We finally made it over to the mainland via Space-A (i.e. "free") travel! We started off by flying from Okinawa to Iwakuni, Japan (to the Marine base). Right away, the people were helpful and friendly. A Marine and his family saw us trying to figure out how to get a shuttle and offered to take us to the lodging facility. It was great, a large room with a kitchen and a commissary close by so we did not have to eat out every meal. We decided to stay for 2 nights and base our trip to Myajima island as well as Hiroshima from there. We relaxed and saw a movie our first night.
We got up the next morning and caught the train to the Myajima ferry. Myajima was beautiful and is supposed to be one of the most scenic areas of Japan. Steph and I posed in front of the famous Tori Gate in the shallow water off the coast of the island. We toured some shrines and temples and petted wild deer that roamed around the island. We sampled the local cuisine, then had shaved ice to top it all off.
Next up was touring Hiroshima. We started at the A-bomb Dome (still standing after the bomb)and toured the peace park and surrounding memorials. Very sobering experience but moving. We also allowed some Japanese locals practice their English skills on us explaining the memorials and museum.
The next day we were up early to get on the bullet train to Kyoto, our next stop. Again, we were amazed by a retired Marine who works at Iwakuni offered to drive us the 30 minutes to the train station so we did not have to take a cab. We found a traditional Japanese style hotel, complete with futons, tatami mats, a low table, and group baths (Ben and I tried this, while Morgan and Steph stuck with the bathroom in our room.......) We did one walking tour to a few shrines the first day, including the Silver Palace and the Philosopher's Path (a mile long winding path along a small canal connecting a few shrines and temples). That night we tried to go to a Tofu restaurant but it was closed, so we had some more local cuisine instead at a small cafe. The next morning we did another walking tour of the Golden Palace and an incredible zen garden at Daitokuji Temple. We then went to the train station, got on the bullet train, and headed to Camp Zama, our next lodging at the US Army Base Zama outside of Tokyo for our hike to Fuji!
LCDR Butler
boy, you jam packed alot into this trip! The group bath sounds interesting, an experience once again for Ben and you! What an awesome family vacation!
ReplyDeleteIs the 2nd picture the A Bomb dome? Is that where the bomb was dropped or were there several that were dropped and that is a structure that is left? That is pretty cool if you think about it, that in March you got to see Pearl Harbor where you can still see the affects of the bombing and then 4 months later you get to see the USA's retaliation at Hiroshima. What an amazing US history lesson you all have had. Too bad you can't "write-off" these educational expenses! Ha ha! Oh, I hope they got pictures of the zen garden, I bet that was pretty. What is the bullet train? Is it like the monorail in Disneyland? (you realize that I am sitting here typing this alone since TJ & kids are in Ohio so I am truly laughing at my own joke...which is sad) Anyways, looks like you are making the most of your trip. Love and miss you all!
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