The Osaka Misadventures File

We spent 4 truly jam-packed days in my region of Japan, Kansai, which stretches south past Hiroshima, north to Kanto, east to the ocean, and west to who knows where. So insane to have Mum and Dad arrive, so surreal! They loved my people and everyone loved them! Salmon and vodka for a welcome to Japan party with my roommates and close friends..Osaka Castle in all it's cherry blossom glory and blue skies...the madness of my daily shopping experience, which of course feels completely normal ever since the first day, and now it seems impossible to live without the daily hubbub and energy from my crowded city.

Scenes from my Osaka....

I finally started to do Kyoto properly, so overwhelming since so many of the most famous places are spread out. It was empowering to overcome my fear of taking buses! We went to kinkakuji The entire pavilion except the basement floor is covered with pure gold leaf. The pavilion functions as a shariden, housing relics of the Buddha. In 1950, the temple was burned down by a mentally disturbed monk

Next it was off to Hiroshima. Every ride on the Shinkansen (bullet train) is basically minimum 100 bucks each way, thus the hour ride to Hiroshima is still a luxury. I wasn't sure what to expect from this famous city and tragic history, we had no plan. But I was overwhelmed by the joyus atmosphere, compounded by the blue skies, blossoms, and old people and children enjoying hanami (cherry blossom picnics). The museum and memorials were moving but it was hard to feel really connected to the tragedy, I likened it to how my kids would feel if we visited a 9/11 memorial in the distant future. The most moving is the individual stories, especially of the now famous story about the girl who wanted to make 1000 paper cranes believing she would be cured. Her parents seem to have donated everything from her life which was a little odd, but definately tear inducing when you see the cranes she folded using a needle since they are so tiny.

In a suprising twist, we headed out to the incredibly beautiful island of Miajima, with the 3rd most photographed site in all of Japan, the floating gate that is built into the sand. It is a spectacularly gorgeous spot and I plan to return in a few weeks!