Miyajima and Hiroshima

Yesterday was a full day for us. We caught the 7:20am train to Hiroshima to meet local guide Kato. Kato was one year old when the A-Bomb was dropped, but he and his family were not in Hiroshima City and were safe. He currently serves as a volunteer guide. We learned about Kato through Stephanie, one of our guides through Germany on our 2011 Fund For Teachers fellowship. It's amazing how that fellowship from three years ago continues to enhance our experiences today. Thanks, Stephanie, for Kato's contact information!

We started with a ferry ride to Miyajima Island. The ferry took us by the floating Torii gate. For Disney World fans, this is the gate that is represented in EPCOT's Japan pavilion. When the tide is out, it appears to float in the water, but at low tide we could've walked out to the Torii. Helen Keller visited this place and stood at one of the lanterns along the path...now called the Helen Keller lantern.  On the island, deer roam freely. They liked to be petted and tried to sneak any snack they could get -  paper, purses, Johnnie's clothes... Don't worry, she didn't lose her shirt!  We also visited the Itsukushima Shrine and saw a bride and groom who had just gotten married.

Back in Hiroshima, Kato took us to a okonomiyaki restaurant for lunch. Okonomiyaki (Hiroshima style) consists of a thin crepe covered with cabbage, meat (ours had pork), noodles, bean sprouts, and leeks all topped with a fried egg and sauce. Okonomiyaki means "as you like it" and the dish is very popular.

After lunch, we moved on to more somber touring. It was a heavy afternoon for us as we went to Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Museum. We started off at the hypocenter of the a-bomb. As we walked away from the hypocenter we came upon a grave yard that showed the damage from the bomb. When the bomb went off it produced a fireball that went straight down. The tops of the graves are scorched while the sides remain smooth and polished. We then moved on to the peace dome, a structure that remained standing due to its cylinder design. We visited the children's memorial garden. The paper cranes we saw there were made in memory of Sadako. We can't even begin to express our thankfulness to Fund for Teachers for this amazing opportunity. We learned so much from yesterday and now understand more of the impact of war on both sides.

After the museum, we were running out of time, so we didn't get to go inside Hiroshima Castle, but Kato drove us up to it so we could see the outside. Before being known for military events, Hiroshima was a town built up around a castle. There were even three moats. The original castle was destroyed due to the a-bomb, so this was a reconstruction. The replica houses a museum focused on Hiroshima's history prior to WWII.

Kyoto - Day 3

Another hot and busy day! Our day seems to get longer and longer as we try to squeeze everything in before it's time to head back to Tokyo.

We started early this morning with a visit to Kiyomizu-dero, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Founded in 780, it is the temple of the Goddess of Mercy. People come to the temple to drink water from the falls by collecting it in tin cups; the water is said to have therapeutic properties, and drinking from the three different streams is said to give health, longevity, and success in studies.

Next, we headed to Kyoto Imperial Palace for our prearranged tour. The 60-minute tour highlighted buildings formally used by the Emperor of Japan. The current Emperor and his family actually use a different residence when visiting to Kyoto. This palace was used when Kyoto was the capital of Japan, before the capital was moved to Tokyo. We'll be able to compare this palace to palaces we saw in Germany on a previous Fund For Teachers Fellowship in 2011.

After lunch, it was time to catch our train to Hikone. We toured Hikone Castle, the garden, and the museum. Japanese castles are not nearly as ornate as castles in Europe. This is an Edo period castle, and it is one of only 12 in Japan with its original keep and one of only four listed as a national treasure. Be sure to note the ladder-like stairs inside the keep. They were crazy steep!

After a train back into Kyoto, we grabbed some dinner and called it a night. Tomorrow, we are up extra early to catch a train to Hiroshima. There we will meet local guide Kato.

Kyoto - Day 2

Our second day in Kyoto was a hot, busy day. The focus was mostly on important shrines in the area. Since this was supposed to be our day to visit Kameoka and that fell through, we decided to make the best of it. Ironically, we didn't get our school visit but we have been surrounded by junior high age children at every shrine and temple we've visited. We've been able to observe how the teachers interact with the groups (very hands-on), and how the children interact with one another (Adolescent attitude is universal!) It's interesting to see the similarities and differences when compared to our own students.

