So it’s been another week, and from today I’ve got one week left in Japan. It’s really weird to start thinking about coming home, I’ve been on the road traveling or in Kanazawa for so long that it’s really become a lifestyle all of its own. Readjusting back to home and school is going to be tough, although with the amount of stuff I have to take care of between getting home and leaving for school things will probably be just as hectic.

Since last time we have visited Hiroshima and Kyoto (we’re still in Kyoto right now). Hiroshima was really interesting. It’s hard to describe exactly. The two big monuments to the atomic bomb in Hiroshima are the atomic bomb dome, a building preserved after the destruction of the city, and the museum. Both were really strange to see. They were in some way really amazing, and in another utterly horrifying. The museum especially had a large number of preserved artifacts chosen to convey the human toll associated with atomic bomb detonation. More than anything else though both the monument and the museum were designed to make a strong case for an end to nuclear proliferation. They really encouraged a brighter future much more than they highlighted the past.

In Hiroshima we were also able to visit the nearby Miyajima shrine. The shrine dates back to the 12th century, and is build on the shore. The main attraction of the shrine is a gate (torii) built in the water a little off shore. We spent the day looking around on the island, which had a lot besides the shrine. We got to eat a regional Hiroshima specialty there, Okonomiyaki. Okonomiyaki made from noodles and cabbage cooked between a thing flour pancake and an egg. The result is kind of like a pancake, only it has egg on one side and vegetables inside. It’s really nothing like a pancake but there’s not really an easy way to describe it. The island also had the world’s largest rice paddle. It was really big. Many of the temples also had large paddles inside, since they are considered lucky. An interesting note, many of the paddles in the temples were donated by companies, and bore their names. We also so lanterns at numerous temples in Kyoto with company names on them. It actually is really common here to see pieces at shrines which companies have branded and donated. At the end of the day we walked back to the shrine, and got a chance to see the torii at low tide. At that point the water had receded and it was possible to walk out across the mud to the gate. The sun was setting and the whole thing was really beautiful.

After Hiroshima we headed to Kyoto. Kyoto was the ancient capitol of Japan and was not a major US target during the war, so it is full of old shrines and temples. Our first stop after getting to Kyoto was actually way out of the city. After stopping at the hotel to drop our bags off we headed up north to Hikone, near lake Biwa, for the national Tori-Ningen (bird-man) competition. The contest had colleges from all over Japan that had built human powered gliders to compete in both distance and time trials. They launched from a platform over the lake, and ended by crashing into the water. A lot of them were really good, we saw one that managed to cross the entire lake. There were also a couple that just took nose-dives off the platform. KIT was scheduled to compete, but they were going on a different day and hadn’t arrived yet. It was still awesome to see the gliders though, and Hikone was a pretty relaxing change from the large cities. It reminded me a lot of Kanazwa.

The same day we hopped a train back to Kyoto to visit one of the most popular shrines there, the Fushimi Inari-taisha. The shrine is really amazing because it has a series of several thousand gates (torii) that wind their way up the mountain. A series of smaller shrines appear on the way. The whole thing was really beautiful, weaving its way through the forest. The gates themselves were so dense that it was noticeably darker under them. In most places they formed an almost continuous tunnel. We arrived at about 4:30, so we managed to finish just as the sun was setting. We actually got to watch the sunset from a clearing part-way up. From where we were there was a really nice view of the city, it was an absolutely amazing sunset. Another thing that was again interesting to note was the greater involvement of commercial entities, a large portion of the torii lining the path were donated by Japanese companies to the shrine, and thus bore the company’s name on the reverse of the gate.


Nobu’s dad has a friend who is an administrator at a girls college in Kyoto, so he arranged for a group from the college’s international club to show us around Kyoto Monday. It was really fun to hang out with some different people, and it was awesome to have another chance to practice Japanese. It was another reminder of just how comfortable I’ve become with screwing up. On the bus I accidentally sad that that Colin was my love (rubu) partner instead of my lab (rabo) partner. Nobu had to help sort that one out. Thanks Nobu. We visited a few more places in Kyoto with them, including Kiyomizu-dera, Kinkaku-ji, and Ryoanji. All of them were really beautiful. Out of the three, Kiyomizu was probably the most interesting. The others were really busy and touristy (Kinkaku-ji especially), but Kiyomizu was a little less crowded. The temple was built into the hillside with a complex wood scaffold holding it up. It also had a spring from which drinking was said to grant wisdom, longevity or health. We ate dinner with the girls after. It was really confusing, but again a good opportunity to practice a little more. The next day we hung out with the girls a little more and did karaoke for a little. Unfortunately their school ( a Buddhist school) had a 10PM curfew both nights. We were told to make sure they made it back, since Nobu’s dad’s friend was the one who was going to get the call if they were late.
GJ and Ted left for the US Tuesday. It was tough to see them go, we had a lot of fun with them around. I’m looking forward to seeing them back at school.

Since then we’ve bummed around a little more, mostly visiting temples and gardens. Most notably we visited Nara today. Nara is home to a huge Buddhist temple, Todaiji. Todaji has a huge Buddha statue, a little less than 50 feet tall. It was absolutely astounding to see something that big. At that scale it really was almost impossible, even up close to wrap your mind around the size of it. You want to think it’s smaller until you find a decent object to compare its size to and realize just how huge it is.

Tomorrow morning we’re leaving Kyoto for Osaka. We’re going to stay a few days there before heading back to Tokyo. It’s really strange to think that I have only 5 days left here. I’ve been away from home so long that at this point that it almost seems normal. I can’t say I’m not looking forward to seeing everyone again though.