A few everywhere seen before places:

A-bomb dome
Originally the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, and now commonly called the Genbaku Dome, Atomic Bomb Dome, or A-Bomb Dome. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.

Peace park
Full of historical marks, a great view of the dome, and the air filled with calmness and peace. At least for me. I’ve been sitting on those benches countless times and still, feels like I just blinked twice and we parted our ways.

The museum in the Peace park
The peace museum will show you a precise and detailed view of what happened at the time when the bomb was dropped and after the city completely vanished.

Itsukushima or in other names Miyajima island
This island is mainly known by its gate called Itsukushima Shrine but there is a lot of interesting spot in the town around as well, like a baking shop, where you can see all the process with the machines through the shop window and so on. There is a good hike to the top of the mountain too with a 360-degree view around the island.

Kintai bridge
It’s a historical wooden arch bridge, in the city of Iwakuni, in Yamaguchi Prefecture close to Hiroshima (about 30km). The pedestrian bridge was built in 1673 from 100% wood. Definitely a unique bridge. The park next to it is also beautiful and from the castle up on the hill, you can have a great view over them.

Hiroshima castle
Another castle, a bit different like all of the castles but nothing special outside a few good spots to chill under the trees, close to the water in my opinion.

Some lesser-known places:

All around the city you can find small memorials with descriptions like this tree survived the bombing or here was the temporary hospital etc. There are lots of them. Worth searching and reading at least a few of them to know more about the darkest days of the city. Happy hunting!

Mitakidera temple
Pretty cool temple with a bunch of interesting things around on the hill just outside of the city. This place is really moody too. I’ve been there at least 12 times during my stay and every time learned something new.

The best view over Hiroshima
There is a trail at the end of Mitakidera temple which leads to the top of the mountain with the best view above the city. Gotta be careful because it isn’t a well-maintained road and really steepy at many points. The hike takes about 1 hour to the top but depending on your speed it could be faster or slower.

Peace pagoda
This is another viewpoint over the city for the second place in my opinion. Pretty close to the station with a really nice uphill road.

Ujina beach
Really nice sandy beach to relax, close to the center but often the water is really dirty because of the harbor.

黄金山
This is another hill but this one is in the middle of the city with an almost 360 view around. Awesome spot for the night or sunrise/sunset.

Irori Sanzoku
A nice old, Japanese-style restaurant located in the mountains of Yamaguchi prefecture with a really tasty and delicious menu! Totally recommended!

Here is a map of the most interesting places in Kyoto. Have fun planning and exploring this beautiful city!

Let’s talk about a few of them in a bit more detail.

1, Mt. Daimonji

The best view over the city, sunsets were amazing during spring from this viewpoint despite the hell lot of flies and mosquitoes. Pretty easy hike with lots of small stairs, nothing special.

2, Kinkaku-Ji temple

Or in another name the Golden temple which is more widely known most likely. Indeed a beautiful temple and garden next to a small lake.

3, Ninna-Ji temple

This place isn’t that well known around tourists, but a lovely spot especially during sakura season with the gorgeous garden. If you are lucky then you will be able to see monks doing their usual ceremony around the temple.

4, Fushimi Inari Taisha

One of the most famous spots in Kyoto with endless torii gates all around. If you visit, be prepared to spend half or even the whole day here and make sure you climb up and around the mountain as well.

I have visited the temple at least four times. Once, in the early morning while I was enjoying and taking photographs from the empty place I was lucky to meet with the Guinness World Record holder marathon runner Nishi Hajime. It was a great talk with him that morning!

5, Tetsugaku No Michi

The more known name is the Philosopher’s Path. This is indeed a path, next to a really small river with cute bridges on it and full of cherry trees on the side all the way. I can’t tell you how beautiful it is during the sakura season when all of them are blooming!

6, Arashiyama bamboo forest

I don’t think I need to say anything about the most famous spot in Kyoto. It is breathtaking to walk through the bamboo forest, but honestly, it isn’t the best at all.

7, Kimono forest

This is less known though it is at an obvious spot. When you get off at the last station going to Arashiyama, it is right next to the station and during the night they lit them up!

8, Urban exploring

There is an abandoned building on the outskirts of the city, next to a river where you can find an old working piano but it’s kinda sketchy to get inside and out as well. But please be careful and visit this place at your own risk. Also, please keep the place as you found it so others can enjoy it as well!

