Greetings from Kyoto

Hi there again, Diana and Dave here in Kyoto,

 

Since we last sent an email we have been to Osaka, Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

 

We spent a wonderful two days in Nagasaki with friends of the family we were travelling with. They made us so welcome and took us on a tour of the the city and treated us to a traditional Japanese meal at their restaurant that evening. Our friend (Naomi) had not seen them for 25 years and she said it seemed like a few weeks ago, they got on so well. They did not speak any English but after a few local beers the language barriers were broken. It helped with Naomi being able to translate things we wanted to say to them too.

 

The city was very interesting and the bombing during the war is only a part of the history but a big part obviously so could not be overlooked. We went to the museum giving all the information about the atom bombing and showing pictures of the terrible event. That part of the tour then ends on a good note of hope by going to the beautiful peace park with a massive statue in the middle of it to remember the victims of the atom bombing. You could not believe such a thing had taken place as the city is such a lovely place.

 

It is a beautiful city on the coast surrounded by mountains and with a vibrant modern city. The Dutch and Portuguese influence and history was interesting too and something we did not know about beforehand. It was finally warm there (about 25 deg) which made a nice change.

 

We loved getting the bullet train down there to the south of the country, it is unbelievable how fast they travel!

 

From there we went to Hiroshima and one of the first things we saw was the A Dome which has turned in to a symbol of the city. It is one of the only buildings left standing after the bombing with a dome and ruins of the original building. We then went to the huge museum there which takes hours and gives you all the information  about the bombing and lots of pictures and photos. You feel you have to see it all as it is a massive part of the city`s history but once a gain not the only part of it. It is a lovely vibrant city with lots of other interesting things there as well. The cherry blossoms are out in full force now so everywhere lovely with all the pink and white trees everywhere especially along the river side. You would not know anything had happened to the city as it is such a modern and vibrant place and has been totally rebuilt since August 1945. Even the old castle has been totally rebuilt and looks exactly like the original.  We went out to an island nearby with lots of temples, shrines and views from a mountain we went up by cable car. We enjoyed barbecued oysters for lunch too there.

 

We had an evening in Osaka and saw all the bright lights of the city, it is a busy and big place like Tokyo.

 

We have just spent all day doing a day tour of Kyoto with our friends and went to lots more temples and shrines. Dave and I were most impressed with the beautiful peaceful gardens which are looking their best with the blossom out in full force.

 

We had an evening in Osaka and saw all the bright lights of the city, it is a busy and big place like Tokyo all lit up at night with busy shops and restaurants and people everywhere.

 

Sadly we have had to say goodbye to our friends as they are off to Tokyo tomorrow and Tokyo Disneyland for two days for the children. We have two more days before we fly out to the UK on Tuesday arriving late in the evening. We have just got a taxi to our hotel but got dropped off at the wrong hotel but luckily had it all written down in Japanese so we managed to get another taxi to the right place. We don't have our Japanese interpreter and tour guide any more and did not know there were two hotels near to each other called Super Hotel!

 

We have tickets for the Liverpool v West Ham game on Monday 19th evening so Dave is very excited about that oh and there is small matter of my Mum`s 80th birthday next weekend too!

 

We have had some of the most amazing meals recently some of the best food we have ever had, this place is a gastronomic delight and most of it seem quite healthy.

 

Dave is in the onsen (bath) at the moment. It is males only this time of night and opens for females only in the morning and early evening so I may have a dip tomorrow. I find them too hot actually but Dave really likes them. You certainly feel really clean afterwards they are at about 44 degrees.

 

Oh they have turned all the lights out here now so I suppose that means they want me to leave the internet area now. 

 

Sayonara

 

ta ra 

Diana 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello from Japan

Hello again from Diana and Dave,

 

We are now in a place called Ise just south of Nagoya and met our friends this afternoon and we have gone straight to an internet cafe.

 

We have not had a chance to use the internet much since being here.

 

We have been having a fantastic time and everyone is so polite and friendly.

 

We had five hectic days in Tokyo seeing all the main sights and racing around on the subway trains there. The train system is amazing and so crowded, it is overwhelming at rush hour.

 

Our hotel was in a place called Ueno and there was a lovely park there with one of the main cherry blossom viewing places in the whole city. People were having parties, eating and drinking on mats under the trees. The white blossoms were out mainly and were like white clouds in a huge area either side of the pathway. The pink blossoms were just starting to come out.

 

Walked around the Ginza area and saw all the expensive designer shops. Didn't buy anything exciting  just a pair of tights there to wear under my trousers as has been much colder than expected!!

The crowded streets with all the neon signs were amazing and like Times Square in NY or Piccadilly Circus in London. The sheer number of people rushing around and the huge number of shops and shopping areas is incredible. The busy pedestrian crossings were a sight　behold with people all merging　in to each other. One is seen a lot in movies and on videos called Shibuya Crossing, it is a sea of people.

 

Have been enjoying the food, most restaurants do not have the menus in English but they have pictures of all the different dishes so we just point at them and hope for the best! It has worked out so far!! It has been too cold for sushi though!!

 

Saw lots of temples in a place called Nikko all in the lovely woodland with snow on the ground.

 

We caught the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Nagoya and then up in to the mountains on a slower train to a place called Takayama. We got a fantastic view of Mt Fuji close up going past on the bullet train at 300 km per hour! would have liked a slower view of it actually.

 

Takayama is up in the mountains and was very cold with snow on the ground. There are lots of old historic wooden houses there. The best thing was the luxurious hotel we stayed in that had the hot baths (onsen) on the 13th floor rooftop. They were inside and outside bathing areas. We managed to bathe the Japanese way i.e. with no clothes on but they are separate male and female baths so it was OK but took a bit of getting used to at first with the etiquette and knowing what to do! No shoes were worn in the whole hotel and you had to put them in lockers at the entrance. They had the lovely tatami matting throughout on the floors. The breakfasts were totally Japanese there and most of the time you have no idea what you are eating but most of it tastes good and we both of us eat most things luckily.

 

We are with our friends in Ise now and will be doing a tour of the area tomorrow. There is a big Shinto temple nearby and we will be going out for a meal with our friends family which will be good.

It is a bit　quieter here and more rural with lots of rice paddies nearby and will be a nice change before we head off to Osaka, Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

 

As we said before we have not had much change to send emails or even find and internet　cafe. Our Japanese friend knew straight away where the nearest Internet cafe was as her children wanted to spend some time on the net so we were happy to oblige! Not sure when the next chance will be.. The text keeps changing to Japanese if I miss the space bar like this 案d異　案d意sv栄えあ and is a bit annoying!!

 

Hope everyone is well.

 

I have just about shaken the cold I had before leaving Sydney!!

 

 

All the best

Love from Diana XXXX

 

Dave says konichiwa too!