NISEI a-bombed trees keep on growing

On the campus of Hiroshima University in Higashihiroshima where I live grow 23 young trees whose mothers survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. They were planted last year and still small and short. But some of them got a lot of leaves already and show promising growth. They are here due to the project called Green Legacy Hiroshima. 

WISTERIA grows well

PLANE TREE or SYCAMORE

Within a radius of two kilometers from the Hypocenter of the atomic bombing, about 160 trees that survived the obliteration 77 years ago have been alive. The Green Legacy Hiroshima tries to disseminate the message of life and resilience to the world through the trees. I'm happy to say Hiroshima University has got involved in this initiative.

AOGIRI

At the headquarters of the university stands a young Chinese Parasol Tree or AOGIRI (Firmiana simplex) whose mother trees are found next to the East Wing of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima City. Two old trees with scars on the trunk and a young tree which sprouted near them in 2000 grow gloriously side by side there.

Now this fresh one on the campus of the university is so pure and full of positive energy. Its trunk is vividly green because it it believed that their trunks photosynthesize.

NATSUME

At the new building called MIRAI CREA where students and scholars can stay overnight and many activities can be done is a small tree called NATSUME or jujube (Ziziphus jujuba). When it is big enough, it will provide us with fruits. That would be fantastic to see people from many parts of the world pass the tree and casually pick up and bite one of the fruit.

Trees can be peace makers.

SOMEDAY THE DOOR WILL OPEN

Also, installed on one of the buildings there is a grand door that also survived the blast 77 years back and was taken and relocated from its original place on the old campus of Hiroshima University in Hiroshima city. It’s been closed but if someone from the University has received a Nobel Prize, the door should open I heard.

eastern broad-billed rollers come to northern hiroshima every year

In the movie, two parent eastern broad-billed rollers about 30 centimeters long are flying near the nest, though they look like only a speck but their chirping, rather going gah, can be heard. 

They are endangered species but thanks to the effort of locals, their population has increased, particularly in Northern Hiroshima. They come to Japan in spring from the South East Asia, pair up, raise babies, and then go back in fall. 

This is such a wonderful place to stay where you stand by at the large windows in the house with your camera, high-functional binoculars and a telescope on a tripod borrowed from the family my husband and I stayed with. It's a private farmhouse where only one group of travelers can stay at one time. We freely used two large rooms.

One of the man-made bird nests is 30 meters away from the windows of our rooms. And that's where you can observe the birds without being exposed to the elements.

We were extraordinarily lucky and saw a baby bird fly away from the nest. 

Five babies were in the nest when we got to the farmhouse (a camera is installed in the nest to monitor their behavior for their safety) and the next day one flew away while we were out to climb a mountain 45 minutes north by car. The next two flew in the morning of the day after. I saw the third one flying to the forest.

The third one of the five flying away

The food served is the very best with the freshest vegetables. The simmered fish was so savory, too, among others. Better than most of the sophisticated food served at fancy restaurants. 

And it’s cool in summer in this northern part of Hiroshima. When you sleep in summer, all the windows should be closed but you can be sound asleep until the day breaks. Better hide away in the north of Hiroshima where you will wake up with the rollers chirping - in their way - when the heat is around in Japan.

Here're a few more pictures.

okunoshima now quiet while people are staying home

Once the ferry and passenger service was packed with tourists on the weekend and sometimes, or oftentimes rather, people had to wait for the next service to go to okunoshima because the island became too famous, first among tourist from abroad then followed by Japanese, due to the YouTube post of rabbits stampeding after a woman from Taiwan.

Now the island is taking a break and quiet again. 

Since I live just one hour away by car and ferry from the island, my husband and I took advantage of it and went to the island again in winter. Almost half a year has passed and now I am eager to go back (it's easy). 

Many tourists came to Hiroshima before the covid but most didn't have time to come down to the island. It will be the same from now on too after the covid case is closed (hopefully we can close the case). 

So now I'm thinking about providing an online meeting on the island. That way, those who cannot come can still experience the island more intimately. Or those who are planning to come some day can prepare for that. I wonder what I can do but at least due to covid, people became much closer to online activities. I learned the technology is out there. 

Here are two pics from several years ago. The baby in the picture is now six years old and attending primary school. In the other picture, kids from abroad are happy with the rabbits, feeding and playing with them. The parents must have been smiling beside them. The days like it will be back some day but let us be a little wiser and think about sustainable tourism. 

