Today I climbed a mountain. Alright, so it was more of a big hill. My original plan today was to go to check out Miyajima, which is listed as the third most beautiful place in Japan and is very close to Hiroshima. The problem was that between the streetcar, train and ferry I'd need to get there, it would probably take 3-4 hours of travel time, and I really just felt like going for a long walk and stretching my legs. So this is where the mountain comes in. One of the places in Hiroshima I had yet to really check out was the Minami Ward, and more specifically, Hijiyama Park. Beyond that, I didn't really have any specific direction, and the great thing is that I'm getting comfortable enough in the city to just wander wherever and have a reasonable level of confidence that I'll be able to find my way home again. At first I didn't really realize Hijiyama was up one of the mountain/hills, but by the time I got close it was becoming pretty evident. I didn't really know how to get up, so I took the first path I could find heading up. This turned out to lead to a huge terraced graveyard that worked its way up the side. It was so eerie. The graves aren't really placed in any organized fashion, and you just had to cut between them and follow narrow stairs upwards that seemed to just be stuck wherever there was room between graves. The strangeness was punctuated by bands of stray cats that seemed to live in the graveyard (see below). I later realized that it was the Hijiyama Army Cemetary.
Once I got to the end of the graveyard, I could tell there was a road above, but couldn't find a path onto it, so I just made my way through the surrounding forest, trying to avoid spider webs and getting destroyed by mosquitos. I didn't really know where the road led, but I continued following it upwards, and got to a parking lot with a few benches and vending machines. After having a drink I continued upwards, coming to a playground, and shortly after another graveyard. This one had a small shrine and was much more organized. At the far end there were a few benches and a clear view down at Hiroshima.
Other places I came across after were the Radiation Effects Research Center, the Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Hiroshima City Manga Library. The last two of these closed at 5pm though, and it was already 4:30, so I decided to leave them for another day. I took the Sky Walk down, which is a giant covered escalator that descends the entire mountain (much easier). The down side was that it left me on the opposite side from where I needed to go. I could have just taken the tunnel that cuts through, but decided instead to walk the long way around and check out more of Minami Ward along the way.
This picture isn't even from today, but I had some pictures of the A-Bomb Dome sitting on my memory card, so I figured I'd stick one in.
This picture isn't even from today, but I had some pictures of the A-Bomb Dome sitting on my memory card, so I figured I'd stick one in.
2 comments:
ah, this gives me some good ideas on how to set-up the city. Very useful information on the major architectural and structural differences of our cultures, thank you Richard. Any additional information you have on this kind of topic would be appreciated.
Sounds like you're really getting into exploring...You seem to be having a great time in between work and red tape.
I hope you're getting lots of good pictures...The ones on your blog are very good and I know you're limited as to how many you can post...I took 375 at a wedding on Saturday and most of them were pretty good. I'm doing another photo shoot with Tyler and Linsey Beckett tomorrow m night...I've done spring and summer shoots with them . Tomorrow is fall, and then we're going to do a winter one.
We'll be home this weekend for Thanksgiving but I'll be away at a conference on your birthday....will try to get a message to you though if I can access wireless.
Talk to you soon.
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