-- From Fukuoka to Hiroshima
The road tracklog
Seoul
from 2010/12/22 to 2010/12/27
December 22 after a 50-minute flight from Busan to Fukuoka I unloaded at the airport. The control of immigration was courteous, in English, rigorous and professional. The examination of my passport with the disembarquation card, the ticket of transport to leave Japan, a flight from Tokyo to Vancouver BC 20/01/2011, and the taking of my portrait as well as a fingerprint of my two forefingers. I was granted a free three-month VOA. At the customs control was faster, the two young customs officers did not speak English.
In Tourist Office I collected a citymap and a visitor's guide. Then I took the shuttle to the domestic terminal where the subway station is. Finally I left in the centre town at the Nakasu-Kawabata station where my hotel is and where I arrived around 11:30. But here check-in is at 3pm, I left my luggage.
Kawabata
Fukuoka
22/12/2010
I left in recognition the city under a small rain. Near to Hakata-za, a renowned Kabuki theatre, I tried my luck to buy a ticket, the receptionist made me understand by crossing her hands and by showing a calendar that the hiring was complete until January! Before beginning the visits I lunched in Kawabata-Shötengai of a noodle bowl -ramen teishoku-
Kabuki poster
Fukuoka
22/12/2010
In this first afternoon in Japan I immersed myself in three close monasteries close away from the rustle of the city. Kusida-jinja, Shinto monastery, is famous for its annual festival in July. Some aspects held my attention of which a wheel of the zodiac signs, a Japanese Manneken-Pis and an alley of torii, traditional gate.
Kushida-jinja
Fukuoka
22/12/2010
Torii versus Torana
Torii, traditional gate of a Japanese Shinto shrine, delimits its enclosure to separate the spiritual world from the profane one. Its origin proceeds from Torana of Buddhist temples and Hindu ones of which the most representative examples are respectively the Stupa of Sanchi and the Shiva temple of Bhubaneswar.
Kushida-jinja
Fukuoka
22/12/2010
Kushida-jinja
Fukuoka
22/12/2010
Kushida-jinja
Fukuoka
22/12/2010
Kushida-jinja
Fukuoka
22/12/2010
Tocho-ji, Buddhist monastery, is the oldest in Japan of the Singon sect. It houses the largest wooden Buddha in Japan, see the Gallery.
Tocho-ji
Fukuoka
22/12/2010
Shofuku-ji is the first Zen monastery in Japan founded in 1195.
Shofuku-ji
Fukuoka
22/12/2010
Shofuku-ji
Fukuoka
22/12/2010
By leaving the hotel around 8 am I noted that the day was announced beautiful, and it was it with a quasi spring temperature, 14°C. By going towards Hataka Train Station I impregnated serenity for the day by wading in Sumiyo-shi, Shinto monastery, whose buildings are hidden under trees with the variation of the mixing business and politics. At the station I obtained a Japan Rail Pass valid during 21 days against the Exchange Order bought in Brisbane I jointly took a reservation for the train to Nagasaki the next day at 8 am. The administrative questions being regulated, I devoted myself to the planned visits.
Sumiyo-shi
Fukuoka
23/12/2010
Sumiyo-shi
Fukuoka
23/12/2010
Sumiyo-shi
Fukuoka
23/12/2010
Fukuoka City Museum is a modern building reflecting itself in a pond and preceded by four sculptures by Bourdelle, the Eloquence, the Force, the Victoria and Freedom, a whole program. During the visits of the day I was confronted with No Picture. Each room was under narrow monitoring, I were recalled besides to the order. The museum recalls the history of the area since the Jomon period with contact with the other countries in Asia in particular Korea and China. Videos, in Japanese, give unintelligible additional information for a non Japanese speaking. Despite everything I spent a pleasant moment by contemplating the beautiful collections.
City Museum
Fukuoka
23/12/2010
City Museum
Fukuoka
23/12/2010
After a detour to see Fukuoka Tower I strolled at the edge of the lake in the Ohori Park where Fukuoka Art Museum richly equipped for a provincial capital is located. I discovered some paintings by Miro, Delvaux, Buffet, Dubuffet, Utrillo and Dali. Of course paintings by Japanese artists were exposed with dignity.
Fukuoka Tower
Fukuoka
23/12/2010
By a tree-lined avenue I reached Tenjin the core of the city at the edge of Naka-gawa and Hakata-gawa. Modern architecture is representative of Japanese efficiency.
Tenjin
Fukuoka
23/12/2010
Tenjin
Fukuoka
23/12/2010
I finished this day at the Canal City, ultra modern shopping centre, which shares an arm of river with Hyatt Hotel. I had dinner in Ramen Stadium. As the other non-Christian countries in Asia the Japanese companies monopolized Christmas to make business, the divine origin of Christmas, the nativity, does not matter. It would still take several days to explore other sights of the city and its area.