Onomichi has old and new

Historical Onomichi with the pagoda of Ten-nei-ji temple

Once in a while I have a fad about this port town. It happened already three times and will come back constantly. 

The first should have been about 15 years ago when my friends and I learned the basics of Onomich; the second was in 2011 when nobody came to Japan after the disastrous earthquakes and Tsunami. my friends and I were riding a bike and making up cycling routes by ourselves; the third is happening now and I'm seeing the town from many perspectives including stores, cafes, and restaurants run by the long-time residents and the new comers. The new Onomichi City Hall is another charming addition to the area.

The first time when my friends and I came to Onomichi a number of times in total introduced to us the orthodox Onomichi where 25 major temples and many small shrines lined the alleys on the slopes. We were amazed by how charming and even mystic these alleys were. We also learned how skillful Onomichi masons were by spotting what they made such as stone lanterns or statues. We came to know how Onomich thrived as a significant port town and how wealthy merchants and important samurai warrior members contributed to the creation of this temple town by building them and patronizing them over time. 

The fake castle tower on top of the hill built by the chairman of the Onomichi chamber of commerce and industry in 1964 will be finally torn down soon. I'm so glad about it because Onomichi was not a castle town and does not have to be. There are many former castle towns but there's just one Onomichi which thrived with merchants and some important samurai members from the middle age of Japan. 

The town has been known as the town of slopes where peoples' houses stand. It started after the introduction of the railway to Onomichi in 1891. The modern railway cut through the premises of shrines and temples and an interesting thing happened - unfortunate for some of the temples and shrines whose  grounds were divided into two by the railway. You will see local trains running by right in front of you from some of the temple gates or stone stairs leading to the temples. It's an interesting image symbolizing the modernization Onomichi had to go through. And people began to live on the slopes where only shrines and temples stood before. Now the private houses, shrines, and temples are connected by alleys and slopes, making the town one big maze.  

The town now is a gateway to the Shimanami Scenic Sea Route on which you can walk or ride a bike. The route connecting Honshu and Shikoku over the sea with seven bridges is now one of the most SACRED cycling routes for the bike riders. 

The town is unique as it is. It has old and new. It hosts young people who discovered this town and old members who have lived here for long. You will be sure to talked to by an old local lady if you look curious about the town or look lost. They believe you don't know how you can go to your destinations in mind. It's easy to get lost in Onomichi. You will love it.

Just like any other small cities and towns and villages, Onomichi has suffered from depopulation and lack of strong economy but young people are coming back or coming in. Something about Onomichi attracts these youth and me though I'm not that young.

In this article is introduced this store where Onomichi vintage jeans are on sale. The young founders did not start this to make money but did this to make the town more attractive and cheerful and a happy place for the residents. 

Mostly locals got involved to make new jeans made in the BINGO area that Onomichi belongs to used and old. Locals from every rank and file wear the BINGO jeans for about a year under the periodical check and clean-ups by the store. The tag attached to respective jeans tells the occupation of the original wearer. Accordingly the jeans transformed themselves over a year.

The store is doing well, sustaining itself. What an idea they had!!

Bingo jeans on display

The right is the jeans store and the left a new cafe where lemonade and coffee are served.

hello kitty shinkansen!

Cute Japan

noodle for okonomiyaki

Isono Seimen noodle factory is providing its noodle to many okonomiyaki restaurants. They also run an okonomiyaki restaurant themselves. The first floor of the building is the factory and the second floor is a restaurant. Nearby run JR trains and the baseball stadium, the home ground for Hiroshima Carp, stands across the railways.

Here's the factory. 

SANDAN-KYO gorge in kenhoku or north hiroshima

the gorge got three Michelin stars

In my case, it was easy to go to Sandan-kyo: simply by car because my husband drove. 
In case you go from city center of Hiroshima, take a bus from the bus center located right in the middle of the city. After a 80-minute express bus ride, you are in a different world. 

My family and I went there once about 20 years ago to eat sweet-fish - because my second daughter aged 10 or so back then was so eager to taste one that we decided to drive where they inhabited and were caught and cooked. This time just my hubby and I went to escape summer heat and hike.

I was a planner of the day trip as usual. I planned to go to MIZUNASHI-GUCHI entrance first and hike to the Nidan-taki (two-leveled waterfall) and Sandan-taki (three-leveled waterfall) area. 

