Highlights from Japan

After Osaka, I went to visit Miah and Dwain and family who now live just outside of Tokyo.   Fortunately, Miah wasn't working this year and so we had some nice quality time with her and F; plus the Cherry Blossoms were in full bloom!

 

Hiroshima

The setting to one of my favorite books - Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes.

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes is a children's historical novel written by Canadian-American author Eleanor Coerr and published in 1977. It is set in Japan after World War II. Wikipedia

It was a beautiful day to walk around the Peace Memorial Park where there is the Children's Peace Memorial with a metal crane to ring a bell and a metal statue of a girl holding up a crane.  Also many glass boxes of folded paper cranes from children all over the world.

I had some time to reflect the unforgiving consequences of the effects of the Atomic Bomb as I walked around the remains of the building it hit and from the binders of information which a group put together in multiple languages to "educate" the visitors.

This is the building  that the Atomic Bomb hit.

It was called the Hiroshima Prefecture Industrial Promotion Hall before it was destroyed by the atomic bomb August 6, 1945.

It is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Kyoto

Ah the beautiful Kyoto!  Riding the bullet train (and it is fast!) I fortunately saw Mt. Fuji - a rare sighting as most people say it's hidden behind low clouds.

Magnificent Mt. Fuji

Bullet Train

Our hotel in Kyoto was really far out in the suburbs, so we put our suitcases in lockers and went to explore Kyoto.  It was a perfect day and so many people were dressed in kimonos.  We stumbled upon Pontocho Alley - Pontocho Alley, is lined with traditional shops and restaurants, and no cars, modern buildings or gaudy signs are allowed.  We found a great Kobe steak and wine restaurant.  In the evenings, it is famous for full on geishas (however we didn't see any). 
Pontocho Alley is parallel to the river which I walked along taking photos of all the girls in their colorful kimonos. 

We also went on a half day tour to see 3 temples. The Heian Shrine, one of Japan's largest torii gate.  The Sanjusangeno Temple (a Buddhist Temple) was the most interesting but we were not allowed to take photos.  It has 1,001 slightly different armed statues of the goddess of mercy, Kannon.  

The last temple we visited was Kiyomizu-dera on Mt. Otowa.  Most of it was behind scaffolding but the most impressive part was the veranda which is 13 meters tall and was built without nails. 

Tokyo - Hakone

Tokyo is a HUGE city!  We only had about a day here so hit some of the tourist spots, such as, Senso-ji Temple.   It is the oldest temple in Tokyo.   We saw many Japanese girls in kimonos.  Men pulling rickshaws and local and tourists enjoying the markets and Cherry Blossom themed foods and souvenirs.

famous paper lantern

Senso-ji Temple

We also went to the Tokyo National Museum.

The next day we took a train (or a few trains) to Hakone.    There wasn't a lot to do/see in Hakone.   We took a bus to Ashinoko Lake and rode a boat around it.  The lake is over 3,000 years old. Boy it was cold on the boat. 

However I did warm up in the evening as I tried out our hotel's onsen.  Fortunately I met a lady who helped me out with the dos and don'ts of onsens.  Onsens are Japanese bath houses where you enter the bath areas completely naked.   Friendly advise - Onsen Basics

Japan - Tokyo - March 2017

Well, I finally made it to Japan.  It had been on my Bucket List for a while.  With my good friends moving there this fall, this inspired me to finally go.

Japan, a beautiful country, polite and gracious people and delicious food.

To take away the time to research hotels and transportation, I chose a self-guided tour which took care of the latter things.  The initial contact was through www.tourradar.com which then sub-contracted it to Bamba Experience - www.bambaexperience.com  Tour called Japan Highlight 8D/7N.

We explored Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, Hiroshima, and Osaka on the tour and ended visiting Miah and Dwain outside of Tokyo.

Since we booked the trip quite late, our hotel accommodations were further from the train stations than I would have liked but it was peak season as it was Cherry Blossom Season.  Plus the directions which were given on how to get from the train stations to the hotel were quite clear and direct.