Canal City
Fukuoka
23/12/2010
Canal City
Fukuoka
23/12/2010
24 December I took the Kamone-7 train at 8 ams for Nagasaki where I arrived 121 minutes and 153,9 km after with some stops. Weather was gloomy and cold. In Japan I adopted the same schem as in Korea, Tourist Office for booklets and hotel for deposit of my luggage. The city stretches along three rivers Urakami-gawa, Shianbashi-gawa and Nakajima-gawa which are thrown in an estuary where Portuguese created a port in the 16th century. It is surrounded by hills where houses and monasteries are staged. The hypocentre of the nuclear bombardment is located in the district of Urakami in the north of the port. I devoted this first great half-day to visit the places of worships, Shinto & Buddhist temples, and of culture, museums, all buildings located close to the train station and walkable. I started with the martyrodrome of the 26 Christians crucified in 1597. The contiguous museum exhibits documents and objects of this time, books of voyages in French and documents by St François-Xavier, itinerant missionary in Asia.
Nagasaki
24/12/2010
Nagasaki
24/12/2010
Nagasaki Museum of History & Culture opened in 2005 are concentrated on the activity of exchange with primarily China and Korea and of course with Portugal and Holland. An English audio-guide is provided free of charge to mitigate only in Japanese labels.
Museum of History & Culture
Nagasaki
24/12/2010
Then I strolled the way of the monasteries -Tera Machi- on hillside by visiting a dozen sites. I give only some examples of them. Although of Japanese art the Chinese influence is visible as well in the architecture of buildings as in the realization of sculptures.
Suwa-jinja
Nagasaki
24/12/2010
Sofuku-ji
Nagasaki
24/12/2010
Sofuku-ji
Nagasaki
24/12/2010
Sofuku-ji
Nagasaki
24/12/2010
Sofuku-ji
Nagasaki
24/12/2010
Hosshin-ji
Nagasaki
24/12/2010
Hosshin-ji
Nagasaki
24/12/2010
Kofuku-ji
Nagasaki
24/12/2010
Kofuku-ji
Nagasaki
24/12/2010
Atomic Explosion
Nagasaki
11:02 am August 8, 1945
December 25, 2010 I traversed the sites of the nuclear bombardment in Nagasaki. The museums exhibit the reasons of the bombing, the damage caused and the struggle for nuclear disarmament. Silence and meditation are essential in front of the madness of the men who alas endures.
11:02
Nagasaki
25/12/2010
Hypocentre
Nagasaki
25/12/2010
Before
Nagasaki
25/12/2010
After
Nagasaki
25/12/2010
Three-D site
Nagasaki
25/12/2010
Peace Hall & Museum
Nagasaki
25/12/2010
Remembrance Hall
Nagasaki
25/12/2010
Fountain of Peace
Peace Statue
Nagasaki
25/12/2010
In the afternoon I visited Dejima, Shinchi Chinatown and Dutch Slopes with a snowy weather.
Atomic Explosion
Hiroshima
08:15 am August 6, 1945
The next day I went back seven years after to Hiroshima. The site was still quite present in my memory. But alas the Flame of Peace is always lit, World nuclear disarmament is a pious wish. By walking the Peace Memorial Park and the Peace Museum I had the reflexion that UN instead of pronouncing anathemas towards the nuclear weapon agitators would be well inspired to make Hiroshima and Nagasaki visited by the Gnome of the North Korea and the Ayatollah of Iran.
08:15
Hiroshima
26/12/2010
Peace Memorial Park
Hiroshima
26/12/2010
Commercial Exhibition Hall, 1936
Hiroshima
26/12/2010
After A-bomb
Hiroshima
26/12/2010
Now: A-bomb Dome
Hiroshima
26/12/2010
Bell of Peace
Hiroshima
26/12/2010
Children's Peace Momument
Hiroshima
26/12/2010
A-bomb Memorial Mound
Hiroshima
26/12/2010
Cenotaph
Hiroshima
26/12/2010
Memorail Hall
Hiroshima
26/12/2010
Memorial Museum
Hiroshima
26/12/2010
Korean A-bomb Memorial
Hiroshima
26/12/2010
In the late afternoon I visited Hiroshima Castle and Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum, No Picture.
Miyajima Island
Unesco World Heritage Site
On December 1996 UNESCO listed the Itsukushima Shinto shrine in the World heritage. It was creates into 593 in the Shinden style then transformed into 1168 by Taira-no-Kiyomori. Its situation in edge of sea at the foot of mountains imposed an architecture on piles preceded by a huge torii in sea. The vermilion colour is supposed to keep evil spirits away.
Miyajima Island
Hiroshima
27/12/2010
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O-Torii, Miyajima
A walk in mountain by climbing the Mt Misen makes it possible to admire Buddhist Temples and to meet wild animals in freedom by the absence of hunter.
Miyajima
27/12/2010
Benzaiten
Miyajima
27/12/2010
Tahoto Pagoda
Miyajima
27/12/2010
Five-storied Pagoda
Miyajima
27/12/2010
Daishoin Temple
Miyajima
27/12/2010
Deer
Miyajima
27/12/2010
