In Search of Sunrise

Well, I’ve returned from my Golden Week Trip to Okayama, Tottori, and Hiroshima. I really enjoyed myself, and I certainly do hope my travel mate, Gwenniferd did as well. The first day we went to Okayama. We saw Okayama Castle, also known as the “Crow Castle.” This castle shares this name with Matsumoto Castle in Nagano. Okayama Castle is called the “Crow Castle” because it is very black. It is said the lord who made this castle wanted a black castle so as to mock the lord of Himeji Castle, the “White Crane Castle.” It all sounds very mature. The castle itself is actually quite nice. This castle was actually quite unique in that the administration of the castle actually lets you touch some of the displays. (See my pictures for what I mean.)

After we had our way with the castle, we went to Korakuen Park in Okayama. It’s a very peaceful place, and definitely picturesque. Photo ops galore. Unfortunately, with summer approaching, there were swarms of gnats all over the place. Still, I’ll take gnats over mosquitoes. I hate those bastards.

The next day, we traveled to Tottori. The only reason to go to Tottori is to see Japan’s one and only naturally occurring sand dunes, especially since they are starting to disappear due to the encroaching plant life onto the sand. Still, it was a pretty cool thing to see. The Tottori Sand Dunes are quite small, but still wide enough to surprise a person. The dunes are also quite tall, and climbing up can be a bitch, especially if you’re like me and want to climb the most difficult path. The sand feels nice between your toes, which is a plus, since we took off our shoes, since there was no way to avoid getting sand in our shoes. The dunes stop at the sea, so I put my feet in for a bit. Then, of course, we had to trek back. One thing that did annoy me was the fact there are camels at the dunes for photographical purposes. That’s just lame. Camels are not native to Japan, nor should they be imported so people can play a really lame game of pretend. Afterwards, we ate at a little restaurant on the dunes, where I lost my glass case, which made me a bit pissed for the rest of the day.

The last two days we spent in Hiroshima. First, we went to the Atomic Bomb Dome, the Peace Memorial Park, and Hiroshima Castle. The place was packed, naturally, it being a public holiday and all. I don’t really know what to say about the dome. It was, but wasn’t authentic. The Japanese done repairs on it to preserve it’s ruined state. I felt strange taking a picture in front of such a monument for various reasons. Anyway, we headed over to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum afterwards. Many people were in tears. There are pictures (very detailed) and tapes playing the history of the war. However, I think the most disturbing part was the fact that the museum preserved the cancerous growths, which decimated the hibakusha (people who met with the atomic bomb). They had preserved human tongue in a display case with “black growths.” There were pieces of arms and a spinal cord as well. Being in that place made me feel uneasy. I felt like bawling when I was there. I don’t know why it affected me like that. I certainly never had this kind of reaction when I forced to go to the Museum of Tolerance those thousands of times in elementary school.

However, my depression was quickly followed by anger and rage. I could go on about what I was thinking about at the time: Namely, how the bombing was completely unjustified, and about how the government lied to the people about the true reason why the American government bombed Hiroshima. But then this entry would turn into a tirade, and I just can’t do that right now.

After I recovered my natural cool, we visited the Children’s Memorial. Children from all over the world, who are inspired by Sadako Sasaki’s story, ship thousands of paper cranes there.

The last day we went to Miyajima, Hiroshima, one of the most photographed places in all of Japan, and I can see why. We spent the entire day there, which was amazing. The giant, red, floating torii gate was really awesome. However, I definitely think it looks better when covered by the sea. It’s nice to go and touch it when the water recedes back, but it’s just not as pretty. There were plenty of deer to be had as well. Miyajima was my favorite part of the trip, and I bought many souvenir spoons. But I think I’d like to go back sometime when there aren’t so many damn tourists crawling around. We then took the lifts up the mountain to see the island from a high vantage point.

So, that was my Golden Week. How was yours?

Pictures pending… again.