Neuschwanstein Castle..... Germany

October 13, 2016

midday  mist

On my trip to Germany, I decided to finally visit the famous Neuschwanstein Castle in the Bavarian Alps.  I had been to the Munich area twice before and both times regretted not going to visit the castle which had inspired Walt Disney's creation of Sleeping Beauty's castle in the Magic Kingdom.  But don't worry it goes far beyond the Disney connection, the story behind the exquisite, medieval castle on top of the hill is a noteworthy story in itself.

My tour guide, Nic Kershaw, a Brit, provided our tour group with a story of Ludwig II that truly helped me understand the man Ludwig II was.  If we didn't have this background, just the tour of the inside of the castle wouldn't have stuck with me.  It's a long story, where should I start? (this is my interpretation of the story of Ludwig II).

From the view of the Maria Bridge

Ludwig II was crowned King of Bavaria when he was only 18 years old, the same day his father (Maximillian II) died. Ludwig II spent a lot of time in the gardens of his home, Hohenschwangau Castle, (yellow castle) learning poetry, reading literature and loved operas.   Once crowned king, it was expected of him to marry and to bear children.  Since he didn't have many friends, he asked his cousin Sophia to marry him.  They were to have a summer (August) wedding and everyone thought they made a perfect couple as she also loved literature.  Once the wedding approached, Ludwig suggested it may be better to have a fall wedding... and then a winter wedding.  He was postponing as he really didn't want to marry, which in the end he never did.

The construction of the castle took longer than expected due to the location on-top of a mountain.  Work began in 1869 and wasn't completed until 1880 and the king didn't move in until 1884. He only lived there for 5 months.

Ludwig II was a man who loved to be alone.  His fascination with the opera composer Richard Wagner inspired the art and architecture of this castle.   He built this castle (1of 3) to withdraw from the public.  As he made 3 vital mistakes while being king - the most vital was the defeat in 1866 when he chose to side with Austria in a war against the state Prussia and Prussia conquered Austria and Bavaria.

Hohenschwangau Castle

Marienbrücke (Marie's Bridge)

Ludwig II started sleeping during the day and had breakfast at 5pm where he would stay up all night. He had a carriage and a sled with colourful electric lights pulled by horses and go through the woods at night.  In the castle the he had the first telephone, a butler bell system and colourful lights in his cave room.  

front of Neuschwanstein Castle

Due to his eccentric life style and named unfit to govern, people around him had 5 psychiatrists declare him insane in June 1886.  They took him to his childhood summer home on Lake Starnberg (same town I am staying in).  He asked to go to Mass the next Sunday which he was refused. He wanted to go to Mass to have a public audience which he would call out for help and let peasant people (whom loved him) know that he was being accused of being unfit/insane to rule.  However he was denied.  The next day he went for a walk near the lake with the psychiatrist who had also declared his brother Otto insane.  The psychiatrist told the two guards who were to accompany them not to come.  They went out at 4pm and were due back at 7pm.  At 9pm both of their bodies were found in the lake in waist deep water dead.  It is still an unsolved mystery about the sexuality preference of Ludwig II (though most think he was gay) and more importantly exactly how he died.

Family Emblem Animal - Swan

TAJ MAHAL - CHECK!

Bucket List - Taj Mahal - CHECK!

Due to the 4 day holiday this "New" Wonder of the World was very crowded!  We went for sunset though it was cloudy.  I don't know how I thought I was going to feel seeing the great TAJ MAHAL - on my Bucket List for sometime.
Taj meaning Crown; Mahal meaning palace
The love story behind why the Taj was built makes this magnificent 350+ year old building more appealing than the human eye can see.

The next morning we got up to see the sun rise over the Taj, but again it was cloudy.  But it was Easter Sunday and we went behind/across the river to see the light awaken over the Taj and it was so peaceful and quiet staring at this beautiful, symmetrical marble structure.

Intrepid Tour Group:  Katie, Sarah, Jill, Lucy, Kelly, Sara
Tim, Marie, Georgina, Tanya