9, Gion

The geisha district. A gorgeous area with all the old buildings and not to be surprised this is the place where you can find a geisha walking around or just simple tourists dressing in kimono.

10, Kyoto station

There is a cool light show going on the upper floors at the staircase. Each of them is a few minutes long with a song. It’s pretty cool!

11, Keage Incline

Old train tracks with cherry trees on the sides. Perfect spot for a photoshoot during sakura season.

For the less patient, I made a map with all the locations at the end of this post, you are welcome!

PAID:

1, Roppongi Hills Observatory “Tokyo City View”

Tokyo City View on the 46th floor of Roppongi Hills. It is one of the most popular night view shooting spots in Tokyo where you can see Tokyo Tower up close.

2, Fuji TV Sphere Observation Room “Hachitama”

Sphere observation room “Hachitama” on the 25th floor of the Fuji Television Headquarters. This is a shooting spot where you can take beautiful pictures of the Rainbow Bridge. Since the business hours are until 18:00, the night view can be taken only during the winter season.

The Rainbow Bridge is usually lit up in white color, but it is illuminated by the rainbow color only during the Christmas season every year, so it is an observatory that you definitely want to visit in winter.

3, World Trade Center Building “Seaside Top”

An observatory of the World Trade Center Building where you can take a close-up view of Tokyo Tower. The night view of the golden hour is very beautiful as the sun sets behind Tokyo Tower.

Currently, redevelopment is progressing, and the building was built in front of the World Trade Center building, and the landscape has been slightly spoiled, but it is still a recommended observatory.

4, Shibuya Scramble Square / Shibuya Sky

The observation facility “Shibuya Sky” on the 45th to 47th floors of Shibuya Scramble Square, which opened in November 2019. You can enjoy the 360-degree night view of Tokyo, but we recommend the south and east directions.

5, Tokyo Tower Observatory

The observatory of Tokyo Tower, which consists of a large observatory 150m above the ground and a special observatory 250m above the ground. An additional 600 yen will be required for the special observatory.
It is a popular observatory overlooking famous places such as Roppongi Hills and Rainbow Bridge.

6, Tokyo Sky Tree Tenbo Deck

Tokyo Sky Tree Tenbo Deck 350m above the ground. Large glass over 5m is arranged at 360 degrees, and you can take a powerful night view. A tripod is also available, but it’s so crowded that it might take some courage to take it out…

7, Sunshine City 60

An observatory on the 60th floor of Sunshine Ikebukuro. You can take pictures of the Tokyo Sky Tree and Tokyo Tower in the east, and the Shinjuku skyscrapers in the south.

8, Telecom Center Observatory

The observatory of the Odaiba Telecom Center, which has been selected as a night view heritage site. It is an observatory with a beautiful night view of Odaiba and the Rainbow Bridge. It’s not so crowded even on holidays, so you can enjoy shooting slowly.

9, MAGNET by SHIBUYA109 “CROSSING VIEW”

“CROSSING VIEW” of MAGNET by SHIBUYA109, which allows you to take a bird’s-eye view of the Shibuya Scramble intersection, which is popular with foreign tourists. The sight of many people crossing an intersection is a masterpiece.

Free:

10, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building Observatory

An observatory on the 45th floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, which has been selected as one of the 100 best night views. You can take a night view unique to Tokyo where skyscrapers are lined up. There are two locations, the South Observatory and the North Observatory, but if you are going to shoot, the South Observatory is recommended because the lighting in the room is dim and you can see the direction of Odaiba.

11, Yebisu Garden Place Sky Garden

The free observatory “Sky Lounge” on the 38th and 39th floors of Yebisu Garden Place. You can enjoy shooting the Tokyo Tower and skyscrapers at the observatory overlooking the Minato Ward area.

12, JP Tower KITTE Roof Garden “KITTE Garden”

JP Tower KITTE roof garden “KITTE Garden” is famous as a shooting spot for the Tokyo Station Marunouchi station building. With an ultra-wide-angle lens, it is possible to take powerful pictures of brick station buildings and skyscrapers in Otemachi.

13, Tower Hall Funabori

A double-decker observation room in Tower Hall Funabori. In the case of shooting, you will receive a shooting permit at the counter and will be guided to the lower floors.

