My Japanese Adventures – The Sensational Sakura Safari (Part II – Hiroshima contd.)

Welcome back! If you are just joining me now, the beginning of the story outlining my recent trip to Japan with my Dad can be found here.

The first leg of our Japanese adventure had us heading to Hiroshima, where we would pack two days with all the sightseeing and atmosphere we could before moving on to our next destination. We checked into our backpacker accommodation and after a quick refresh, hit the pavement and headed straight towards our primary point of interest – the Hiroshima Peace Park. We made our way along the streets at a leisurely pace, taking in the new surroundings with curiosity and, at least for me, a slightly heavy heart given the city’s history.

My Japanese Adventures – The Sensational Sakura Safari (Part I – Hiroshima)

The good thing about writing random posts about topics that all sorts of crazies people like to read and using images that are popular with all sorts of crowds is that when you stop writing for a while, you can come back and still be happy with your readership stats. If you’re all about stats, that’s a real plus. If you’re more about the small, wonderful group of readers you’ve found yourself amongst then it’s not so good. While I find myself paying keen attention to my site stats, I’m more interested in those few people that I have either known for a while or have become closer to through the kinship of writing because we must.

You know I haven’t written for a while now, I won’t linger on that. What I will do instead is tell you now about my visit to Hiroshima. If you’ve followed my blog for a long while, you’ll know that I’ve been there once already and had quite the experience on my last trip. This time, however, my experience was just as memorable – but for completely wonderful reasons. My father and I flew over to Japan for a two-week adventure back in April (just in time for my birthday). Our itinerary had four stops on the map and Hiroshima was the first. We had planned our trip so that it coincided with the Cherry Blossom season and this made our experience absolutely unforgettable!

My Japanese Travels – The Hiroshima Hills

The sun was rising steadily on an already bustling city as a solitary adventurer made his way out into the morning. He had read about a temple of local significance; one which should definitely be visited if the opportunity ever arose. And here it was, waking up under the lingering haze of the sunrise and with a lumbering energy that would soon become fully charged once its belly was filled. Opportunity pushed the adventurer into the street from the alleyway Inn that provided his bed and his day began.

Hiroshima

Hiroshima Memorial Dome

While I was in Japan in 2002 I wasn’t sure whether I’d get the chance to return, so I promised myself that I would do a few things before I left the country’s shores. One of these things was to visit Hiroshima, and it was a trip that brought a great many things into perspective for me.

Teaching (and learning) in Japan

As I mentioned in my intro, I’ve set up this blog to write about my travels. I have to admit that I’ve been a late starter in the travelling arena but it’s my goal to get out and about in the World and experience as much as I possibly can.

I’ve always been a curious and somewhat foolhardy adventurer, finding great pleasure and excitement in going to new places and trying new things. As I grew up my curious nature didn’t subside, but it was tempered slightly by the trappings of being an adult. Still, my wanderlust overcame me and in 2002, at 26 years of age, I took the chance of a lifetime and began a teaching job in Japan!