My second trip to Japanese was much improved thanks to my Japanese friends who guided me. I learnt a lot that trip - how to travel by bus, how to enjoy an onsen and a few other things that made subsequent trips easier.
On my friends’ invitation I visited them not far from Matsumoto and Azumino in Nagano Prefecture. It was the end of March, the snow cover continued to hold in many places and the trees were still bare. This surprised me as I’d seen blooming sakura in Tokyo. With the mountains of Nagano being much colder than I realised, my friends suggested trying an onsen. I understood why as the homes were too cold inside! I liked onsens from that first moment and thought it important to try since relaxing in an onsen is part of Japanese culture.
In the three days that I spent in Nagano, we visited Matsumoto with its authentic Karasu-jo castle, the city’s historical museum and Shop-studio Bell Ami that had producing oshie dolls since the 1950’s. In Azumino we visited the wasabi farm and the Chihiro Art Museum. Each evening was spent in an onsen before dinner. I particularly loved the views of Nagano with its high Hida mountain range.
My second trip was connected with the Doll Exhibition in Tokyo where I took part with my own works. For a week I stayed in Tokyo, visiting the area around the Imperial palace, Ryogoku district with its sumo history and beautiful memorial temple as well Tokyo Tower. Unlike the typhoon that hit during my first visit, my second trip to Odaiba occurred on lovely sunny day; the views of Tokyo and surrounds from the Fuji-TV building were quite enjoyable.
An absolutely wonderful surprise was our visit to the Ghibli Studio Museum - I was much impressed! Anime is one of the most important parts of modern Japanese culture and Ghibli Studio is very special place for anime, a 'must visit' for all anime fans! The other two amazing things were the sakura and Fuji-san. Both are worth seeing, even if only once in your lifetime.
The blooming sakura were everywhere I went, but particularly in Ueno Park where the white flowers covered trees like foam - a truly breathtaking view! My second attempt to see Fuji-san was successful this time and was able to witness the snowy summit of the mountain for an hour or so. After that Fuji-san returned to hiding behind the clouds.
After Fuji-san, I took a one-day trip to Takao-san, the mountain in the western suburbs of Tokyo. It was quite nice but I wasn't able to see much from the summit, just blue layered silhouettes of other ranges. This was followed by a return to Yokohama which I fell in love with on my first trip. I went to Yokohama China Town and then watched the huge FUJI MARU cruise ship was docking at Osanbashi pier. I thought that mesmerising.
Away from Tokyo was 'distant' Hiroshima. I had known of the city and its tragedy since childhood, so was glad to be able to finally visit. I was impressed by the Atomic Bomb Dome - the one building remaining from the devastation of the city's history... The Peace Park and the Peace Memorial Museum were sad and solemn places and my friend and I signed its peace petition. Modern Hiroshima is a very beautiful and comfortable city. I also attended the concert of my favourite J-pop group, KAT-TUN, which I enjoyed lot.
We then made the short but wonderful trip to Miyajima where we visited Itsukushima shrine and the aquarium. Warm, sunny weather with lots of deer made the day a treat. At the end of my trip we treated ourselves to the Hiroshima's most famous dish, okonomiyaki. Oh my it was delicious! Hiroshima was an unforgettable experience and I am so glad I went.