14, Skytree East Tower 30F Observatory

A lesser known observatory spot on the 30th floor of the Skytree East Tower.

15, Bunkyo Civic Center Observation Lounge

Observation lounge on the 25th floor of Bunkyo Civic Center. If you visit when the weather is clear and clear, you can take a picture of the composition of the skyscrapers in Shinjuku and Mt. Fuji.

16, Caretta Shiodome “SKY VIEW”

The observation lounge “SKY VIEW” is on the 46th floor of Caretta Shiodome. The night view of Odaiba, Tsukiji Market, and Harumi Triton Square, where you can see the Rainbow Bridge and the Yurikamome Line, are attractive.

17, Tokyu Plaza Ginza Rooftop Observatory “Kiriko Terrace”

The rooftop observatory “Kiriko Terrace” on the 11th floor of Tokyu Plaza Ginza. It is a unique observatory where you can dynamically photograph the light trails of cars passing through the Sukiyabashi intersection.

18, Odakyu Department Store 12th floor observation floor

The observation floor on the 12th floor of Odakyu Department Store, a department store directly connected to Shinjuku Station. You can take pictures of Tokyo Mode Gakuen, which has beautiful curves, the bus stop at Shinjuku Station, and skyscrapers.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to do so because of the restrictions. Almost everything closed way too early to do any proper nightlife photography in the city.

Don’t be confused, Tokyo isn’t only about nightlife. I loved to do simple street and architecture photography as well. The city is so big you will never realize how much did you walk until you feel the pain or check on your phone/watch. Trust me. Within 22 days I walked and climbed over 240 km.

Did I get bored? No way, in fact, I loved it. I could do it for months if not years. It’s always changing and every time there is something new. So many things to see and to try.

Creativity is never an issue in Tokyo. Usually, there are always new ideas at every corner. At least for me, this is the case.

People in Japan and in this case in Tokyo, mostly don’t care if you took a photo from them, and even if they do, they would never ask you not to 99,9% of the case. Some of them will even throw a pose!

I fell in love with the simplicity of the planning part because there was always something to shoot but still, you had to think how is the best way to show it to others through a still image.

As one of my pictures shows Tokyo is like traveling through space and time. One side is the old buildings and the other side is the modern side well mixed up through the city. For example, being in the old, preserved postmaster’s office next to Tokyo station looking out on the window to the modern cityscape behind the station.

For sure I have an unfinished business with nightlife photography in Tokyo, but next time!

In one of the coming posts, I’ll make a guide, for a few lesser-known spots to have some fun shooting outside of the popular spots.

My plan was to walk all the way to the Sakurai shrine which is located 31 km outside of Fukuoka city at the seaside in the water with two big rocks behind it called couple rock with my backpack, tent and all the things needed weighed about 15kg. I planned to arrive slightly before sunset.

It was a bright, sunny, and really hot day. Halfway there I decided to stop for five minutes to take a short break before the next half.

But

As soon as I sat down an old man stepped into the break on his bike and jumped off and started to talk to me.

Fun fact. He doesn’t speak English. He’s from China but moved to Japan a long time ago. We were speaking over two hours through google translator. In the end, he invited me for an iced coffee the next day whenever I’ll be back at the same spot.

So I started to walk once again. I was two hours late and obviously missed the sunset. To top it all I forgot to check the elevation and google led me up and down on the mountains without street lights. What a beginner mistake… I arrived at about 10 pm at the Sakurai shrine. I ate my dinner and tried to take some night shots but it was impossible to get a good result because all of the out-of-service cruise ships due to coronavirus were lined up close to the sure and lit up during the night… It was a complete sh*tshow.

I made my tent at a close-by spot on the beach and tried to sleep. It was already close to 1 am. My alarm was at 4 am for the sunrise at 4:30.

I didn’t sleep much, to be honest, but at least in the morning, I’ve got a few good shots from the shrine and the rocks behind.

I packed everything in my bag and started my way back but on a different road this time. With less elevation. Once I arrived we met at the same spot as the day before and walked to his house. I took a fast shower and we enjoyed the iced coffee while we were talking.

I learned that sadly he is living alone and he really likes to talk to foreigners too. He is really kind! Make sure that if you see him, give a big hug to this great man!

