Americans visiting Hiroshima

Wayne

and I were excited to go visit Hiroshima and tour the museums . We both love to learn about the history and culture wherever we are traveling and living.

We were told by a few people that we may feel odd being Americans at Hiroshima , but let me say we never felt any awkwardness or animosity by the other tourists. The whole area is truly about Peace and never allowing this event to ever happen again. I wasn't sure about taking a photo, but all the Japanese were taking smiling photos, so we did also. The Peace park is beautiful and very informative.

 A-Dome-fireball inside and all were killed. Outside walls survived.

The river and bridge in front of this building were a perfect target for the bomb. There are peace cranes hanging all over many of the memorials.








Niki had told us the story of a young girl that developed leukemia after the bomb and was told to make paper cranes to help her get better. She eventually passed from the illness, but her legacy lives on all over the world. Children come with their cranes and present them at the memorial.



















It is hard to tell, but the hedges are all trimmed to look like they are being blown by the force of the bomb.

We were totally blown away by the fact that the Japanese took responsibility for their part in the war and were only trying to promote peace and not blame or hatred for anyone.

An amazing day and wonderful learning experience.

Please STOP telling me"what a great experience"

Ughh- Not a fan of Japan.

HATE the food-fried, rice, FISH, yuck. I liked shrimp before I came here, but the smell is so overwhelming that I don't like any of it anymore. That doesn't leave me much. They eat rice and noodles, but don't eat either much. Miso-don't like and everything has a sauce. They don't do simple with roasting and much fried. Oh, yes tons of fast food, but didn't eat at home and stay away from it here too. I am tired of stir fry, salads, pasta and chicken at home. I am bored to death.

Don't get me started on the bowing. Be real and I don't bow to anyone. Polite-HA, they'll run over an old lady with a walker to get on the next train or be first in line.

OK< what do I like. Getting on the train or plane and going on vacation.

More photos of DisneySea

DisneySea Tokyo

EntranceDay 2 was Disney Sea and I can't tell you how beautiful this park is in words. It is designed very well and with wide walkways and easy to get around.

It was crazy when the gates opened and the Japanese people are crazy running fools. Once that died down the rest of the day was fun and relaxed for us.

 The photos don't do justice to the beauty of this park.

 We will be staying in the MiraCosta hotel when Krista comes for a visit

 Indiana Jones ride

New York section. We had a wonderful lunch on the ship

 View of park from ship

 20,000 Leagues under the Sea ride

 Two story carousel. Being silly on the Genie

I couldn't resist these cuties waving.

Hilton Tokyo Bay

We decided to stay at a Disney park hotel for this trip. Disney Tokyo has 3 hotels -very expensive and a little closer to the parks, but not by much.
They also have 6 "official" hotels and about half the price and most are 4 star.

 Room had a nice view of the ocean and bay of Tokyo. That's the new Sky Tower in the distance.

 We had a nice room, but we were given a smoking room by mistake and it wasn't bad, but thought we would ask if they had another. Upgrade!

 I call it the Jetson suite-only us old timers will understand. Now take a good look at the coffee table. it's black and blends with the rug and when the lights are low, well you take a guess. I really banged my shin the first night. Wayne did the same thing on the opposite leg. We matched.

 Love the Nespresso machine, we have one at home. The hotel had a breakfast buffet in the lobby, but we only went on the last day. The Japanese don't have many breakfast restaurants, but are starting to get more of them. They have buffets in many of the hotels and usually have a good mix of American and Japanese items.

Finally, a report on Disney Tokyo

We went to Disneyland and then DisneySea in Tokyo. I'll separate the report because there are many photos.
Sept 5-Left Shibuya at 6:30 AM and took about and 11/4 to get to the Disney visitor center. We were able to check in and leave our luggage and off to wait for the park to open. No early stuff here and at 9am the gates were opened to accept all the park goers. The park was EMPTY and we took our time and strolled to Thunder mountain. Short line and loved the ride as much as we do in WDW.

Off to Splash Mountain. This ride is a bit different, not just the Japanese, a different story and very little splash at the end. I don't think the japanese like to get wet, but  still a great ride.

Wayne videotaped the ride and it's fun to listen to the song in Japanese.

Hidden Mickey? We did some window shopping and lots of Halloween, but I am going to keep the photos for another day.

Haunted Mansion

View across the lagoon. Beautiful day.

Nice photo of Wayne. You can see how empty the park is. We were told it never gets empty, but makes sense-1st week of school for kids here in Japan.They won't take them out and miss class.

Great sign.You are in Disney, what else would you be doing?

View of the gate from the train station. Shows you how close it is to the park. The train actually costs money to ride since it can't be owned privately and is run by the government. Remember, this park is not owned by Disney, but guided by them and everything is official.

We went back in the evening and rode the roller coaster again, Wheeee! 

Had a great day and very tired, but only a short train ride back to the hotel. Loved the park, very clean, great food and had much fun. Only thing I would say is Don't expect to see characters all day. They have spots to greet them, but very limited and we only saw 2 all day. 

Onto Disney Sea!!

All Labor day in Tokyo

My hubby took a quick shot to try to give you an idea of the morning commute and crowds. He will try to get one in the train one of these days. 

Not a holiday here, but the Japanese actually get quite a few days off and holidays. Some of them are made up and very recent, but hey what the heck. The next one is Honor the Aged on Sept 17. Not sure how old you have to be for that one, but a shout out to my kids to Honor us-Ha!

Still not a great photo, but you get a bit of an idea. Most people that sit down take a nap or read a book or more often the men read a comic book. Don't sneak a peek, you might blush.

I am rarely in the crazy crowds because I am not usually in rush hour, but it has been interesting getting use to the crowds. You do what you have to do.

Have a great weekend my USA friends and family!!!