AJ and I were able to buy traveler's JR Train Passes before we left the states. The pass is a week-long voucher that gets us on any JR train... Including Shinkansen! The Shinkansen, or bullet trains, usually cost a lot of money. However, the pass allows us to use them as much as we want to wherever we want! It was pretty expensive to buy the pass up front, but it is DEFINITELY worth it. It's only been two days and we have already made up for the cost. c:
So, at the end of our summer in Japan, AJ and I decided to do a western- Honshu tour. Our plans are fluid, so I will post as we go!
Day 1: Lots and Lots of Travel
We decided to go to our furthest destination on day 1 and then work our way back to Tokyo the rest of the week. Where did we go first?
The Shinkansen ride took about 6 hours from Yokota Air Base, but it was definitely a smooth ride! Shinkansen trains are set-up similar to planes, but there is more leg room. I didn't get a picture inside the Shinkansen, but I will try to another day.
When we arrived in Hiroshima it was around 5pm. We went to our hotel to check in and decided (after looking at a map) that it was too late to walk all the way to the other side of the city for the tourist-y stuff. Instead we took a walk along the river and found dinner at a delicious hole-in-the-wall!
The menu was all in Japanese... We didn't know what we ordered until it came out!
Tuesday morning we got all packed up and left our stuff in the hotel's lobby (it was watched by the office, of course). Then we went on a big adventure to the Hiroshima Castle and the Peace Memorial Park!
The castle was amazing to see... We have seen quite a few castles this summer but this one really took the cake! After we left, we walked through some underground tunnel and came out in the middle of a fair. Apparently the anniversary of the A-bomb is next week and they do a huge peace promotional fair each year. We happened to come right in the middle of it. Activities ranged from making picture frames to an awe-inspiring exhibit on the needs of Africa to bicycling to generate electricity! It was a lot of fun!
We wanted as much time as possible to spend in the Peace Memorial Park. The first thing we saw was the A-bomb dome. It was definitely sad to see such a gorgeous building torn apart. The city of Hiroshima kept most of the rubble inside the dome and left it pretty much as-is.
What a way to start the park tour. The A-bomb dome set the tone for the day.
We walked over to the Cildren's Peace Memorial. I absolutely love this exhibit. The symbol for children's peace is the origami crane (as seen at the top of the statue). People from all over the world make huge strands of cranes, or artwork made entirely of cranes, and donate them to the park. Each of the booths pictured below are chalk-full of cranes.
Then we walked over to the museum and saw some really beautiful and inspiring exhibits. It was definitely heartbreaking to see the devastation from the bomb. I was amazed at how the Japanese people handled it though. There was not one negative thing written about the American people. The whole museum was a historical account, completely free of blame. They stated the facts, and even some of the reasons why we (the Americans) did what we did. But there was no animosity or hatred. The whole museum was dedicated to peace... And I love that.
Sometimes bad things happen in our lives and it is so easy to blame others and hold a grudge. But I know that it is important to forgive and to lay down our grudges at the Lord's feet and let Him fill our hearts with love.
As we were leaving the museum we saw this picture:: 
"That autumn: in Hiroshima where it was said, 'for 75 years nothing will grow' new buds sprouted. In the green that came back to life among the charred ruins, people recovered their living hopes and courage."
I love that the last message leaving the museum was about hope. Hope in the future. It was really a beautiful experience.
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