After one or maybe two hours again we said goodbye to each other and I continued my way back to Fukuoka. It was late afternoon once I got back to the city. The result was 7 blisters on my feet and 2 more discovered later that day. I ate local ramen which was good but not my favorite.

After finishing my bowl I was looking for a park to try to sleep in my tent before I move on to Nagasaki the next morning.

But then there was an opening on Monday. It looked good to climb. I asked one of my friends I know from Osaka but he said no because of other plans on Monday. But the weather turned bad the day before and now looked too perfect to be true on Tuesday.

I told my friend the weather change and he said that’s good for him as well so I said let’s go then. The forecast still looked perfect during Monday so we finalized the Tuesday.

It was really early morning when I took the train to the center of Tokyo and from there we took a bus to Fujiyoshida, the closest city to the volcano. We arrived a bit earlier than 9 am and I said our climb starts from here.

For me, personally, going up to halfway on the mountain isn’t climbing. It starts from the bottom. So that’s how started from the middle of the city. There was only 21km ahead of us but we were going for the tallest mountain in Japan standing at 3776m so we were better to start walking.

From the streets, the view is already breathtaking with the mountain in the back. This time Fuji-san was shy and had his cloud hat over the top.

From the city, it was an almost straightforward walk towards the mountain with smaller turns but nothing special. It was good to be in nature once again, without a single noise from modern society.

At the point when we reached the starting point of the trail, we already walked about 10km slightly uphill. At the first checkpoint on the trail, I got my short walking stick with the first stamp on it.

With my new mini walking stick, we started our real ascending on the trail. It got into real climbing pretty soon.

Since most of the people go up with bus until they can there wasn’t almost a single people around until we reached about 2200m. Until then we were still climbing within the forest area but after 2000m it started to clear. Once we reached the first medical check station, that was the point where the other people joined the trail who came up with a bus or car.

The terrain changed drastically. There weren’t trees anymore or anything else basically outside of volcanic rocks. Getting the stamps at every station possible was fun and a lifelong memory but definitely a complete ripoff I can tell you.

On the way up you should make bigger breaks about 15-20min at least to get used to the height and less oxygen to prevent high altitude sickness. You cannot take this easily. We saw a few people taken down with it. Even a child…

We took really small breaks but more often. I’m still not sure it was a clever idea at the end since I even have asthma to top it all. I could feel heavily the air getting less and less at the last few hundred meters.

Over 3000 meters everything was pain except the view and the thought we are getting closer. That was more than beautiful.

Other people got less by that time since almost everyone stopped at a lower safe house. We planned to summit before the sunset but we were only around 3300 meters at that point. We were about 1 or 2 hours late. But we were still able to see the perfect triangle-shaped shadow of Mt. Fuji.

Still, there were a few hundred meters more to go. It was way too hard. Not because of the rapidly coming darkness, more like because we were exhausted, we ate less than we should have, and of course the terrain. The summit seemed even farther with every step but we carried on. Failing wasn’t an option in any way.

Then we finally reached the summit after 12 hours of climbing but that wasn’t the end.

By that time it was dark, the temperature is cold around 5 degrees and the wind started to get stronger so we were looking for a place to hide. All we found is a restroom with a little rest area between the two sides.

Compared to where we were it looked really good and we were protected from the wind a bit from the cold too, so no room for complaining.

We couldn’t sleep at all. People started coming up at 11 pm. Since there were a lot of us “blocking” the restroom they asked us to leave and closed it then opened only the paid one so we started to freeze outside.

About 4 am they finally opened the houses. I ate my most expensive and okayish udon ever. I asked for the spicy one but the chili in japan is really weak, to be honest.

15 minutes later we were freezing outside once again. Walked up on the last few meters and picked a spot to watch the sunrise. I was freezing. The wind was so strong you couldn’t even stand no matter what.

It was dawn already, getting closer to the sunrise. For a while, I even forgot that I’m freezing. I enjoyed the moment on the top of Japan. I haven’t seen much chance to make it but in the end, everything worked out.

