Sandan-kyo

Lonely Planet suggested Koya-san was one of the most peaceful places on earth, but after a visit to Sandan-kyo I'd have to disagree. The path was not nearly as crowded as any of the other hikes I had ventured on in Asia, while the scenery was the most remarkable, perhaps rivaled only by the alien landscapes of Mt. Fuji. 

A man pulls you on a boat to this enclave. 

Can anyone identify?

Hiroshima

My main motivation for coming to Hiroshima was of course its history, being one of the two cities destroyed by an atomic bomb. 

The atomic bomb exploded about 600 meters above the Atomic Bomb Dome, one of the few remaining structures that withstood the shock from the explosion. Was this because the bomb exploded directly overhead and the shock waves expanded outwards? Detonation at 600 meters was done specifically because the propagation of shock waves would cause maximum damage when originating from this height. Whatever the cause, this building was one of the few remaining after the explosion, and was kept as a reminder and memorial of the attack. The museum was of course very moving, evoking emotion with relics and photographs in a similar manner to the Holocaust museum. It was interesting to see the descriptions of why the bomb was dropped from a Japanese perspective. Words were not phrased with any animosity, simply the facts were presented. The two main reasons presented for dropping the bomb were 1) to bring an end to the war before the Soviets got extensively involved and made a claim to more of East Asia, and 2) the cost of the Manhattan Project was so large that using the bomb to end the war was necessary to justify the program. 

Before heading to the museums, I took a look at Miyajima, housing the Itsukushima Shrine, one of the most photographed sites in all of Japan. 

A visit to Miyajima also consisted of a trolly ride to the top of the mountain. 

5 if run really fast

Nightlife in Hiroshima was interesting to say the least. There seemed to be an unnaturally high concentration of scandalous bars in the nightlife district. We were fortunate enough to run into a local self-proclaimed otaku at the Mac bar, and he proceded to take us to a maid cafe. Maid cafes are the Japanese equivalent of hooters, except the girls dress in maid costumes, sometimes with cat ears. We made the most of our 30 minutes of unlimited drinks, and then headed back to the hostel. 

Koya-san

Supposedly the most peaceful place on earth (according to Lonely Planet) this mountain buddist sanctuary houses an amazing set of temples to stay the night, an an impressive buddist graveyard. 

The temple we stayed at

A stay at the temple includes an evening meditation prayer session, and a morning chanting prayer session. Each of these was an experience to participate in and observe. Whatever your denomination, 40 minutes of meditation is enough to make your thoughts wander interesting places, and the chanting of the morning session presents well enough to ponder as well. You are also served two meals of the monk's vegetarian cuisine (shojin ryori). I'm not sure why this also is anti-garlic, but some of the tofu was good, while other dishes were questionable. We were put in an eating room with the only two other foreigners visiting the temple, likely so we could not interfere with the rest of the Japanese with our lack of understanding for proper table mannerisms. 

The main attraction atop Koya-san is Okunoin, a buddist graveyard where Kobo Daishi is enshrined. 

I didn't expect to come across a spaceship in Koya-san, but apparently it is dedicated to an aerospace company. 

Himeji Castle

A two hour stop on the Shinkansen from Osaka to Hiroshima is just the right amount of time to visit Himeji castle, one of the best preserved and few remaining castles in Japan. Unfortunately at the time of my visit the castle was undergoing restoration until 2014. They were however, kind enough to show and image on the restoration casing showing me what I was missing. 

Despite the restoration, the walk among the castle walls was still worth the visit. Although it was a bit disappointing that they charged extra to visit the restoration platform which obscured the view of the main castle keep. 

This plaques are at the end of roofing units and have the seal of the samurai that helped build the castle. 

Osaka

Only one night, was spent in Osaka. Our visit consisted of the famous Osaka Aquarium, Osaka Castle, and a memorable night with our CouchSurfing host. 

The design of the Osaka Aquarium was most impressive. The tour went along the Ring of Fire, a chain of trenches, volcanic chains, and volcanic arcs around the pacific basin. The design of the aquarium is a large pacific tank in the center, with a path that spirals around the tank from top to bottom. On the spiral you visit visits in an arc around the Ring of Fire, and see each tank repeatedly from different heights as you descend deeper in the spiral. 

Whale Shark

Jelly Fish

Osaka shore

Osaka Castle

Samurai

To the death

Nara: Come for the temples, stay because the deer ate you

We had heard there were deer in Nara, but didn't imagine nearly as many as we saw. They were practically everywhere. 

