Big Buddha
On the left, you see one of the largest Buddha images in Japan, located in Kamakura. People say he looks peaceful but I thought he looked kinda mad! Certainly an imposing image. We sat down nearby to relax when we were approached by so many groups of young students asking for our autographs and messages. Seemed like every single student had their camera along and they all wanted their own picture! I wonder what they do with those...
On the right is Mary, standing in the Kichijoji area of Tokyo. This is the street that we walked down daily from the station to Jen's apartment. I'm sure you've all noticed the McDonald's - they were EVERYWHERE. No, we didn't eat there. We did pick up a lot of lunches at 7-11, cheap and delicious! And we admit that we ate at Wendy's twice, but that's not stooping as low as McD's.
Towering Temples
Ok, the building on the left isn't really a temple, it's a castle. And a big one at that. This is located in Nagoya, right on the river that separates it from one of the three most beautifully sculpted gardens in Japan. If I remember correctly, it's known as Crow's Castle because of it's dark color. It was built dark because a neighboring town has a white castle and I guess they were competitors.
On the right is a small pagoda in Kamakura. It was on an island reached by a walkway, surrounded by a pond full of huge goldfish and lily pads. We saw a few five tiered pagodas but they were under construction so we didn't get pictures of them. Pagodas are found near temples, they're not the temples themselves.
Hiroshima
Since the dropping of the Atomic Bomb, this city has rebuilt itself and is now dedicated to bringing about a more peaceful - and nuclear free - world. There is a moving museum dislplaying artifacts like curled pieces of metal, remains of clothing, pictures of people and so on. I was close to tears so many times. Outside there is the beautiful Peace Park with a flame that will be extinguished only when the last nuclear bomb has been destroyed. It is something I would like to see happen in my lifetime.
There was a young girl dying of cancer who was convinced that if she could just fold 1,000 paper cranes, she would survive. She died after completing 964. As a memorial, people all over the world fold cranes and send them to Hiroshima. On the left, Mary is looking at some of the recent arrivals, thousands of colorful cranes in all sizes.
And on the right is the A-Bomb Dome. Despite how close this building was to the epicenter, it managed to stay standing and even the dome can still be seen. It has been left untouched and is really the only visible reminder of what happened.
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