Kagoshima, Japan 24th May 2018

'Naples of the Orient'

When we landed today Jill and I had thought we would try the 'Hop on - Hop off' style of bus, called Island View Tour Bus which we caught near where the ship's shuttle bus dropped us off. Dolphin Port with its selection of eateries, art studio and interesting type shops offered a tempting array of pottery, Satsuma Cut Glass, bamboo products and textiles local to this port. 

A short 10 minute ferry ride from the the port is the very active Sakurajima volcano. Whilst we were there I had been told it had erupted twice!. 

Originally we had hoped to share a taxi to visit Chiran, the stronghold of the Shimazu samurai. There are streets lined with well-preserved samurai houses and their gardens. To catch a taxi we were told it would cost us around Y15,000 for an hour drive there and then pay the same to return. So the day spent on the bus would suit our budget. Unfortunately a lot of passengers from the ship had the same idea and instead of alighting from the bus to explore some interesting places, the bus was so overloaded we thought we would never get a spot on the next one, so stayed on until it returned to the port. 

Boardwalk at Dolphin Port

Beautiful landscaped verges

Volcano in background

Cars covered in volcanic ash

Unusal shorbet cones

View of volcano from Dolphin Port

View of volcano from near the Diamond Princess

Volcano erupting....didn't pick it up until I downloaded my photos....This was taken about 3-5 mins after the boat sailed past.

Beppu, Japan 23rd May 2018

Home of the hot spring spas.

Famous for hot springs, sand baths, mud baths, steam baths and steam cooking.

Our little group of now 5 met in the ship's atrium as usual to discuss what we would do once on shore. We had mixed ideas on what and where to go so my lovely cabin mate, Jill and I headed off to  the Hells of Beppu where there are several hot springs for viewing. 5 of the 7 Hells were ideally located within walking distance of each other, another 2 are some 15 to 20 minutes away.  The other 3 of our travelling mates decided to catch the ship's shuttle into the town of Beppu, spending the day there.

Jill and I were directed to the local bus stop located about 300 metres from the ship, across grassed playing fields and what appears to be a tsunami buffer. Our wait for the bus took longer than we had anticipated, however it finally came along and we were off on our way. We took a while to work out how to get our ticket to pay for ride, we had to collect it as we boarded the bus via the doors in the middle, then give the driver the ticket and pay when we alight.  The bus even has a small change dispenser so we can pay the correct fare without the driver having to give change. When we arrived at our destination, we found a convenient information building where we updated our exploring knowledge. It drizzled the whole day whilst in Beppu but the rainfall was light enough not to impede our walk around the sights. 

We headed off map in hand to see the Hells Springs. 

Bus to Jigoku Hells Springs.

Street in Jigoku, note the steam emitting from vents in distance.

First 'Hell', Shiraike Jigoku, our first spring we visited.

Shiraike Jigoku

Piranhas

Shiraike Jigoku 'white pond hell': pond of hot, milky water surrounded by nice garden and a small, run-down aquarium of tropical fish.

2nd 'Hell', Oniyama Jigoku 'monster mountain hell' A large number of crocodiles are bred and kept on the grounds.

Steam rising from the ponds

Below       3rd 'Hell", Kamado Jigoku. 'cooking pot hell'. Several boiling ponds in different colours some blue and nearby are orange. Here we could drink the hot spring water, there are hand and foot baths and a shop selling snacks cooked by the hot spring.

Below 4th 'Hell', Umi Jigoku. Ponds of boiling blue water orange coloured hells and a clear water pond with lotus flowers. Here Jill and I bought local dessert cooked with the steam. It tasted just like a cream caramel, yum!. 

We took our shoes off and waded into the hot water to sit with on the bench with our feet in the water. The water is supposed to create a general feeling of well-being. Did we feel any different? Well, I don't really know! but I didn't have a towel on hand and had to put my socks and shoes back on wet feet!. 

Lastly 5th 'Hell', Oniishibzu Jigokus. Mud bubbling ponds. 

Foot bath currently not used due to wet weather.

Hiroshima, Japan 22nd May 2018

More to Hiroshima than originally expected...

