Thank you, Asia "Japan" (64 days left)

March 28, 2021

Just over seven years ago we made our only trip as a family to Japan.  We went to Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, and Deer Island.  

Osaka

Our arrival in Kyoto also ushered in our era without White Puppy, Alec's favorite childhood stuffed animal, as he left him in a taxi.  (I may have grieved White Puppy's loss more than Alec.)  The Airbnb we stayed at had four levels, each level with it's own room or two.  At the top level there was a child's bedroom with many clowns in it.  Adam still remembers the horror of having to sleep there. 

In Osaka we enjoyed the covered market and the Japanese pancake. We also ate sushi, sat in an ansan (public bath similar to those in Korea), and visited palaces.  

On the mountain where the monks have a temple

Sushi

Deer Island

Gate to Deer Island

Japanese Pancake

We wanted to be there for the Spring cherry blossoms, but found they were only beginning to emerge the day we flew out.  

Of course the most memorable part of our trip was going to Hiroshima, seeing the bombed out "dome" which still remains as a memorial to the dropping of the Atomic bomb by the US and a reminder that we never want this to happen again.  Another reminder was the museum there with a clock counting down the time since the most recent nuclear missile testing, artefacts from the devastation, stories, and a place to write letters about your response to the events that took place.  

The countdown clock in March 2014

The Dome at night (lit on the left)

Outside of the museum there is an eternal flame that was brought down from a mountain where monks have tended a flame for millenia. 

There is no commercialization of the horrible event and the city itself has moved on and is entirely modernized and vibrant. 

Traditional costume at a wedding

Octopus for sale

Arigato for the memories, Japan.