery.  

This picture makes  the falls look tiny but it was much bigger in real life!  

Our professor said that every year they do the hike they always see at least one monkey.  Unfortunately we didn't see any this time.  :(  

On the way back down we bought some fried maple leafs to try.  They were actually delicious!  I will add that to my list of weird foods I have tried on  this trip!  :)  

Japan Day 6- Adachi Art Museum

On Saturday we rode a train to the Adachi Art Museum.  I took a book to read on the train and have since realized that reading on a train makes me sick!  I will not make that mistake again!!  I didn't let my nausea ruin the museum for me though!  We were not allowed  to take pictures inside the museum but we were allowed to take pictures of the gardens.  They were incredible!  They are truly an art form!  

Japan Day 5- Miyajima

Miyajima is a small island outside of Hiroshima.  You have to take a ferry to get there.  The day we went it was very overcast but still beautiful!  These pictures don't do it justice!  

This is the great Torii.  It is a symbol of Miyajima and sits in the water during high tide.  During low tide you can walk right to it.  It has been reconstructed over the years but the current structure was last rebuilt in 1875.  Wow!   

The Torii is part of the Istukushima Shrine which is a shrine floating on the sea.  This is a picture of it during low tide.  

When we were passing by the shrine we happened upon a traditional Japanese wedding!  The groom is in white and the bride is in the black and red kimono.  :)  

Look at the island's tiny little fire trucks!  They are so cute!  They look like Tonka trucks!

That afternoon we went on an impromptu hike up to Maple Leaf Park.  There are Japanese Maples everywhere and they are bright green.  It was beautiful!  While we were up there we met a teacher and his wife that were from either Tennessee or Kentucky (I can't remember).  He taught English in Japan for a few years and they were back on a two week vacation.  He said that now he teaches Japanese in a school in the states.  So cool!  

When we were heading back down, we spotted a baby deer.  It's mother was close by but she let us get close enough to take a picture.  :)  

Did I mention that deer run wild in Miyajima too?!? 

After our hike we explored the little city a little bit and did some shopping.  This is what a typical street in Miyajima looks like.  Some people have shops outside or below their homes.  

This is what I had for lunch in Miyajima.  It was hot soba noodles with oysters.  Yum!  

I can't do a post about Miyajima without sharing a quick story about our trip there.  We were on a train taking us from Hiroshima to the ferry to Miyajima.  The train was kind of full and so I was standing up and holding onto the pole.  The train stops and several people get off.  I look to my right and there is an older Japanese lady looking at me with a sweet smile and motioning for me to sit down next to her.  I take a seat and nod in appreciation.  There is a definite language barrier there but she tries to communicate with me.  I tell her that I am a sensei from America and that we are headed to Miyajima.  She hears Miyajima and her face lights up.  She begins talking animatedly in Japanese.  I didn't understand a bit of what she said and so she takes out a piece of paper and begins to draw.  It was lie a game of pictionary!  She began to draw a maple leaf and wrote the word candy.  She wanted me to try the maple candy in Miyajima.  Then she drew a picture of the Torii and labeled it red.  She continued to show me different things I needed to see while I was there.  I began to realize that she knew a little bit of English.  We continued to communicate this way until we reached our stop.  She was so sweet and I wish that I had gotten a picture with her!  It was such an amazing experience and it made my day!  

Japan Day 4- Hiroshima

I honestly wasn't sure what to expect from Hiroshima.  I knew that the buildings would be newer because of the atomic bomb.  I honestly expected it to mainly be just a memorial and museum.  Boy was I wrong!  The city is so beautiful and bustling!  It is much smaller than Osaka but it is still a busy place.  

We stayed at the Aster Plaza which was just a few blocks away from the Peace Park.  A few of us chose to stay in traditional Japanese style rooms for the three nights we were there.  Surprisingly enough, I actually slept better on the rice mats then I did in the hotel beds! Who'd have thought that?!  

We once again had spectacular views of the city!  

Hiroshima is surrounded by beautiful mountains.  

We started our day out at the Hiroshima Peace Park and Museum.  I took a lot of pictures inside the museum but they didn't turn out too well.  It was a very emotional experience.  A few of us were worried about how the Japanese people would feel with is being there, seeing as how we are American.    We were anticipating it to be awkward. It was the exact opposite.  They are such kind and welcoming people.  It didn't feel weird or inappropriate at all.  The focus of the museum is to bring awareness of the destruction that nuclear war causes.  There is a whole section of the museum that focuses on how we can help stop the production of nuclear weapons.  Since the bombing, every mayor of Hiroshima had written letters to countries that are developing nuclear weapons asking them to please stop.  They have each letter printed on metal and hanging up in the museum.  It was very powerful to see all the letters.  

I thought this quite was really powerful...

This is a picture of the exterior of the museum and the fountain in front of it.  

After we toured the museum we went outside to tour the Peace Park.  This is a memorial to all those who lost their lives that day.  We were standing there taking pictures when all of a sudden this man rolls this old lady up in a wheelchair.  She stops in front of the structure, closes her eyes, and bows her head as if in prayer.  I begin getting teary eyed as I realize that this women was effected in some way.  Did she lose a child, her parents, her husband?  It was so sad.  

If you look through the middle of this structure you can see that it is lined up with the eternal flame, pool, and the atomic dome (the only structure still standing after the bombing).  

I am not sure if you all are familiar with the story of Sadako and the paper cranes.  There have been children's books written about her.  I am excited to read these when I do my Japan unit this year!  There is a monument in her honor on the park.  There are these large clear boxes absolutely full of paper cranes that have been sent there from all over the world.  They are there to spread a message of peace.  

After we went through everything a few of us were sitting inside the museum waiting on some others from our group.  Our professor has spent a lot of time in Japan and is able to speak Japanese pretty well.  There was a group of sixth graders there on a field trip.  The little boy in the blue shirt and white hat passed by and our professor spoke to him in Japanese.  The boy was excited that he spoke Japanese and struck up a conversation with him.  Next thing we know we are surrounded by thirty sixth graders. They were excited to meet Americans and enjoyed practicing a little bit of English with us.  Our professor told them why we were in Japan and told them that we were teachers, or sensei, in America. They all said "Oooooo" and bowed their heads to us.  It was so neat!  The conversations we had with these kids made our day!  

Once we left the museum we went back to the hotel to rest before heading to a Hiroshima Carps baseball game.  It was quite an experience!  Baseball is very big in Japan!  

One of our nights in Hiroshima we went to Hondori Street for shopping and dinner.  It was beautiful!  

Oh and I also saw several Frozen posters there.  In Japan it is called Anna and the Ice Queen.  :)