Before visiting all I knew Hiroshima was the first site of the Atom Bomb. I found Hiroshima a city of contrasts.  Again we caught the ship's shuttle, today to the transport hub of Hiroden Itsukaichi Station. Here an information booth had been set up giving us transport, times and costs to travel to various points of interest. Our group of 7 decided to catch a street car (tram) to Miyajima Port and catch the ferry to the island off shore to see the Itsukushima Shrine and Tori Gate at its sea approach. 

We got our directions wrong and ended up walking a distance to the tram stop before where we would have caught it! I wonder if someone had a joke at our expense when we asked someone as we were virtually in front of the tram stop!

The ferry to the island. There were oyster beds in the sea nearby.
Yen 190 Street car to island, Return ferry Yen 360, Shrine Y610. Street car to A Bomb site Y430.

Distant photo of O-Torii Gate and Shrine behind.

Itsukushima Shrine 

A place of worship, one stage the whole island was worshiped like a God. the shine was erected to protect the place where the God resided. Paying homage of the shrine become popular among fishermen and tradesmen who sailed into the Seto Inland Sea and a main pilgrimage destination for people living in Western Japan. The blue sea in front, green forest behind and the vermilion of the shrine gives a peaceful appearance. It has been listed as a World Heritage Site. The O-Tor ii Gate was accessible by the low tide when we were there. It is the 8th to be rebuilt. 

Entrance to site after disembarking from ferry.

 Walkway with beach on right and mountainside on left.

The island is home to wild deer which seem to be fairly tolerant of people taking photos and sometimes peting. 

Five Tiered Pagoda near the the shrine.

O-Torii Gate known as the 'floating Torii'

Statues line the walkway to the shrine

Whilst we were at the Torii Gate we saw a bride and groom in traditional dress. They were followed by what appears to be their parents who all wore black, walking behind the rickshaw.

This lovely lady politely posed for me to take her photo.

We stayed on the island to have lunch at one of the many cafes and food places before returning to the mainland then caught the streetcar to the A-Bomb Site in Hiroshima.

At the Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Atomic Bomb Dome).

Photo of the site 2 months after the terrible event.

View from the bridge which crosses to Peace Park

High School students at Children's Peace Monument. A memorial to the young lives lost to the atomic bomb. They had donated folded paper cranes, a symbol to the pursuit of peace. In the rear of the monument are glass show cases with thousands of paper cranes, some sent from not only Japanese schools but from schools throughout the world.

Flame of Peace will continue to burn until nuclear weapons are abolished world wide.

Cenotaph for Atomic's Victims holds more than 290,000 names of those who lost their lives to the bomb. 

Kochi, Japan 21st May 2018

Kochi is located Japan's smallest main island and faces the Pacific Ocean. History shows it hosted many waring samurai. Our visit consisted of the ship's shuttle into the city, then we explored the main shopping area and Kochi Castle.

The red painted Harimaya Bashi (bridge) originally used to link wealthy merchants over the river  (today is a cemented open drain). The statue to my right represents the characters of a local love story. 150 years ago a monk fell in love with a girl called Ouma. Monks were forbidden to fall in love and were both banished when it become public knowledge he had bought her a hairpin from the shop next to the bridge.

This clock overlooks the bridge, when it strikes the hour the castle on top, red bridge and countryside on each side and figures of people on the bottom appear to reinforce the love story. Unfortunately the electrical cables for the trams partly obscure the clock.

I have pocked my face through the board. The painting is of cartoon characters made famous by Japan's noted cartoonist who came from Kochi.

Several statues in the streets of Kochi celebrate the popular comic art form, known as manga.

Shopping heaven in the form of these covered malls.

Display of various types of boxed sushi.

Kochi Castle. 

Once a land of exile where political dissidents lived out their lives after being banished from the Emperor's court in Kyoto, Kochi saw the rise of the Samurai resulting in territorial wars and battles in the middle ages. The castle became a fortress 400 years ago. Although destroyed by fire in 1727, it was rebuilt. Today its wooden interior, castle tower and entrance are still intact. The town became the centre of pro-imperial ideology helping to restore imperial rule in Japan in 1868.

Ote-mon Gate to Kochi Castle. 

Kochi Castle

Not far from the Castle is this interesting Temple. It had a lot of roosters walking around the grounds.

Samurai memorabilia at the temple.

Interesting trams running around the city area.

These style of boxy cars are very popular.