Japango: Long time no post.

So we arrived in Tokyo today after spending a night at a ryokan (Japanese Inn) in Ohara. It was quite an experience and I really enjoyed it. It took about an hour by bus to get to Ohara, but the area is mainly rural and very beautiful. The ryokan we stayed at was called 'Gyozanen' and it was about a 10 minute walk from the bus stop (up hill). There English was very good and we were apparently the only ones staying that night. Apparently they get a lot of foreign visitors, but they have not had mainly do to the tsunami. We got a 5 course dinner which was a wide selection of food.

A quick summary from the ryokan experience:
1. I want to buy a yukata. They are so comfortable to lay around in.
2. You can never take too many baths in one day. The inn had 3 different onsens (2 outdoor, 1 inside). One of the outside baths was in a cave, which was amazing.
3. We need more onsens (hot springs) in Canada. They are super relaxing.
4. Tatami mats are very comfortable to sit on/sleep on.

As we were leaving the ryokan we were stopped by one of the vendors on the street to try the local food. Ohara is apparently famous for iced cucumbers (they are basically pickled and left in cold water on a stick). Bramwell and I tried them and they were very good. He asked us where we were from and we told him Canada. He then told us to wait and ran into the back. He came back and handed us a Canadian $5 bill. He told us to take it because he had no use for it. (The two cucumbers were only 400 yen so basically we paid nothing for them after he gave us the 5 bucks.)

We then spent about 3-4 hours getting to Tokyo. We arrived and had Indian food for dinner.

Colin and Bramwell already covered some of our previous trips so I will give a brief impression. We went to two main sites in Kyoto which were the Fushihime Inari Shrine and the Bamboo Forest. Both were rainy days, but a lot of fun. I felt the Inari Shrine was really nice in the fog/rain. The entire walk up the mountain took about 3-4 hours, but it was really impressive to see all the Torii Gates. The Bamboo Park was also equally as impressive and had a very peaceful atmosphere. This was also where we got stopped every 10 seconds by jr. highschool kids.

After these events we went to Hiroshima. We first went to the massive peace park in the middle of Hiroshima where the atomic bomb was dropped. It was really a sight to see and something I won't forget. The museum was very detailed on all the facts leading up to why the bomb was dropped, the causes and information about the bomb itself. I found it really hard to go through some parts because it was very graphic and some of the stories were really depressing and sad to read. It really brings into perspective the dangers and horror of nuclear weapons. We then went to Miyagima island. It is apparently one of the most beautiful places to visit in Japan. There were tons of small shops and the temples there were really beautiful. I would have to say that Hiroshima and Nara have been my two favorite places so far.

After Hiroshima we went to Nagoya on Saturday. Nagoya is the 4th biggest city in Japan (I believe). We met up with one of my friend Taylor who was kind enough to show us around. We went to a shrine and a museum in Nagoya. We also had some delicious food. =D

Before we left Kyoto for Ohara we went to see the Aoi Festival near the Imperial Palace.

Daily Sign and Vending Machine

The funny thing is this was half way up the mountain for the Inari Shrine. The shrine has signs everywhere saying "no smoking".

Saw this in Kyoto Station. I won't explain it.

The first poster has you pointing out what is wrong with the first image.
The second poster just looked crazy. The final poster was for Boy Scouts in Japan!

Why we don't have these toilets in North America is beyond me. They have heated seats that heat up right when you sit down. They have various options on the side for cleaning various things after you have done your business. They also have two types of flushes and a sink on top to clean you hands.

At Inari Shrine.

I decided it would be a good idea to soak my feet.

At the top!

Dinner after Inari Shrine. It was an egg burger and a salad which also came with an egg =D.

Bamboo Forest.

Wet stairs made of rock are very slippery. I made a point of going down all of them and did not kill myself in the process ;p.

Dinner for that night. Ramen and fried chicken.

I bought some green tea mochi and the train station. I also went into a Lawson and bought some curry bread.

The Atomic Dome in Hiroshima.

Tons of different monuments all over the park.

A bunch of pictures taken in the Peace Museum. It is not so much just seeing what happened, but also reading very personal stories of what happened.

Picture from the boat.

Miyagi has very different rules when compared to Nara.

We had the Hiroshima version of Okonomiyaki. I think the Osaka version is better.

That is one huge spoon.

We found Evan on the boat ride home.

We found a message outside of a school. We made Colin pose next to it. I won't translate what it means.

Atsuta Shrine. One of the most important Shinto shrines in all of Japan. It has the Sun Goddess Amaterasu enshrined there. It also has the sacred Kusunagi sword stored there.