Though I couldn’t make it on my birthday just two days before I still did my plan. I’ve got a number 2 and 8 candle from a 100¥ shop and after we got off the bus at the start I bought a chocolate croissant at 7-11. LOL. It wasn’t the best idea. It completely melted on the way up, got frozen during the night, and became really hard. It couldn’t stop me to carry on with my plan anyway so I took another picture and enjoyed my rock-hard croissant.

The view was beautiful. Surprisingly zero clouds on the top. The thick cloud layer was about 500-1000 meters below us with one opening in the distance where we could see other mountains lit up by the rising sun.

Before leaving the summit I stood in line for my last stamp on my Fuji stick and we started descending to the bus stop this time. The descending trail was different and way worse with the small smashed volcanic rocks all the way to the bottom. Not the best for the knees and in general as well. Took way less time though, maybe around 5 hours.

From the bus stop, it still took us more than 3 hours to get back to Tokyo and 1,5 more for me to my friend’s house.

It was a hard but unforgettable 24 hours spent conquering a volcano, the tallest mountain in Japan.

Still, even from the people who know about these places you could hear the question. What? Living there? Why would you do that? Did you lose your head? You are definitely sick! There are so many misconceptions about this topic even between travelers.

Well, Hey!

That is exactly who I am, where I am, and what I am doing. Someone who is looking for the best and cheapest way to stay everywhere on my way. It could be even a normal hotel in some countries but usually my tent or a hostel. Not to mention in the latter you can find really good opportunities around the world.

Oh, and yeah. I guess I lost my head.

But how can you find such places?

You can look up places by yourself too and could be surprised by the result. I mostly use Workaway or Helpx when I am looking for something. There are places offering free accommodation in exchange for a few hours of work per day or if you are even luckier, for a few extra hours you could even get paid a little amount for your hard work. There are a few rare opportunities where they even offer meals every day for you. Are you looking for it already?

Aren’t you getting bored staying in a hostel for a long time?

I don’t think so! Depends on the place though and the people around you. I consider myself lucky because I have been able to stay at a place from I could explore so much and I met with so many people from different countries, backgrounds, and stories of their life.

But some of them are not up to speak at all,

 or most of them who like to talk

and there are people who would talk until they die by exhaustion.

Sometimes maybe you will even meet your old friends in the hostel from your previous places!

You are going to meet all kinds of people in a hostel from silent to loud and from bad to great.

Why are you staying in such a place?

The answer is simple. To have experiences I would never have otherwise

Everyone has a different story and in a hostel, you meet infinite stories during your work. You can not imagine how much you can learn about different countries from the people living there or about any topics in general. I always enjoy these talks and that the guests are feeling like being in a good place from this is just a plus point.

I always love to make people feel comfortable even if all it needs is just a smile. Usually, I help most of the people with locations for food or what they should visit. I love to recommend the least visited spots around the city and most of the time the reaction the next day is a huge thank you for the recommendation because they enjoyed it so much.

I could just sit in the corner all the time doing my own thing and not talk to anyone for a single word but you should never do that in a hostel. Making people feel welcomed and happy is the best you could do for the company and for yourself as well. It feels good when someone likes the work you do and this will make you happy, full of enjoyment too. Trust me.

I made so many friends through my time working in hostels I could hit up any time and they would be ready to talk or help me whatever the situation is and I will do the same for them.

So many people and even more memories from all the unforgettable, crazy, or/and stupid things we did together. I don’t think so I could count them.

The Evergreen hostel is one of the best examples.

The location couldn’t be better in Hiroshima. Only a few minutes from the main things you need in your everyday life like cheap groceries and supermarkets for the rest. Just like from the most visited places too.

The place is not that big in itself. At other places, one floor is bigger than here. This is more like gives you the home feeling with the small space.  Though it is still big enough for the needs of the people around it. The kitchen is really spacious and a huge plus since here in Japan most of the places don’t even have a kitchen only a microwave maybe and a kettle.

Going out from the hostel are various options. I always love to go to the riverside at any river in Hiroshima. I really like the fact compared to the size of the city there are so many green areas next to the rivers crossing the city in every direction. I always can enjoy the calmness of those places in the running city. It feels like taking a step outside and everything just slows down for the time while sitting next to the river on the green grass in the company of the trees or flowers.

Having a bike at the hostel, which you could use whenever you would like to. This is so good and saves you an incredible amount of time if you like to roam around on two wheels. Another plus point to this is that here in Hiroshima is pretty easy to bike, almost everything is flat.

