Hiroshima Peace Memorial - or A-Bomb Dome (原爆ドーム Genbaku Dōmu) in the evening...
It's ground zero. The bomb exploded more or less above this building. What was left standing of it was preserved as a reminder. If you visit the museum and look through the monument there, you can see this building, across the canal. It's all designed on a straight line: the museum, the monument, the square, the eternal flame... on a line extending all the way to this building: its stark image captured within the monument on the square. It was impressive, to walk around there, to notice how much thought was put into remembering and to see how Hiroshima has reinvented itself after total destruction, incorporating that gruesome event into daily life and into a powerful 'never again'.
It's a lovely city, surrounded by mountains, with friendly people, beautiful parks, nice restaurants and a unique history.
2 November 2017
Hiroshima, Japan
Waitress in a crab restaurant taking a photo of me and my friends... maybe she zoomed in too much on my big nose...
Tokyo, Japan, 10 October 2014
Click on photo for the full version...
Tokyo, Japan, 12 October 2014
Click on photo for the full version...
Japan has a very low crime rate, but they do have their criminals...
Tokyo, Japan, 8 October 2014
Click on photo for the full version...
Boyband, being advertised (including music) on the side of a truck, circling around in the area...
Tokyo, Japan, 8 October 2014
Click on photo for the full version...
Note the shoes, before you get lost in the colors... in Shibuya...
Tokyo, Japan, 12 October 2014
Click on photo for the full version...
Late at night on the steps of a temple...
Tokyo, Japan, 10 October 2014
Click on photo for the full version...
Tokyo, Japan, 9 October 2014
Click on photo for the full version...
Elderly lady performing... not too bad either...
After her performance... quite content...
Notice also she's wearing indigo blue, also called 'Japan blue'. It's a bit of a traditional color in Japan - a dye made from the Indigo plant - and once you know that and pay some attention to it, you start seeing it everywhere in Tokyo...
Tokyo, Japan, 12 October 2014
Click on photos for the full version...
Bride and groom posing for their wedding photos... see also here...
Tokyo, Japan, 7 October 2014
Click on photo for the full version...
Giggly schoolgirls in Shibuya...
Tokyo, Japan, 8 October 2014
Click on photo for the full version...
Desk clerk at a crab restaurant...
Tokyo, Japan, 10 October 2014
Click on photo for the full version...
Of all the Asian cities I've visited, Tokyo beats them all when it comes to the lights and the adverts crammed into only a few streets...
Tokyo, Japan, 8 October 2014
Click on photo for the full version...
Tokyo, Japan, 8 October 2014
Click on photo for the full version...
Dressed up for a wedding in the park...
Tokyo, Japan, 7 October 2014
Click on photo for the full version...
In Asakusa... these riksjas are being pulled by tall and fit looking Japanese guys with strange footwear (shoes shaped as reindeer hoofs)... They also act like a tour guide and will tell you some facts about the area and stop at the landmarks...
The old women didn't seem to be that interested though, but who can blame her...
Tokyo, Japan, 9 October 2014
Click on photo for the full version...
The 'selfie stick' in action...
Tokyo, Japan, 7 October 2014
Click on photo for the full version...
You see them in parks... they are big and look vicious, and they wear a black and yellow wasp suit - adding to the concern - but I have no idea if they're actually dangerous... Tokyo Tower in the background...
Edit: after some research I think it's a Nephila clavata. Its bite is not lethal apparently, just gives some blistering and local discomfort for about 24 hours. But don't take my word for it, I'm no spider expert, and I'm still unsure if I have the right one...
Tokyo, Japan, 9 October 2014
Click on photo for the full version...
In Shibuya
Tokyo, Japan, 12 October 2014
Click on photo for the full version...
Hiroshima Peace Memorial - or A-Bomb Dome (原爆ドーム Genbaku Dōmu) in the evening...
