Our First Visitors

We had our first house guests this weekend! It was so much fun having Arin and Kristina up from Okinawa, and it gave us a good excuse to get out and do some exploring. The weather wasn't really behaving but we were able to spend some time in Nagasaki and Fukuoka with them before they had to go back. 

 Our first day was spent walking around Nagasaki. After visiting the Peace park, epicenter, and atomic bomb museum we walked over to Fukusai-Ji temple. It is one of the most visually interesting shrines we've been to. It has a giant Kannon standing on top of the shell of a sea turtle. The shell of the turtle serves as the roof of the building. 

David and Eisley exploring the inside of the shrine bell.

The inside was very beautiful. Most shrines sell little tokens that you can write on for good luck. I love how they re purposed theirs into hanging chandeliers. 

One of the things the shrine is noted for is their Foucault's Pendulum, which is currently the second largest in the world. It originates inside the top of the main Kannon's head and hangs 25m to below the main floor over the remains of 16,500 Japanese killed during WWII.

 Nearby is the lesser traveled Shofuku-Ji temple. It is unique in the fact that it is one of the few Chinese-built temples in Nagasaki. It is a quiet green area in an otherwise busy city and was built in 1703. Apparently the Peach theme is also quite unique and not really seen in other similar temples.

 The next temple we visited was even older and also built by the Chinese merchants in the area, it was built in in 1624. Kofuku-Ji. It provided a place for the merchants to pray for a safe voyage at sea. They also built the Megane bridge to provide easier access to the temple.

This window is a Chinese "cracked ice" lattice that is built without nails. It was originally glass that was destroyed during the Atomic bomb blast and they were unable to repair it with replacement glass. I loved this fresh picked citrus just waiting for the monk to return. 

Megane bridge or "spectacles bridge" is the oldest stone bridge in Japan and is a popular tourist stop.

We didn't get a chance to tour Deijima, but it is the little artificial island where the Dutch traders were "contained".

I love that they leave useful information for us foreigners so we know how to properly use the restroom. 

 We made a little trip out of going back to the airport for Arin and Kristina's return flight. We stopped at the reclining Buddha at the Nanzoin Temple. It is said to be the largest bronze statue in the world. It depicts Buddha at the time of his death and entering Nirvana. It is also associated with good luck with rumors that several people have won the Japanese lottery by bringing their tickets here.  Each urn sitting in front of the statue represents a day of the year, and families leave notes for their family members in the urn the represents the day of  their death.

One of the most interesting parts was entering inside the statue itself. For 500 yen you get a stick where you write your name and a wish. These wishes are then brought inside and laid at a shrine where you touch a religious rope and a representation of Buddha's feet. Attached to the rope inside the shrine is said to be actual bone and ashes from Buddha himself. This makes it a stop on a pilgrimage route that draws about a million visitors a year.  

Tossing little tokens for good luck

In the building in front of the Buddha is a funeral hall of sorts where you an pay a base fee to have your family members ashes stored for 200 years. 

We then stopped at canal city to enjoy some delicious Hakata ramen at the Ramen stadium and do some shopping.

We also made a much needed stop at Cold Stone. Eisley was very busy stealing as many spoonfuls of ice cream as she could get. Arin and Kristina made Eisley's favorite combination by far. 

We were so sad to see our visitors go, especially Eisley who was loving all the attention! We are so glad we were able to finally meet Arin and spend some time with them on this side of the world :) The best part was just being able to hang out and play games.

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Miyajima

Over our Christmas break we decided to take a road trip up to Hiroshima. During our stay we visited Itsukushima, usually called Miyajima (Shrine Island). It has long been considered a very sacred place and is only accessible by ferry. We initially went just to see all the wild deer, but it quickly became one of our favorite places in Japan. We always joke that Japan is great if you want to go see shrines, shrines, and more shrines. They all start to look the same after awhile. Miyajima however, doesn't disappoint. If you only have a short period of time when visiting Japan, then Miyajima is the place to be because the entire island is covered with very large, fairly unique shrines. It is most well known for its massive "floating" torii gate, but it has a few other beautiful, impressive places. Also, like I said before, they have friendly deer roaming around, which means adorable deer souvenirs and deer-themed food items.

View our ferry and two rowing teams our on the water.

There is a great little shopping area. It made me miss my dad because I'm sure he would love all the little stands selling freshly cooked oysters! 

A popular treat on Miyajima is Momiji Manjyu, little maple leaf shaped filled cakes

One of the most iconic sites in all of Japan is the giant floating Torii gate that is part of Itsukushima Shrine which is now a UNESCO world heritage site.

15 week baby bump

David was swarmed by deer and old ladies alike. The little ladies loved seeing Eisley.

The deer would steal and eat anything, including paper maps and brochures

Eisley was in love with the deer. She didn't want to get her fingers eaten so she was walking around giving the deer "knuckles". 

Senjo-Kaku is a huge pavilion built in 1587. The floorspace is roughly the size of one thousand tatami mats and was built to honor and pray for fallen warriors. The massive supporting pillars are set on individual stone foundations since the ground of the island is considered holy.  

The island also has a lovely 5 story pagoda that was built in 1407. It is dedicated to the Buddhist god of medicine. 

The main shrine of Iksukushima is the world heritage site. It is dedicated to the three daughters of the Shinto God of the sea and storms, Susanoo-no-Mikoto. It is composed of several buildings and walkways all built on piers that appear to float on water during high tide. 

view overlooking Itsukushima Shrine

Daisho-in Buddhist temple is an ascending complex of temples situated as you walk up the side of Mt. Misen. It was founded in 806 and has several shrines and buildings, all with interesting offerings. My absolute favorite is the little hill covered in round little Jizo statues. These chubby, adorable statues can be found tucked away all over the temple grounds.  

These little Jizo statues represent children that have passed, families take care of them like they would their child and believe it offers redemption to their souls. 

We weren't the only ones that noticed how peaceful and quiet it was here, Eisley decided it was a great place to take a quick nap

There's a really fun sky car that gives you a ride up the side of Mt. Misen, It offers great views of the island and Hiroshima across the water.

During low tide you can walk out to the base of the Torii gate. Many people try to cram yen coins into the barnacles growing on the base of the gate. 

We were face-timing with my mom so she made it into our trip pictures :) It was so fun to feel like she was there with us!

We had an excellent visit and I would love to return before we leave Japan! It is definitely one of my favorite places here!

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