After learning about the events of the atomic bomb in Nagasaki we went on December 22 to Hiroshima. We went to the hostel we will be staying, left our backpacks and headed to the Atomic Bomb Dome. It is a very touchy scene given the tragedy and devastation this place suffered because of the atomic bomb.
We visited the Children’s Peace Monument and the Peace Memorial Park. All I can say is that both of these places will give you goose bumps and leave you speechless.
We also visited the Peace Memorial Museum… there are no words to describe what one sees in this museum!
At night we walked around the City Centre and went to take pictures of the Hiroshima Castle. We have to admit that we are very impressed with this city, its drive to overcome such a tragic events and the friendly people that live here.
On December 23 we went took a train towards Itsukushima, also known as Miyajima. We arrived at the train station and after a short walk we took the ferry across to the island. We visited the Torii of Itsukushima Shrine, the Shrine and the Daisho-in Temple. The Torii, in particular, is one of the mayor attractions in Japan. We had the opportunity to witness its majestic size in both high tide and low tide. While at low tide we could stand underneath it and appreciate its size.
We returned to the hotel late at night and just before going to bed we found out that Carlos has shingles. We thought about going to the hospital right away but it was late so we decided to take an early train to Tokyo and find a doctor there.
On December 24 Carlos woke up not feeling good at all, the pain is increasing by the minute. We caught an early train to Tokyo and upon arrival we looked for a clinic, fortunate enough we found one not too far from Kawasaki station. The doctor saw the rash and prescribed something… we didn’t know because everything was written in Japanese. We are at the mercy of the doctor’s knowledge; hopefully he prescribes the proper medicine to treat the shingles.
We bought the medicine and went to Manuel’s house.
At night we went to celebrate Christmas with Geraldine and her family, Manuel’s friends.
We spent December 25 and 26 in Kawasaki while Carlos recovers a little bit. He is in a lot of pain and the rash just keeps growing, it does not look good.
Great pictures guys! I loved Itsukushima, and the picture of the okonomiyaki made me hungry! Never had one as good as the one that I had in Hiroshima! Wow, Carlos has shingles? I know it was back in December, but have you had it again? I heard it’s very painful.
Yes, I had the shingles at the end of December, it was very painful. Fortunately enough the medication the doctor prescribed in Tokyo worked extremely well and I recovered very quickly. I still get a bit of pain from time to time but nothing major. I have not had it since and I hope I do not get it again, it was painful!