Tableaux photographiques

Hi ! 

So I thought I’d let you know about what’s happening next in my travel. I was supposed to spend a few days in Osaka and Kyoto and then fly to Busan, in Korea and spend November there helping in a Hostel but I finally decided not to go to Korea. After long reflection I decided to stay longer in Japan and only go to Korea to take my flight to Bangkok at the beginning of December. 

Why ? Well because I felt like going to Korea was more an obligation than a real choice and that’s not how I want to feel at all. I have the chance to be totally free in my travel as it’s only about me, myself and I ( sometimes you need to be selfish ). After long talks about going or not to Korea with the people here, I realized I was way to happy here in Japan and that I really loved the culture and the people and that I wanted to stay and discover more and more about it. Korea seems like a very interesting country but I’m in love with Japan and if I really want to go to Korea my steps will lead me there sooner or later. 

So, don’t worry, I have a plan here in Japan, I’m not just leaving Kyoto with no place to go ( I could but I’m not confident enough about my travelling skills yet ). I found a really interesting “ job “ in Tokyo ( in Asakusa, the old traditional Tokyo ). I will hep a woman with her cultural project about Japan. She’s an anthropologist and I will have to help her with computer work ( and a little bit of cooking ). It will be a very interesting month I think. I already love the fact that it’s in Tokyo but maybe a calmer neighborhood and that I certainly will be able to learn more about the Japanese culture. 

Other than that, I received a letter from the kids from the family who took us from Hiroshima to Yumesaki last week. There’s a very cute drawing with it and a picture of us ! When I told you Hitchhiking was fantastic ! Those people are so great and I’m so happy now that I have their address ! Those kind of people are the one who gives you faith in life. They were just normal people from a big city in Japan but I was deeply touched about their will to give and their kindness.

That’s it !

I spent my last three days off wandering around Hiroshima with Lisa, another volunteer. We Hitchhiked to arrive there ( It’s a 3 hour ride to the south from Himeji ). We weren’t waiting for more than 5 minutes when a young japanese guy picked us up. He dropped us near Okayama ( 1 hour from Himeji ) and then two businessmen took us to a station near the Hiroshima airport and even payed our train ticket ! Those people were so sweet, they couldn’t speak very well english but we managed a simple conversation. I would really recommend hitchhiking in Japan ! ( Better to be two though and if you’re girls it’s pretty easy to get a car fast ;) ) The Japanese people are so respectful and kind I really think it’s one of the safest place to do it. ( They’re freaks everywhere yes I know ). Hitchhiking really gives you the opportunity to meet amazing people and also you do save a lot of money ( not time unfortunately ). 

We arrived in Miyajima around half pas two and to our hostel around three. And then we tried to find a place to eat Okonomiyaki ( a mix between omelette and noodles with meat and vegetables ) at first but everything was closed except one small restaurant with ramen . The guy who was taking care of it offered us sweet and tea and took a photo of us. It was really cute !

Hiroshima has been the scene of the fall of the first atomic bomb in the human history. That changed the city forever. Everything was burned and they had to reconstruct everything. They have a beautiful park with memorials to remember all the people who died because of the attack : The peace memorial park. Hiroshima is really to move on and they decided to do it by educating the world on the danger of nuclear weapons. So there’s a beautiful and moving museum about the bomb. It’s only 50 yen for the entry ticket, so basically free. The atmosphere in the museum is incredible. You can feel the tragedy and it just makes you want to cry and then do something about it ( they have petitions you can sign ). They didn’t fade the incident at all, you can see pictures of burned people and all kind of stuff the found from children who disappeared or died and the awful story behind it. You just cannot skip any part of the museum, it’s a very important place and I really do wish everyone on earth could see it. That would change everything. I was really happy to see teachers with their classes or foreigners with their children because then I knew those children would never ever support any kind of nuclear war or attack. The visit of the museum does change something in your head and that’s why it’s the best museum I’ve ever been to. 