What is the downside of living in a hostel?

After living in 2,5 square meters you will rethink what are the most important things you really need in your life. Sometimes it can be really painful living with a huge number of guests but maybe that is the only downside of this activity outside of that you don’t even have personal space at all. It isn’t that a big of a problem though after more than half a year I can really miss my own personal space on some days. Especially when all your space next to your bed looks like this after a bit of improvement to use all the space possible: 

What about safety and your expensive accessories?

Since being a person who could get a heart attack if I can’t remember if I did put my values in a good place I do care about it. Sometimes I still do, but in Japan, the safety is really high. For example, if it happens that you leave your bike without a lock somewhere then none is going to touch it. If it is your wallet most likely you will get it back with all the cards and money inside of it. I don’t think so I need to say more about this.

Something I am really thankful for

I was roaming around Japan for months, visiting new places all the time and meeting with so many incredible people. I really needed to slow down and this break, away from most of the stress in my life. I am really thankful to have my safe place here in the hostel and in Hiroshima that I can call home. I am sure that I will miss it a lot. Well, not the sometimes annoying guests at 3 am but definitely going to miss the city and the people in the hostel!

One of my favorite quotes from Anthony Bourdain:

I’m really happy I was able to add something to the hostel during my stay and create a piece of art on the wall.

Hopefully, I managed to leave something… good behind!

Thank you Hazz!

To get to the island is really cheap. The cost for the No. 2 tram from the hostel to the ferry station and back is 540 yen and the round trip ferry ticket cost is 360 yen. So in total 900yen. You can go from the peace park too with a (direct?) ferry too which is a bit more expensive.

There are lots of shops in the residential area around the port. My favorite was definitely the shop where you could see even from outside how are they making the sweets/bakery with machine from start to finish and packing. You can get entertained there (and fat too hahaha).

Sometimes almost feel like being in Nara. There are a lot of deer walking around even close to the port and around the temples or basically anywhere. They are really calm and most likely are not going to bother you unlike in Nara where I have seen some chasing before around the park..

The island is mostly famous from it’s torii gate standing in the water not far from the shores and at low tide you can even walk to it and take a closer look. Sadly during my stay and my visit of the island it was under cover because of the renovation and it will be way longer than they planned even in 2022 or longer so make sure you will check on the updates if you want to see this gate!

Of course outside of it there is a lot of other activities to do on the island and places to visit. There are many temples around to visit even on the hills and they worth a visit so do not miss the opportunity!

On the highest peak which is Mt. Misen is a great viewpoint and even a small tower built for the even better view all around the area in 360 degrees. There is 4 ways to go up on the mountain. One of them is of course a costly ropeway for 1000 each way and three hiking trails. One of the trails is closed for renovation this year. Make sure to check before you go because I did not check anything and ended up paying for the ropeway on the way down (the one trail) next to the ropeway is the one closed).

Be careful with the snakes! I don’t know anyone though who have seen a single one there at least.

I took the middle one to go up which is the most popular one if I am correct. The trail itself is really easy I would say with a lots of stairs. Make sure to hydrate yourself enough during the day. It takes around 30-60 minutes to get to the top, depends on your condition and speed. The tower has a toilet before the last turn to the top area where you could find plenty of space with benches to sit or lay down and take a rest or just pop your bento box and have your lunch on the mountain.

The way down is really easy without any difficulty but of course you can take the ropeway too but to be honest in my opinion it can be way more faster just walk down than wait for the ropeway during busy days / hours. I won’t judge you though if you are too lazy and take the ropeway anyway.

To sum it all up you easily can spend the whole day in Miyajima without stopping too much during the day in case you like the place which I am pretty sure you will!

In case you do not have a lot of time but want to go here and Iwakuni too to visit the Kintai bridge then you can do it easily in one day too with making your stay a bit shorter. It should be fine to arrive in Iwakuni only a few hours before the sunset because you don’t need that much of a time there and you can enjoy the sunset over the bridge too.

After Takehara we only needed to drive a few more kilometers and we were in Tadanoumi where from our ferry started to Ōkunoshima. In the ticket shop they give lots of free food for the rabbits currently if you are going there on the weekdays (only weekdays not on the weekends) which we didn’t know so we were already prepared with five small bags of sliced cabbage and carrots to feed the rabbits. We thought even our preparation would be too much, but at the end it was less even with the free food together.

