From the Midwest and Around the World

   After my two days in Tokyo, I decided to get out of the city and go to a hot spring resort in Hakone (which is a town famous for it's thermal springs). As I think I've mentioned before, the Japanese love their baths. This particular bath resort where I went is called Kowakien Yunessan. Part of it is a hot spring "water park" where it is a co-ed, swim suited area. The other part is a more traditional, separated by gender, naked area. I decided to go to the more touristy water park area first and then relax in the traditional bath at the end of the afternoon.    In the water park part, you could bath in wine, sake, coffee, and green tea. There was also a charcoal bath, and other outdoor mountain baths. Another part included a kid-friendly Roman style bath. I did not stay to long in this area because it was more touristy and there were too many people for my liking. However, it was fun seeing the holiday and resort-like setting.    After th...

   I recently realized that I do not deal with really big cities very well. Crowds annoy me I don't like to fight through them and I don't like to even see them. I learned this in Tokyo this past weekend. I, of course, really enjoyed Tokyo overall. I just didn't like that except for in my dorm at the hostel, there was no escape from people. The first day, I arrived from Hiroshima in Tokyo in the afternoon and went to Harajuku and Shinkjuku (the major fashion districts). Because it was the weekend, there were just so many people and my feet were hurting, so after walking up and down the main street, I had to leave. I felt suffocated, annoyed, and slightly guilt-tripped by the panhandlers, salespeople, and general crowdedness. There were literally people packing the sidewalk as far as the eye could see. However, despite that, I saw some of the interesting fashions that are popular in Japan. After being wiped by the crowds, I hopped on a train and arrived at my hostel which wa...

I will warn you that this blog entry is a bit graphic and emotional as it describes the Peace Museum of Hiroshima. So if you are sensitive to those kinds of things, please read with care.    As an international relations major and history nerd, I was really looking forward to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. I had already steeled myself for the emotional weight of the descriptions and facts surrounding the human life lost and the misery of the living. However, I don't think anything can prepare anyone for the stories and symbols that surround the park.    First, I got to the park before the museum opened, but I did not want to start wandering the park until after I watched the introductions. While I was circling the main square, an older man approached and asked me if I spoke English and what time the museum opened. I told him and we started chatting a bit. He was a German-Australian and we talked a lot about the park, history, and WWII (his parents and grandpa...

   Today, I was originally going to walk to three temples. However, as I was heading towards the first temple, I realized that I was going to be walking all day and my thoughts went back to an article I had read about the Makino Botanical Gardens in Kochi. So, about 1/3 into my journey towards the first temple, I turned around and rode the electric train-trolley back to the main station and asked how I could get to the Botanical Garden. I had to buy a special bus pass (for only about 5-6 dollars), that would take me to all the major sight-seeing areas in Kochi. In the long run, I think this was the best decision that I have ever made. As I was waiting for the bus to pick me up, I heard "Gaijin!" and another "gaijin" approached me. She was an older German woman who now lives in Australia. She had come to Japan once last year and really enjoyed it, so she returned this year. She  was very kind and friendly and recommended a few places as well. Eventually the bus stopp...

     Well, I left the island of Honshu and rode a train across the Great Seto Bridge to Takamatsu on Shikoku Island. In Takamatsu, I went to Ritsurinkoen, which is registered as a national treasure in Japan. It was probably my favorite garden so far: very quiet, and a lot of walking space as well as many meditative spots. I would have liked to stay longer and explore more, but due to the restrictive train schedule, I had to move on.       I then transferred to another train and rode it through the heart of Shikoku towards Kochi. I just have to say that the blurry pictures I took from the train would not do the beauty of rural Shikoku justice. There were cliffs, deep valleys, and beautiful rivers. Someday, I wish to return and maybe bike or hike across the whole island.    Today's blog was mainly pictures...and I didn't have a lot to say. Tomorrow, I am going to visit three temples here in Kochi, so I will pro...

   Today, I went to Korakuen in Okayama, Japan. It is a traditional-style Japanese garden and is considered to be one of the three most beautiful. As soon as I arrived, I was approached by an English-speaking guide and I accepted his help. As a solitary traveler in a foreign country, it is nice to have people to talk to in English every once in a while...since my Japanese brain muscle gets tired.    The park was very beautiful, even though it was a bit cloudy that day (the weather report called for a 60 percent chance of rain while I was in the park, but thank goodness it did not rain!). My guide was very nice and he asked a lot of questions about American culture, my reactions to Japanese culture and food, etc. He was very surprised about how much I knew about Japanese culture, so I have a feeling that most of the Americans/English speaking foreigners he interacted with were typical tourists (this is not a bad thing, obviously...because I would certainly be mo...

   Tomorrow, I know that I will wake up and feel like an old lady...in fact, I all ready feel like an old lady! I hiked up Mt. Rokko today and it was tough!! I started at about 8:30 AM in the morning and was hiking until about 2:30 PM (up and down very steep hills and with many short breaks). Even in that amount of time, I did not reach the top of Mt. Rokko. This link describes the course I took well. The only inaccuracy is that this course is described as "easy." If this course is easy, I would hate to be the poor souls who are climbing the medium or even difficult courses! I am certainly not in athletic body shape, but when a course is listed as "easy" I do not expect to be constantly huffing and puffing and taking many (and more) breaks. Therefore, this course, in my opinion was medium-difficult.     The first part was through a residential district up hill, then the path led into the woods and towards a waterfall and shrine area. There was an entrance are...

   I was about two years old when the Great Hanshin Earthquake occurred in Kobe, Japan. Hence, I do not remember any of the news reports, videos, etc. Today, I was able to go to the Kobe Memorial Museum which documents the earthquake itself, the trials of the victims, as well as hope and renewal in the face of evil.    First of all, I want to say that I recommend this museum for anyone who is planning on travelling in the Kansai region. The museum has excellent English translations for most of the exhibits (and some of the non-translated items are more visual than literary). I will warn that if one is epileptic or is prone to seizures and motion sickness he/she should skip the first video presentation which I will explain now.    The first exhibit was a short video with images, lights, and sounds from the earthquake. At first, as I was watching the ground dissolve and the buildings literally explode in the tremor, I thought that perhaps the film was embe...

   A few weekends ago, I went to Nara-koen. I never realized how many deer lived in the park until I actually went and saw the hordes of deer inhabiting this place. There are apparently somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 deer living in Nara-koen. All of them are tame to varying degrees, some to the point where they well let you pet them! Their fur is quite soft. However, all of them act like greedy pigs when they see that you have "shika-senbei" or the crackers that are made especially to feed the deer. There are signs warning visitors of "butting, biting, and kicking." I fed a lot of deer that day. It is quite amusing because as soon as you buy some crackers, they gather around you and try and take the crackers as well as attempt to eat any clothing that you happen to be wearing. The coat that I was wearing became covered in deer slobber, which was quite disgusting.    After wandering around the main part of the park and seeing the beautiful gardens, temples, and s...