Travel Journal 2017

With brilliant weather today, we headed out to the neighbouring towns of Fukuoka. In Kokura we checked out a castle, but the real highlight was definitely the toilet museum run by Tōtō, Japan’s biggest toilet manufacturer. The whole topic of ceramic bowls is definitely worth its own article.

In the other direction is Dazaifu. The most famous spots there are the Tenman-gu shrine and the ruins of a former administration building (up to the end of the 12th century). At the little Chikuzen-Kokubun-ji temple, we got to take a quick peek into an area usually only accessible to priests, and outside of opening hours too.

A Shinto priest blesses a new car. Nothing’s standing in the way of a safe journey now.

Hiroshima, the second to last stop on our trip. We went to the Shukkeien landscape garden and Hiroshima Castle. The original castle was destroyed in the atomic bombing of the city in 1945, the reconstruction is made of reinforced concrete. It’s not unusual in Japan to reconstruct historical buildings like this, including the wooden parts.

Tomorrow we’ll treat ourselves to a quiet day and just wander aimlessly around the city.

Today was more about the motto “Japan without plan”. We wandered around Hiroshima a bit, had a look at the Fudō-in and enjoyed the view from a peace pagoda.

Yesterday we went to the island of Miyajima. It’s a must if you’re in Hiroshima, because the world’s probably most famous torii gate stands in the water in front of the Itsukushima Shrine. After a ride on the cable car and a short hike, we got to enjoy the view from the top of the mountain over the Inland Sea all the way to Hiroshima.