Japan: a travel diary

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19. 09. 2014 Hiroshima (JAPAN)

The Kobee Line ferry takes us to Fukuoka in three hours! It was so comfortable that I wished the journey had lasted longer.

Same wish a couple of hours later when on the majestic "Shinkansen Hikari" we reach the city of Hiroshima in an hour.

This place has been surprising and fascinating us from the very first moments... I'm sure we'll see some wonderful things!

18. 09. 2014 Hiroshima (JAPAN)

[Stefy]: "This morning we took the train to the island of Miyajima, one of Japan's main attractions. After a 5-minute crossing we find ourselves in front of the O-Torii Gate, which welcomes us with the vermilion red of its structure. We visit with great interest the Itsukushima-Jinja, a sort of temple founded at the end of the 6th century. What truly enchants us is the Senjokaku, a colossal pavilion from 1600 enriched by a five-storey pagoda in vivid colours.

We decide to return to Hiroshima to visit the "atomic bomb" area. From a distance we immediately notice the dome that symbolises the devastation that struck this city and its inhabitants; now only the skeleton of the building remains, and great stillness. We visit the Peace Park, the Cenotaph with all the names of the confirmed dead; the peace flame, which will only be extinguished when the last atomic weapon in the world is destroyed.

Next to it is the children's peace monument, adorned with hundreds of colourful origami cranes in memory of an 11-year-old girl: Sadako Sasaki, who in 1955 fell ill with leukaemia and decided to make 1000 paper cranes; she thought she would recover at the end of her task... she died shortly before... since then, many Japanese make colourful origami cranes to hang at her memorial.

Every person should visit this place because I doubt anyone could ever bring out such evil again. Man can sometimes be so cruel that it frightens me.

19. 09. 2014 Osaka (JAPAN)

We enter the immense, chaotic and glittering Osaka. We take possession of our crumbling little hotel (Hotel Diamond) in Japanese style, with a room 2 metres by 1.5 and a futon on the floor.

The metro "day pass" lets us move around without stress anywhere and we take the chance to wander aimlessly! The evocative Osaka Castle; on the top floor you have the opportunity to take a 360° look at the whole city! Inside we observe with amazement the few relics of the castle, above all the old samurai swords that took us back in time, to dates so far from those of today's hyper-technological Japan.

20. 09. 2014 Nara (JAPAN)

[Stefy]: "A couple of hours by train and we're in Nara. Our room won't be ready until the afternoon; we then decide to head straight to the "Nara Koen" area, where the most important sites of this town with its ancient charm are located! We spend a fantastic day! We visit the "Kofuku-ji", a Buddhist temple with inlaid and imposing pagodas. Everything around us appeared ancient and it was enough to close your eyes for a moment to see a bit of that distant life living again beside us. We passed by the temples of Sangatsu and Nigatsu, from where we enjoyed a spectacular view over the city. We end our route at the Todai-ji Temple, where the famous "Great Buddha Daibutsu" stands, one of the largest bronze statues in the world, created in 746 AD, 16 metres tall and made of 130 kg of gold."

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