This week’s travelling in Japan has been great fun. It has also been exhausting, rainy, sunny, funny and more than a couple of coincidences have happenedYesterday we were in Takayama, a beautiful little city that did not get damaged during WWII so there is still history there to be seen.

One of the highlights was going through the market that runs everyday beside the river.
I must share a funny story with you. Julie is a friend of mine in the photo club back in Hobart.
She and her partner are travelling on their own in Japan now.  At the last photo club ƒmeeting before we both left on our separate trips I laughingly said to her, “I will see you in Japan.” With millions and millions of people here in this country both of us knew that would never happen.

As I walked along the market strip I looked up and saw Julie and her partner walking towards me. What a laugh. We threw our arms in the air and gave each other a big hug. Our tour was only in the market area for 45 minutes and 20 minutes of that walking to and from the bus. What were the chances!?

Today we are on two trains going to Hiroshima. One is a regular train with a few stops and the second train will be a bullet train that moves amazingly fast. When it passes through a train station one can’t help but take a step back. However once on the train it doesn’t feel that fast at all.

I will put some photos up later when I get to the hotel. The only time I have to write any kind of narrative is on the train or bus. We have been going from the time we arise at 6:45 am until after dinner around 9:00 pm. We barely have time to put a couple of notes and pictures up on Facebook for friends and family to see.

As I said, we are travelling to Hiroshima. I don’t think I will take many photos except perhaps of the surrounding area. It somehow doesn’t feel right to me to photograph a place that is known for the many deaths of others. I remember how wrong it felt when we visited Auschwitz in Poland. People of all types taking photos of themselves standing in the gas chambers or the rooms where there were piles of hair or children’s toys or prosthetics stored. I think this is a very inappropriate place to take selfies. I also think this about Hiroshima. Whether one remembers the days the USA bombed Hiroshima; whether one feels it was right or wrong it still remains the place of much sadness reflecting on the deaths of many families. I cannot imagine my family and friends having experienced such horror. So you won’t see close up photos of anything except maybe the beauty of gardens.
Yesterday we went to a Washi paper making attraction and had the chance to make three postcards. We saw the process for making such wonderful paper and explored the gift shop that had wonderful things in it. As my experience tells me most book bloggers are all stationery freaks, loving fine pens, papers and cards, etc. I will share that experience in a separate post.

Enjoy the photos.