The car navigation system didn't know where it was but google gave us directions. We believed it and followed what it said but google didn't know MIZUNASHI-GUCHI exactly and instead took us to YOKOKAWA-GUCHI, which was a very remote point deep in the gorge we were planning to hike. We didn't see any car coming from anywhere on the way. It was lucky because two cars couldn't pass each other without negotiation. Also no rocks were sitting in the middle of the mountain roads. Very lucky because it was likely to happen. 

With our instinct and map reading, we managed to get to MIZUNASHI-GUCHI without much delay.
We brought lunch from home as usual. Perfect because there was no place to eat or buy food at this entrance. I did a bit of research first so pretty much knew critical information.

After a good meal, we began to walk - easy enough. You should have good shoes and clothes but any one can do this. We were speedy but in no rush. The official web site of the Aki-ota tourist association says this will make a three-hour tour but we did it in two hours and a half or maybe less.
Care free and splendid. We first walked to the Nidan area; did a short boat ride to see the fall. This gives you the feeling that you are completely away from your daily routines, visiting the unreachable. The boat was only for us and nobody came while we were there. Just us.

at the start of the walk 

to NIDAN-taki waterfall

along the rope we go

NIDAN-TAKI

We continued to walk to Sandan-taki, which gave SANDAN-KYO its name. Gushing water in the wild and again only we were there.

you will see this once there 

waterfall, basin, & gorge

AKADAKI or Red Waterfall seen on the way to Kurobuchi pool

The rock looks reddish because of algae 

We came back to the parking lot and drove this time to the front entrance to SANDAN-KYO. Perhaps 20 minutes' drive.

I confirmed Sandankyo Hotel at the entrance that we could bathe there as day visitors (only 540 yen an adult) after a hike and that our car could be parked in the hotel parking lot free of charge. It was about 3:10 in the afternoon when we began to trek. I wanted to catch a boat at Kurobuchi pool. The service ends at 4:00 I knew. Locals said it would take an hour to get to Kurobuchi. So, swiftly speedily we walked and got a ride at 3:45. Gorgeous ride; incredible scenery with cool refreshing breeze. 

pull the bar a few times and a boat will come

boat ride

salamanders live in the gorge

coming back

The trekking route is currently blocked between Kurobuchi and the two and three-level waterfalls area. 

After the hike, we bathed in Onsen, again very privately. There was nobody but me or my hubby in the onsen bathrooms, respectively.

We went back home, feeling charged and proud (because we walked a good distance!)

Next time we go there, we will try the deeper north of the gorge and hopefully a cafe or a restaurant in the Kenhoku area worth visiting. I ordered two books on the net on our way back home, entitle Restaurants in Kenhoku and Cafes in Kenhoku. 

Loving north hiroshima.

To know more about Sandan-kyo, GetHiroshima gives you more. 
To go to the page, please click here.

Toyoshima where nobody lives but an artwork

a distant view of Kaze-no-oto in toyoshima

This is the third summer the artwork on the island of toyoshima is open to the public. My friend and I landed on the island today and spent about an hour. There are two boat services a day to go there and to come back from there, respectively. It connects the port of habu in In-no-shima and toyoshima port. Inevitably we took one in the afternoon spent a little over an hour until the boat back to the port of habu. 

At a remote uninhabited island of toyoshima, an artwork is just there. More things will come around not quickly but slowly. It will be the way. Staffers told us, hisako and me, to stay in the art as long as we liked and we freely walked around and took pictures. Which we cannot do in the galleries of naoshima or many other art sites. The sun moves, the light changes. Later we had a free drink in a restaurant wing of villa Kaze-no-oto overlooking the sea. Fantastic. Loved it.

approaches to the artwork

fourteen glass panels

strange glass reflection

the Seto Inland Sea in a distance

world-famous artist did this

Kaze-no-oto, very private cottages and a reception/restaurant wing

restaurant and cafe of villa gaze-no-oto

tiny shrine, almost abandoned but it's still there

Shinsho-zen-ji temple gives you all.

Shinsho-zen-ji is about 50 years old, a new temple but confident about what they do. The founder was a president of a big ship building company, wishing for the repose of those who died in the sea. Two buddhist monks are always there joined by another two who come alternately from Kyoto. 

This is where you can appreciate all; traditional Japan, zen, garden, architecture, and old and new art. Please find a way and time to go there.


http://szmg.jp/en/

http://shinshoji.com/english/