We started our morning at the Fushimi Inari Shrine, known for its thousands of red torii gates. It is one of the oldest and most visited Shinto shrines in all of Japan. It's deity is the god of prosperity in business and the god of rice. It was amazing to see all of those red gates against the green forested area surrounding them.

Next, we took a train to Arashiyama to the bamboo forest. Arashiyama is a nationally-designated Historic Site and Place of Scenic Beauty. We've learned many ways the Japanese use bamboo. One surprising fact was that a bolt of bamboo is used to fuse the wooden handle of a samurai sword to its blade.

To finish the day, we stopped at both Nishi Hongan-Ji Temple (west) and Higashi Hongano-Ji Temple (east). Both of the Jodo-Shin Buddhism sect, Nishi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and Higashi is the largest wooden structure in Kyoto.

Kyoto - Day 1 (Nijo Castle, Golden Pavilion, Ryoanji Temple, and Tea Ceremony)

Today we met our local guide Sumi for a half-day tour. She was full of great information! This post will be just a brief overview of today's highlights - we are too tired to write more :)

First stop - Nijo Castle
Nijo Castle is the only remaining historical castle building in all of Japan. Other castles, such as the Hikone Castle that we will see later this week, are apparently no longer fully intact because one of the Emperors ordered that the castles be destroyed. We'll know more after our Hikone visit. 

We learned that the 2nd Shogun and the 3rd Shogun built what is now Nijo Castle. Construction occurred in the 1600s and was finished rapidly - three years for the first phase and only two years for the second. That second construction was done in anticipation of the Emperor's visit and was only used the one time. At one point, the castle grounds could house 10,000 people.

Second stop - The Golden Pavilion
The Golden Pavilion was built by the 3rd Shogun. It is covered in 44 pounds of 24K gold leaf and has three tiers. The first floor is done in the palace style, the second is the sunlight house style, and the third is zen temple style. The doors on each level are different and signify the style. The large island represented Paradise and the small islands were shaped like a turtle or crane, which stood for longevity.

Third stop - Ryoanji Temple
The rock garden contains 15 rocks, but one can never see all 15 from any one angle in the viewing area. This teaches that one should be content with what one has. Additionally, 15 is the symbol for wholeness.

The area surrounding the temple was full of trees. Sumi shared that trees are often not cut down or destroyed because Buddhism teaches that the deities live among the trees. We even saw a tree coming through a roof - a hole had been cut to accommodate the tree to avoid cutting it down!

One special tree is the Japanese Cypress. Structures built with this wood are expected to last 1,000 years. The bark is taken from the trees every 10 years and used to make roof tiles. These tiles keep a house cooler in summer and warmer in winter.

Final stop - Tea Ceremony at En
At En, we watched a short version of a traditional tea ceremony. We learned that the tools used to make the tea, the whisk shown above and a wooden scoop (not pictured), are very special and important to the host. The scoop is given a name related to a season, and guests at a ceremony are expected to ask the host about his or her tools. Many tools are passed through generations and have stories connected to them. This was another great "aha" for us as we can add this information to our oral traditions unit.

Tomorrow was scheduled to be our day visit to Kameoka, but that school visit did not come to fruition despite our best efforts. Sumi was able to talk with us about the Japanese school system.  We learned it is modeled after the French system, and she mentioned that starting in junior high, students take five major exams per year. As a grandmother, she has noticed changes from when she was a child.  She said it was common for her grandchildren to be moving about the room, but when she was a child, they only left their seats for designated breaks. Special services are often offered to those struggling in math, and English education is mandatory starting in junior high. Those wishing for their children to have formal English education before the age of twelve often utilize private schools, which Sumi called English schools.

Hakone

We come to you now via Shinkansen, Japan's bullet train. We have just left Hakone and are enroute to Kyoto. We will be based in Kyoto for five days, and we all welcome the idea of staying in the same room for a bit.

Hakone was included on our itinerary because it gave us the opportunity to stay in a ryokan and to possibly see Mt. Fuji. Unfortunately, Fuji-san remained hidden due to cloudy/rainy weather, but the ryokan was a good experience.