After a bit of waiting in the ferry port we were on the short ferry transport to Ōkunoshima to make the rabbits fat around the island!

As soon as we stepped out of the ferry and started to walk we already spotted a few rabbits waiting for someone to feed them. Sometimes only one of the came out and then a bunch of them after they saw the other one got some food.

The island itself is not big at all. To take a round on the island it takes you about 4.3 kilometers but make no mistake because in summertime it is really hot and exhausting under the sun. Walking is pretty easy around the island there is no difficulty at all and there is a lot of rabbits everywhere, it is not named by mistake “rabbit island”.

There are a few good spots around the island though my favorite place was the small beach with clean blue water to take a small swim and dry under the sun. Might be a nice spot to fly drone as well just like a cliff nearby the beach for a nice clip.

THE ISLAND HAS AN INTERESTING BUT MOSTLY SAD STORY WHAT IT USED TO BE DURING WAR TIMES.

There was a secret program to develop chemical weapons and a chemical munitions plant were built in the island and they produced and tested these weapons mostly on rabbits. Japan went to great lengths to keep the work in secret on the island. None were told what are they producing. They even removed the records of the island from some of the maps.

There is a small museum on the island which costs only 100 yen. Looks small but definitely worth a visit to learn a bit more from the history of the island. Sadly at our visit this museum was closed due the virus situation in the world.

But these days nothing remains on the island from the past only the empty ruins and the writings in front of them about what are those buildings were used to be remind the people the story of Ōkunoshima island. There is only one hotel on the island but no shops, not even a convenience store so make sure that if you are staying longer you have food for you as well and enough water to keep yourself hydrated.

Nowadays of course the rabbits rule the island and instead of being removed from the maps to keep it as a secret it is getting more and more attention from tourists because of the rabbit population on the island.

So if you are thinking of visiting Ōkunoshima prepare your rabbit meal and swimming suit!

LET’S MAKE THE RABBITS FAT AGAIN!

It is a national treasure since 1922. The bridge itself is 200 meters long and as someone who works with wood I can say it is a beautiful piece of work! For nearly three hundred years, the many versions of the bridge stood without the use of The main wooden parts of the bridge were covered by sheets of copper for additional durability during renovations. This was achieved by the careful fitting of the wooden parts and by the construction of the thick girders by clamping and binding them together with metal belts.

I really enjoyed sitting at the riverside, waiting for the sunset over the bridge and watching the people crossing on the bridge after this long day around the area.

The castle is also near on the top of the hill. I’m pretty sure it is worth to go up for the view but on that day I had no more energy nor time to do it after hiking on Miyajima!

 A few months later I visited Iwakuni a second time now enjoying Hazuki, Kazushi and Samiksha company on my side. On that day first we went to Sanzoku. Kazushi’s first thing to do after getting out of the car and waking up was to play on the After that we took a walk around the place, which is really calm and peaceful. They even have a small waterfall! What a great place for a restaurant! Not to mention the safety measurements.

Even the statues had mask on them!

After that we had a really nice breakfast / lunch / brunch which was grilled rice cake in sweet bean Soup pot and looked like a miniature cooking show on the table. Interesting and really fun to grill the rice cakes by yourself then put the small pot up With the bean soup and then putting the grilled rice cakes into it and cook until it becames soft. It was soooo delicious! While someone (Kazushi: D) did not like the pickles.  

Before we left to Iwakuni it started to rain slightly but thankfully it stopped pretty soon and we had a sunny afternoon at the bridge.

Walking on the bridge in itself an interesting experience, you should try it once.

Usually you can see people fishing from small boats and many times they are fishing with a help of a bird. This is really famous but sadly I haven’t had a chance yet to see it by myself.

The huge garden on the other side, between the bridge and the mountain is really worth a walk too and takes about half an hour to one hour if you are just walking through to have a look. The best time to do so of course is late spring when the flowers are in full bloom all over the garden.

On that day while leaving we saw a guy doing a photoshoot from his car in the parking lot at the riverside where we left the car as well so I took the opportunity and snapped my own photographs too from the car!  The car looked really sick , but a bit too much for me.