Whirlwind Japan Part 1

Leaving Auckland on February 9 was very tough. After 2 months in New Zealand, we had so many memories - new experiences, new friendships, and old relationships rekindled (and oh yes, a wedding, too!) We left Mum and Dad, cousins Albert, Gary and Jason, and friends Bryce and Michelle late in the night on the 8th of February, bound for Beijing, via Singapore.

When we first started planning our year long journey, Japan did not feature into our plans at all. But, after learning that we could attend the Yuki-Matsuri Ice and Snow Festival in Sapporo, and that we would be able to book our flights to and from China using points, we decided to go for it. We overnighted in Beijing, and then flew to Sapporo, via Tokyo, where we landed to discover lots and lots of snow! We spent 2 days at the festival, taking in all the snow and ice sculptures, and dance and drumming performances. It was incredible to see how large and intricate some of the sculptures were, some complete with coloured lights and a sound show. On our third day in Sapporo, we went to a beautiful onsen, called Hoheikyo. It was magical, sitting in a steaming pool of spring water, seeing the steam rise off the 39 degree (C) water, looking out over the snow-covered mountains, while surrounded by snow. I had a "scurf removal" treatment, and was disgusted by the amount of dead skin (scurf) that was scrubbed off my body - yuck!

Arriving in Tokyo by shinkansen (bullet train) was fantastic, as the ticker board in our car let us know that we were travelling at 285 km/h. And it felt like that pace continued while in Tokyo. It:s hard to describe the city, with millions of people bustling about, shopping, commuting, eating, bowing to each other and to us endlessly. We visit a small haven from the craziness at the Sensoji temple, where we watched the worshippers burning incense, and leaving their Omikuji good luck slips of paper tied to the trees surrounding the temple, just in case the deity of the temple would be able to change or reduce any bad fortunes that have been predicted for the person. We visited the iconic busy intersection of Shibuya Station, and gawked at all the neon of Shinjinku. At the Sony building we saw the new up and coming electronics that are available (some only in Japan), and at the electronics shops we were able to play with amazing cameras and new computers.

On our second morning in Tokyo, we woke up early to go to the Tsukiji fish market, where we stared at all the weird and wonderful things for sale - octopus, shell fish, squid (complete with ink), huge tuna, lobster and prawns, and yes, whale meat. We paid a visit to the Imperial Palace, the residence of the Emperor of Japan, and wandered around central Tokyo until our 11:45 pm departure for Hiroshima.

Hiroshima is beautiful, shocking, and inspiring all at once. The A-Bomb Dome stands as a crumbling reminder of the destructive power of a nuclear bomb, and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum is filled with horrific artifacts and photos of the city and its people after the bomb was dropped. The Children:s Peace Monument is wonderful, with several large kiosks filled with paper cranes, which have been brought to the City of Hiroshima from all around the world in memory of Sadako Sasaki, a young girl who contracted leukemia after exposure to the radiation from the bomb. She believed that if she folded 1000 paper cranes, she would be granted a wish, and her wish was not for her own recovery, but for peace in the world.

Location: Kyoto, Japan