We arrived too early to get into our room, so we dropped our overnight bags and headed into Hakone near Gora Station. Here we caught the cable car going up the mountain to Owakudani. Owakudani is an active volcanic valley with sulfurous gases, steam vents, and bubbling hot springs. The big draw here are the black eggs. The eggs are placed in a cage and submerged in the hot springs. When boiled, the shells turn black. It is said that eating just one of these eggs extends your live for seven years, so we each had one. The eggs we purchased were extremely hot and a bit difficult to peel. Once we managed a bite, the egg tasted much like a regular boiled egg from home.
We know our students will love to hear the legend about the black eggs!

By this point, it was raining, and we were hungry, so we went in search of a restaurant called Itoh. Its sign advertised Kobe beef and seafood. It was more formal than we expected and we looked like total tourists who had been walking in the rain, but the kind hostess got us a table.  We all ordered Kobe beef and rice with a salad. The entire meal was delicious! Surprising, even with a full day in Tokyo, this was the first meal where we all had to use chopsticks. For some, that may not seem like a big deal, but we were all relieved we managed without incident!

It was time to check in to our room. Upon arriving at the ryokan, we removed our shoes as is tradition. We walked without shoes on the tatami floors of the entrance until we reached the hallway leading to our room. Here, we all put on our "indoor slippers".  We wore these until we reached our entry, where we were instructed to leave them outside the door.  Our room had a main living room and a smaller side room plus a screened balcony/sitting area. The low table was in the center of the main room. We were invited to sit for green tea and a Japanese sweet. 

Next, we were led on a tour of the property. Upon leaving the room, we had to put on our "inside slippers" until we reached a door leading outside. Here we changed into "outside slippers" and went to see the onsen, or public bath area made from a natural hot spring. Going back to the room, we did the slipper changing in reverse. There was one more set of slippers - slippers to use only in the restroom.

We changed into our yukata, similar to a kimono but made of cotton and meant for use at home. They were comfy and dry - important since we had walked in the rain earlier and an umbrella can only do so much!

Next we awaited our dinner. This would be served kaiseki style - in our room with MANY courses. Johnnie has food allergies, so her menu was modified. Diana and Tammy had many new-to-them items, all mostly consisting of fish. We did our best, and tried some things we wouldn't otherwise, but we won't be changing our regular diets anytime soon. Simply put, we weren't always sure what we were eating.  This definitely taught us what it feels like to be thrown into a new, unique environment, much like our students arriving from other countries must feel. 

After the two-hour meal, our room was made ready for bed with traditional futons. We soaked in the onsen, and called it a night. This was definitely a good, immersive way to experience traditional Japanese customs.

Tokyo - Tokyo Tower, Imperial Palace, and Asakusa

Today was our first full day in Tokyo. We started early with breakfast at our hotel. In addition to Western food items such as scrambled eggs and bacon, the buffet also included rice, fried fish paste, and miso soup. Interesting choices for breakfast in our world but very common here.

Our first stop of the morning was Tokyo Tower. The Tower is 55 years old, 333 meters high, and inspired by the Eiffel Tower in its design.  It is 13 meters taller than the Eiffel Tower.

After coming down from the main observation desk, we grabbed some crepes. Yummy!

Next we went on to the Imperial Palace. The palace is not currently available for tours, so we toured
the East Gardens. These gardens are home to the Edo Castle ruins..

After a restful lunch, we took care of some travel arrangements with the Japan Rail vouchers we received, and then we visited Sensoji Temple.

Senso-ji is Tokyo's oldest temple. Known affectionately to people all over Japan as the temple of the Asakusa Kannon, it draws some 30 million visitors every year, remaining an important center of worship.

We watched some follow their religious rituals, and we each pulled a fortune from the fortune boxes.

We have had a productive, active first day.  We are thankful for the extremely nice people who help with our questions, and we love how orderly things are.  We'll leave off with a picture from the subway platform. Here, people follow rules and are extremely respectful of others. This kind of labeling is common throughout the city.

We're Here!

The view from our room:

We survived the long flight and navigated the trains to get to our hotel. Tomorrow, we explore!