沖縄: Some sightseeing!

We managed to drag ourselves away from relaxing at the beach or the hotel to do a little bit of sightseeing. We visited the very famous aquarium, Churaumi, and also Shuri Castle.

Nagoya

Unfortunately, we had to cancel our hiking trip to Kumano Kodo (for the second time!) because of the typhoon. But, we made the most of this free weekend and booked a cheap trip to Nagoya! To check out the city and two castles.

Awaji Island

We've been so busy lately! I've been really slow with blogging. A few weeks ago we went to Awaji Island to relax. It's a small island in Hyogo prefecture, about 2 hours away from Osaka. A perfect getaway!

Himeji Castle

We finally made it to Himeji Castle. And it is maybe my favourite... Since we arrived in Japan, Himeji Castle has been under reconstruction. It was hidden by covers and we were unable to see it. But now, the external reconstructions have finished! Yay!

Hiroshima

We visited Hiroshima. It's a must for everybody with the chance. We had previously visited Nagasaki so we knew a lot of information about the bombings, but it is so important to visit the affected towns. The museum is informative, moving and terrifying. I do genuinely hope that we can one day live in a world without nuclear weapons. The facts are staggering. America possesses about 3000 nuclear weapons. In some cases, one bomb can be 1000x the strength of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. That is enough to destroy countries. Barack Obama has never visited the cities, but is still conducting nuclear tests in America. For so many reasons, I urge everybody to learn the facts and strive for nuclear weapon disarmament.

Okayama

As we had to cancel our hiking trip, we planned a spontaneous getaway to Okayama! I don't think it's a very popular destination, but we loved it! The town had a great vibe and we got to see an awesome castle and beautiful garden.

Kyushu Part 4: Kumamoto!

The weather was not so good, but before heading to Nagasaki we spent a few hours walking around Kumamoto and seeing the famous castle.