Sorry!

Ok, I have no excuse. x_x I only have three weeks left in Japan, and I've been trying to cram in everything that I haven't done so far as well as get my work done. I get the feeling this blog will be updated more thoroughly after I get back, but for now here's a summary of what I've been up to since so many of you have asked.

I went to Hiroshima via Shinkansen, the Japanese bullet train. It took an hour and a half to get there, versus the six hours it took to get back by regular train.



I saw the Peace Park, which included the Atomic Bomb Dome and the Children's Monument. The Atomic Bomb Dome is the only building that was left standing in Hiroshima after the bomb was dropped, and it's a scary reminder.



The Children's Monument was built in memory of all the children who died in the atomic bombing and from the after effects, such as cancer caused from radiation poisoning.



In Japan the crane is considered a symbol of health and peace, and since WWII it has become the symbol of Hiroshima. Origami cranes are a central part of the Children's Monument in memory of a girl who got luekemia after the bombing. There is a Japanese legend that if you fold a thousand paper cranes you will have good health and a long life, and this girl tried to fold a thousand cranes in hopes that her cancer would go away. She died before she finished, but since then people from all over the world have been sending origami cranes to this monument. I donated 10 origami cranes to the monument.



Also, this was in the Peace Park Museum. Mayors of Hiroshima have sent telegrams protesting every nuclear weapons test since 1968 to the countries performing the tests. There were four full columns of these.



While in Hiroshima I visited the nearby island Miyajima and saw the famous floating Tori gate.



After Hiroshima, I was back in town for one week before heading to the opposite side of Japan for TOKYO!!!

The cheapest way to get there cost $23 but made us camp out at a McDonald's and the train station all night then leave at 5:40AM and take 10 different trains over a 9 hour period. It was a blast! This was the 10th train and our group.



Our hostel was in Asakusa, near the famous Sensoji Temple and market. Lots of neat stuff and fun to walk through every morning before we headed out.





We went to all the major districts in Tokyo: Asakusa, Shinjuku, Harajuku, Akihabara, Tsukiji, Roppongi, Shibuya, Ginza, ...

Shinjuku: the government district
Not exciting. The Diet (Japan's government) building is straight from the space age though.



Harajuku: the fashion district
Interesting people wearing interesting things from the interesting shops. Lots of cool and cheap clothes here.





Akihabara: the electronics distrist.
Here you can find all things electronic, and I mean everything. There's also lots of anime, video games, and quite a few maid cafes.



Tsukiji Fish Market: is what it sounds like. The fishermen bring in their catch fresh from the ocean and sell it in a huge market place. I have a 7-min video of me walking through the market dodging trolleys, people, and flying fish guts. The video is also full of me going "Ew! Gross! You EAT that?!!" I can't believe I went. >.>



Roppongi: the bar district.
Super sketchy, didn't stay for long after night. Did see Tokyo Tower however, and it was awesome!





Shibuya: the ??? district. Maybe a little of everything? The only things I really knew there were the Hachiko Statue and Shibuya crossing.

Hachiko, the loyal dog.



There is a street in this picture, but when the crossing sign is green you can't tell where it is.



Ginza: the upscale fashion district. Everything here was way too expensive.



But it had a Krispy Kreme! :D



Of course I got some, and I made the rest of our group try them too. They tasted just like home!



After returning from Tokyo, I went to a lantern festival in Kyoto. The entire Gion district was lit up with different types of lanterns and decorated with flower arrangements. There were several stages for maiko, or geisha apprentices, dancing.









The following day I was in Osaka for a sumo tournament!



These guys were huge! And scary! O_O





After that my laptop screen died and I couldn't use my computer. Fortunately I have a friend who knows his computers and he could fix it for me after I ordered a new screen. Watching him fix it was scary. @_@







Hanami (flower viewing) season came and went very quickly, but I made the most of it by going out for Hanami 7 times! The cherry blossoms in Japan are everywhere and beautiful, and I went to a lot of different places to see them and took a lot of pictures. So many, in fact, that they need their own entire post. >.>;; But here's a preview.





I had the chance to celebrate Hina Matsuri, or Girl's Day, in the traditional way by visiting a nice lady's house and setting up a doll stand. The dolls represent figures from an emperor's court, and are only brought out of their boxes once a year for the festival.



The next day I attended a tea ceremony practice at a ceremony teacher's house. She was awesome, and she not only dressed me in my kimono but also gave me a fan, geta (traditional shoes you wear with a kimono), and let me borrow a pretty obi (belt) for the ceremony.



That's her on the left.



By the way, the kimono I'm wearing is mine. ^_^v Thank you to everyone who helped me buy it!



Well, I think that's a decent enough post for now. Let's see how much more I can cram into these last few weeks, and I'll try to make another update at some point. ^_^