Blog 2 | Okayama, Hiroshima, Naoshima

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Chichu Art Museum

-Chichu Art Museum was constructed in 2004 on the island of Naoshima as a site to rethink the relationship between nature and people. The museum was built mostly underground to avoid affecting the beautiful natural scenery of the Seto Inland Sea. Artworks by Claude Monet, James Turrell, and Walter De Maria are on permanent display in this building designed by Tadao Ando. Despite being primarily subterranean, the museum lets in an abundance of natural light that changes the appearance of the artworks and the ambience of the space itself with the passage of time, throughout the day and all along the four seasons of the year. This by far was one of my favorite sites to visit.

Okayama Castle (岡山城, Okayama-jō)

-Okayama Castle is a Japanese castle in the city of Okayama. The main tower was completed in 1597 then destroyed in 1945 and replicated in concrete in 1966. Two of the watch towers survived the bombing of 1945 and are now listed by the national Agency for Cultural Affairs as Important Cultural Properties. Okayama Castle has a black exterior, earning it the nickname Crow Castle (烏城, U-jō) or "castle of the black bird." My whole cohort paid a small fee to enter the castle and explore the 6 floors of history that the castle has to offer.

Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park (平和記念公園, Heiwa Kinen Kōen)

-Japan is the first and only country in the world to suffer not only one nuclear attack, but two. Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park is one of the most prominent features of the city. Even visitors not looking for it will likely stumble upon the large park of over 120,000 square meters. Before the bomb, the area of what is now the Peace Park was the political and commercial heart of the city. For this reason, it was chosen as the pilot's target. Four years to the day after the bomb was dropped, it was decided that the area would not be redeveloped but instead devoted to peace memorial facilities and the lives lost on that day.

There are 8 main elements within the park: Peace Bell, Children's Peace Memorial, Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound, Flame of Peace, Cenotaph, Phoenix Trees, Peace Clock Tower, Korean Victims of the Atomic Bomb. My girlfriend and I had gone through the museum which was really heartbreaking to see all the items of those who lost their life that day and the affect of the atomic bomb.

Koko-en Gardens, Himeji 好古園

-Koko-en Garden Himeji is a modern garden opened in 1993. There are nine different types of gardens all based on styles popular during the Edo Period: Oyashiki no Niwa, Nai no Niwa, Tea Ceremony Garden, Flatly Landscaped Garden, Garden of Summer Trees, Garden of Pines, Garden of Flowers, Garden with a Hill and Pond, Bamboo Garden. Koko-en was built on the site of the Nishi Yashiki, the western residence of the domain lord, and the walled compounds and lanes between conform to the historical layout of the area. A fun fact is that the gardens are authentic enough that scenes from historical dramas and movies are filmed here.

Mono No Aware (Sadness of Things)

-Mono No Aware is the beauty of something due to its transience, a reminder of life & death. I related this back to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park as although this is a beautiful memorial park in honor of the victims of the bombing, it is still a reminder of life and death and how we must not repeat history.

Kirei (beautiful, clean)

-In Japan, cleanliness has been a key cultural practice for centuries and you can see that as soon as you step into the streets. Students clean their own schools regularly, the streets are often free of trash, and the restrooms tend to be very sanitary. I did not see a single piece of trash on the ground throughout my whole trip. Japan’s emphasis on cleanliness is inherently linked to its indigenous religion Shinto, which stresses the importance of keeping’s one’s own home, space, and environment clean for the deities called “Kami” that live everywhere in nature such as trees, animals, bodies of water, and landforms.

Food

-During our stay in Himeji we had the chance to try kobe beef for the first time in the form of a burger. The meat melts in your mouth. I wish I had the chance to know what kind of sauce was on the burger. The hosts here were very sweet and told us to come back again next time. I also had the chance to try conveyor belt sushi for the first time. It was hard to understand how it worked. I started grabbing very expensive items and did not know until we got our checks. The most interesting items that I had eaten were the sea snail and fish roe. They were both very salty.