Children and old ladies should especially be aware

This man started to feed the deer and was subsequently devoured

The Daibutsu in Nara was larger even than the statue in Kamakura. Housed in a huge chamber for protection, it is by far one of the most impressive cultural sights in Japan. 

Kyoto

Shinkansen

After the program ended I embarked on a 7 day rail pass exploration of Japan. First stop was Kyoto, an ancient capital of Japan filled with enough temples and shrines to keep one busy for months. I also took the opportunity of rail travel to try out CouchSurfing for the first time. My first host was Patrick, a transplanted Austrian who took me on an hour and a half bike ride to Biwako, Japan's largest inland sea. 

We swam to the buoy.

After a memorable swim in the sea, we stopped for sushi at a conveyor belt restaurant. Here you pick up sushi dishes off a rotating belt. If they don't have something you want, you order it from the screen and it is brought to you atop a mini shinkansen train. 

sushi shinkansen

Kinkoji

The Golden Temple was one of the most impressive sights in Kyoto, which we saw in addition to the silver temple and the philosopher's path.

I'm still puzzled by this racoon with yes, a huge sac. 

Kyoto station is also impressive. 

Leaving Tokyo

By far the best part of my experience in Tokyo was interacting with Japanese graduate students and lab mates. Living in a country is it easier to discover the many types of individuals living there, just as diverse in personality as anywhere else in the world. 

They made me eat pig intestine, among other things

The JSPS set up a nice closing ceremony for the EAPSI fellows.

At the closing ceremony they constructed a powerpoint where they added captions to photos that fellows submitted.

Only in Japan. 

BJJ Tokyo

Throughout the summer I've been continuing my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training in Tokyo. It has overall been quite a rewarding experience. Most entertaining is the yellow/green mats of the gyms here. They also use pads as hand-held dividers to prevent collisions during Randori. The gym I went to was a group of friendly, enthusiastic fighters, and were good to train with. The training didn't seem as rigorous as in Boulder, and the style was slightly different, but overall it was a good way to stay in shape while in Tokyo. 

The Golden Poo, and other Tokyo exhibitions

The Golden Poo

It literally is called 'the golden turd' (Kin no Unko). Sitting atop the Asahi cup, next to the golden asahi beer mug (complete with head at the top which doubles as a cafe with a remarkable view). This is what happens when you let the French design your skyline. Although really, poo doesn't have the same negative connotation in Japan as in the US. In fact, sneezing is much worse, the equivalent of passing gas in public, I can only assume. 

Miraken. The museum of science and innovation housed some interesting exhibits, including dancing robots, science art, active camouflage, and a particle collider simulator. 

Of course, it is best to keep your hands and eyes well away from some corners of the internet.

I am continually impressed with the Japanese take on things

You can't read it, but I set the high score in the Europa mission planning game.

ASIMO, the japanese robot. 

Maybe ASIMO means something in Japanese, but I like to think it is short for Asimov, however I'm not sure if the three laws of robotics are fully programmed in. 

The Japanese military history museum was of course a must for me to see. Most interesting was seeing portrayals of WWII and other conflicts from the Japanese perspective. This can also be a bit disconcerting when the Nanking Massacre is referred to as the Nanking Incident in which soldiers 'disguised as civilians' were killed. Even so, the museum was quite interesting and well worth a few hours of time (or days!). 

Mt. Fuji

We were fortunate to have two experience Japanese guides take us up Mt. Fuji, the tallest mountain in Japan (and a volcano to boot). The way to climb Fuji is at night, making it pretty brutal. Instead of sleeping for 8 hours, you hike for 9. The key is to start the 5-6 hour ascent at 10 pm so you can make it to the top before sunrise. Then you make the 3 hour decent. 

Our remarkable guides

I was continually impressed with our guides' climbing ability. Taka would smoke a cigarette every time we took a rest break, and was still forging ahead of us. Getting to the top about 2000 people were suddenly trapped in a queue to make it to the caldera summit. About 50 meters from the absolute summit we stepped off the trail to view the sunrise. 

hinode

The clouds were fortunate enough to break for us just in time to view hinode (sunrise). Viewing sunrise from atop a mountain (or anywhere) is a big deal for the Japanese. Japan is of course the 'land of the rising sun', and Nippon or Nihon (how japan refers to Japan) literally means 'the sun's origin'. This most likely comes from correspondance with early chinese dynasties in reference to Japan's eastern position relative to China. 

The decent reinforced my belief that Japan is one big video game. Our japanese guides named the sections of the decent train 'Run Course' and 'Jungle Course'.

Jungle Course

Run Course

Run course was basically a straight path through thick black ash sand. Like the rest of the terrain of the volcano, it seemed alien, to say the least.