On the 4th of October, a little more than a week ago, our big adventure began. For those who don’t know, we plan to travel through various countries in Asia and Oceania over the coming months. Taxi Bartsan (aka Arnaud’s father) took us to Zaventem Airport and captured the very first picture of our adventure.
(Sleepy eyes in the early morning before our departure)
The flight was long and surprising. Since we never flew for longer than 4 hours before, it was a whole new experience. It was the first time we had a screen, pillow, and food on a plane. The food was surprisingly good. However, when we arrived in Osaka at noon, we were completely exhausted. Not only by the time difference but also the heat as well, or at least a lot warmer than Belgium.
Hiroshima
The next morning, we took a train to Hiroshima. As everyone knows, trains in Japan are easy to navigate, punctual, and fast. Amazing! In less than 2 hours on the Shinkansen, we arrived in Hiroshima, a trip of approximately 280 km.
(Unfortunately, it wasn’t this one, but we hope it will be someday!)
Hiroshima was heartbreaking, but it’s a must-visit. The museum takes you back to the horrific time when the first Atomic bomb (A-bomb) was dropped on human beings. The museum provides not only facts and information but also harrowing real-life stories. It was crowded with tourists and schoolchildren (always nice to see the different uniforms). After our visit, we walked trough the peacepark and found a little hidden gem: a temporary exhibit about the child soldiers during the A-bomb. We thought the museum was heartbreaking, but this exhibit gave us real goosebumps and left us speechless. When you enter, there was a giant stone wall of the skyline of Hiroshima after the bombing. The wall is made of 140 000 stones which represents the victims. At the end, you can see an interview with some of the child soldiers, 16 to 19 years old, who were willing to die for their country. But instead, they were sent to Hiroshima immediately after the A-bomb was dropped to clean up the corpses.
Osaka
After our somber visit to Hiroshima, we left the past behind and went back to Osaka, where a friend was waiting to join us. It was as if he brought the Belgian weather with him, hello rain!
What we expected to be be a crowed and busy city turned out to be pretty calm. Don’t get us wrong, places like Dotonbori, Shinsekai, and Osaka castle were very overwhelming and crowded. When we stood there, we needed a moment to take everything in. Billboards, decorations, lights… it was unlike anything we had ever experienced before.
We visited Osaka castle from the outside. To see the inside you needed to wait in line. So we just explored the area around. And this is the craziest part about Osaka: once you step away from the busy areas, peace and calm return. Even when we walked around the castle or the street next to Dotonbori it was kind of quiet and peaceful.
Other than that, we saw a few shrines located everywhere around the city. And again the quietness and serenity inside the shrines, right in the middle of a giant vibrant city felt unreal. Also, we never imagined that each shrine could be so different and fascinating. We still can’t get enough of them.
On our last evening in Osaka, we visited the TeamLab garden. For those familiar with the Light Festival in Ghent, it’s kind of the same but with a more interactive touch and fewer people. Let’s just say we had a lot of fun with the giant light-up eggs and other things around the park.
So, those where the first two cities we explored in Japan, but we still have a lot to see! Arnaud started a mission to capture al different cute manhole covers (putdeksels), and as silly as it sounds, it’s kind of addictive. So we will give u a quick view of the collection so far.
Overall, our first days were diverse from history to shopping centers and from staying in a fancy capsule hotel to living with a local resident. We enjoyed traditional Japanese food and public transport but also struggled with the language barrier and, of course, mosquitoes, who really seem to enjoy Arnaud.
Thanks for reading our first post! We will be back in approximately one week if we have the time, energy, and motivation to write again.
Bye bye!