pretirement

Miyajima’s rasta rainbow

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✍️: Erin 📸: Jan & Erin

We meander onto a nondescript path while climbing a steep mountainside staircase at Japan’s sprawling Daisho-in Temple. The stone path could be a service entrance or maybe an entryway to another small shrine. We aren’t sure. But we have time, so a wrong turn won’t hurt.

Then colorful dots appear on both sides of the forested path. A few steps later, the dots of red and white and yellow and blue climb up a long stone staircase through the woods. When I realize what we’ve happened upon, I melt into full-face smiles.

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Miyajima Island: Busted gondola leads to good things

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✍️: Erin 📸: Jan & Erin

Thanks to a broken gondola that doubled our hiking time (and distance!), we were given a beautiful sunset as the ocean hit high tide and surrounded the Itsukushima Floating Torii Gate.

The oft-photographed gate is just off Miyajima Island in Japan. The island is accessible by ferry after about an hour’s train ride southwest of Hiroshima, and it’s a must-do trip if you’re in the Hiroshima area. The island offers steep hikes to stunning mountain views, with a series of fantastic temples and shrines along the way — including maybe my favorite temple in Japan.

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Hiroshima (2 of 2): Stay for the city

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✍️: Jan 📸: Erin & Jan

We got to see a lot of Japan, but I think we saved the best for last. I loved Hiroshima. The main draw for tourists like us is undoubtably the Atomic Bomb Dome and the Peace Memorial Park. And rightfully so. They are somber but necessary places to experience.

But the city is also eclectic coffee shops and intimate sake bars with incredibly friendly staff. It’s home to a baseball team with avid fans. Hiroshima’s okonomiyaki (fried-noodle pancake), unique even in Japan, can’t be beat. And at least one Thomas the Tank Engine bus ferries young students wearing matching hats.

Hiroshima is definitely the city we’d most want to visit again in Japan despite seeing its primary tourists spots.

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Tokyo: Sprawling spontaneity

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✍️: Erin 📸: Jan & Erin

Lesson: If you’re heading to a massive, internationally known city that people rave about, plan! We decided to wait until we arrived in Tokyo to do any serious planning, which wasn’t the best strategy. The city has a ton to offer, and knowing what you want to do and what areas of the city you’d like to visit can save you a ton of time (and money).

That said, we had a great time in Tokyo. We drove go-karts through traffic to see the city above ground; kind of figured out the sprawling train system below ground; ate everything, all the time; and were mesmerized by robots and futuristic technology.

All this while being awed by the efficiency, cleanliness and quiet of a city that’s home to nearly 14 million people. That’s almost twice the size of New York City.

Driving go-karts around Tokyo
Driving go-karts around Tokyo
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