But Hiroshima is not only about that tragedy ! You also have a very impressive distraction neighborhood in the center of the city, Neons, restaurants, shops ( they are open until 11 O’clock) , hostess bars ( the guy who come to spend the evening with them are not allowed to touch them ), Karaokes ( we tried it haha, it was so so fun, even if took us 20 minutes to get how the thing worked ! It was all in Japanese … You have your little room with a tv and a sort of tablet to choose the songs. Hopefully they had some in english and even french I think ). Kind if like in Osaka, but way smaller.                                                              There’s also a nice castle who also offers you a nice view on the city. It’s a reconstruction since the original one has been destroyed by the bomb. In it you can see samouraï armors and swords.                                                                   We discovered the city by bike the second day and stopped on top of a small mount in a park in front of the city’s modern art museum to have a quick pick-nick with a nice view of the city. 

On our last day with went to Miyajima, a small island one hour by bus from Hiroshima. We took a ferry to see the floating tori and the shrines. We were a bit dissapointed by the number of tourist on the island ( yeah we know we’re tourist too ). Maybe saturday wasn’t the best day to visit this kind of places. It was still a very nice place but it looked a bit fake, even if it’s not. There are dears wandering around and a very nice hiking track you can go on ( We didn’t cause we hadn’t got enough time … ) Miyajima is also the city of the first rice spoon and they are very proud about it … ( as uninteresting a that information is ). 

 We came back to Hiroshima around one, running away from the tourists… We finally found a place to eat Okonomiyaki and then tried to find a spot to hitchhike to get back home. 

We went at the beginning of the railway and we were not very confident about this spot until a very nice little family took us with them. They were supposed to let us at the Okayama station so that we could take the train but finally they took us all the way up to Yumesaki. The children spoke a little bit of english and the 9 year old girl started to teach me how to write in Japanese ! The boy was a real little monkey and they made us discover tons of japanese snacks ( the edamame crisps are the BEST ). They really were the cutest family ever and when we got back to the guesthouse we sat down with them to drink tea and chat while the children were playing with Jackie ( the dog ) or playing the piano ( The little 6 year old boy was in Hiroshima for a piano contest at which he finished second. They kind of made me think about my brothers and sister. 

Well that’s it for now ! :)

This is Elvis, the goat, she’s kind of a Katoï. She was very aggressive before and now they cut her balls so she’s nice and kind. (Nice way to start this post huh?)

So my job is here is mostly helping cooking, tidying up the place, gardening a bit, Cleaning when needed and then taking care of guest in the restaurant if they are ( This morning there was a couple and the man kept asking about a festival in Himeji run by people from Charleroi ??? Japanese english is really not on point but they are so kind ! The woman had to translate everything but the man was so happy and excited about me ). It’s very nice and the hosts are just amazing ! They treat us like princess. We’re now eight girls working here together so all the tasks are done very fast :) The rest of the days we make smalls trips or hang out in the guesthouse. Kazu, the oldest brother, the hippie crazy cook is currently teaching me Japanese. Well just oral Japanese cause the writing is just so hard ! He also let me try a Kimono and we took a Selfie :D I really like it here ! It’s like a new home. There is a cat ( Teddy Chan) and a Dog ( Jackie Chang ). They are really cute ( and I’m not usually into animals ). The work is usually done around noon so we have loads of time to do everything else you want to do. I also get two days off a week, so I might go to Hiroshima sometimes ( We’ll see ). Oh yesterday I also went to a big supermarket ! The food is just so different ! Kazu keeps buying chocolate for anyone who goes to the shop with him ( We all do share it ). I spend two really nice cosy day in the guesthouse cause I hurt my feet falling off my bungalow ( It was dark and I was tired OK ? ) so I didn’t wanted to push to hard on it. Maybe tomorrow, if i Don’t feel pain in my foot, I’ll go and make a bicycle ride. 

So, this is my room/ Bungalow 

This is the selfie with Kazu in a Kimono. 

Just me and the kimono. 

And just pictures of the place.