Sakura, Sakura, Kyoto

Last week, I also had the chance to go to Kyoto with my friend, Tomomi. As we found, there are some streets in Kyoto which are lined with Japanese Sukura or cherry blossom trees.

Here are some Sakura overhanging the street.

Please bear with me, as Tomomi did. I took many pictures of the Sakura.

As you can see, some of the Sakura blossoms are white.


Others are pink.


These Sakura are on the way to Maruyama park, which is like a Sukura hub.


Here is a wide-shot from along the road.


I like how in this shot the Sakura seem to cascade into the water.


There were many people taking pictures of the Sakura that day. Also, it rained a little bit. Here is a picture of someone taking a picture in the rain.


Here, he is reviewing his shot.

This is a shot outside of Maruyama park.

Here is a gate inside Maruyama park.

Here is the large tree in the center of the park. That day, we saw a TV crew at the park. They told me that they were from the BBC taping the Sakura.


Here is a shot from the road back to the station.

Outside the station there was an elderly man selling kittens.

If that kitten looks cranky, it is probably because it is jealous of the two other kittens fast asleep right in front of it.

I guess the time at which we went was a little early in the season, so that means I will probably go back, and there will probably be more Sakura pictures...

How is Kanazawa?

Last week, I got to Kanzawa prefecture with my host mother and her friend. It took about 7 hours to get there by bike, train, and bus, but it was worth the trip. Here is a picture of the train station.

There was a very large gate out side of the station. I like this picture because the man in the foreground looks like he is "really smoking."

On the final leg of the trip, the bus let us off by these steps. You can tell by the umbrellas that there was some rain.

The steps led to "Kenrokuen" park, which was the reason we came. It is considered one of the "Three Great Gardens of Japan." I must admit, even though it rained, it was still pretty great.

Her is someone tidying up the place. Everything was well-kept.

You can barely see a small stream in this picture.

Because of the rain, I was able to see some very vivid greens.

Here is a closer shot of a stream.

The place is scattered with stone lanterns, free-standing gates, and buildings.

There were also bridges.

That is a plum tree at the top of the picture, I believe.

I like this picture a whole lot.
Please excuse my lazy pun-writing.

I don't know exactly what I would call the "small tower" in the picture below. I guess, "small tower" will suffice.

Near the "small tower" was this sign that says a famous haiku was written on this spot. Perhaps it is about the "small tower," when someone helps me translate it, I will let you know.

Here is a free-standing gate, and another "small tower." I think it must be a lantern by where it is positioned. That probably makes the haiku make more sense.

Here is another stream.

All of these streams fed into a lake that many people were taking pictures in front of--so many that I couldn't not get a great shot. Nonetheless, here is an old man adjacent to the over-crowed area, looking on across the lake.

This is a tree.

My guess is that this is some kind of statue of a warrior. "Kenrokuen" is positioned outside of Kanazawa castle, so there could be a connection there.

Off to the right of the foot of the statue there was this rock. At the foot of the rock there was a leaf. I like how you can see the reflection of the warrior stature in the water.

This is one of my favorite pictures from the trip. It had started thundering at this point, so I was hustling to meet the rest of my party who was waiting for me, but I still took the time to capture this shot. This is from the opposite side of the lake, where the old man was looking.

I don't know why there were so many fish congregating in that one spot.

Here is another one of my favorite pictures because of the greens. Coincidentally, this picture was also taken as people were waiting for me.

Here is a wide shot where you can see my host mother.

Here is my attempt at an artistic photo. I will try to Photoshop it into a better picture (artistic expression) later.

Here is probably my favorite picture. It's a rock. I regret not having touched it because the texture looks incredible.

That was Kanazawa.

Hey, Hiroshima!

I went to Hiroshima the other day on a field trip with a class that I am not enrolled in. The experience was enriching nonetheless. I took the bullet train.

Hiroshima is most famous for being the site of the first atomic bomb attack. Here is a replica of that bomb, the "Little Boy."


At about 8:15 on August 6, 1945, the "Little Boy" was dropped on Hiroshima. Here is a watch that stopped at the approximate time of the explosion.

Here is a rendition of the bombing from a child who survived that day.

The bomb turned Hiroshima from this...

...into this.


The bomb exploded almost directly above a prefectural building, now called the "Atomic Bomb Dome." As it was made with reinforced concrete some the building withstood the blast. The building was designed by a Czech architect. I have many pictures of it.

The atomic bomb did not kill everyone immediately, many people suffered afterward from the intense heat and radiation.


The estimated 7,000 degree Fahrenheit heat melted people's money together.


These are roofing tiles which melted together.


Here are some pants.


Here are granite steps that were in front of the Hiroshima bank. Someone was sitting on these steps when the bomb exploded, and that person's body left a permanent shadow in the granite.

Here is a helmet, shoes and wallet.


Here is a helmet and tricycle that survived the blast.


This is the atomic bomb survivor I had the chance to listen to. I will try to upload the video.


Here are some old women outside the "Hiroshima Dome," painting picture.


Here is another shot of the Dome. I took very many.


I like this shot because there is a cat in it.


Here is a rock shrine in front of the Dome.


Here are two old cleaning-women resting with their wheel-barrow of supplies across the river from the Dome.


Many people plunged themselves into that river on August 6, 1945.


Many of them were begging for water.


On that day, rain would eventually come, but because of all the radioactive debris, the rain was black. Here is a stain from the black rain.

Near the Dome, is the Children Peace Memorial. Here is the story behind it.



"A-Bomb Cenotaph," is another memorial near the Dome. There is an eternal flame and a chest containing the names of the A-Bomb deceased.




Behind the cenotaph, to the left, is the museum where I listened to a survivor.


People were leaving donations and their respects at this memorial.


Through it, you can see the Dome.


Here is a statue near the cenotaph.


Also near the Dome, was the "Bell of Peace."

Here is the dedication plaque.


Here is me, with my head inside the Bell of Peace.


A bit farther from the Dome, there is Hiroshima castle. Here is an axillary building outside the castle. After being destroyed in the blast, it was recreated here.


Here is me walking up some old steps.


Here is a gate outside of a shrine, outside of the castle.


Here is that shrine.


There was statue of a horse outside that shrine. When no one was looking, I quickly took this picture.

They also sold ice cream outside of that shrine. I was excited when I saw that they had blue ice cream but it was actually green; the sign had just faded.


Here is a shot of the rebuilt Hiroshima castle.


Here is a big Korean drum inside the museum to commemorate Hiroshima becoming a sister city to a city in Korea.


Walking back from the museum, I saw a group of youngsters congregating under the bridge next to the Dome. Being under a bridge, and youngsters, I assumed they were up to no good. They proved me wrong when I showed me that they were just playing a numbers game with their hands and eating snacks.


Here is a shot of the stadium where the Hiroshima Carp play.


On the way back, I happened to see someone who I believe is a sumo wrester. He let me snap this picture with him.


Back in Hirakata, waiting for a bus, I noticed someone had abandoned a scooter, and so I took a picture with it.