The whole country of four islands is spick and span what with its tabletop roads with underpasses, overpasses and tunnel passes through the mountainous region, strong civic awareness among the inhabitants and scenic beauty. “You just can’t throw a cigarette butt on the road. If caught, you are straightaway fined $300,” our guide tells us. In fact, there are designated areas for smokers even along the roads and streets with ashtrays provided.
Right from Osaka’s Kansai International Airport, which is situated 50 km from the center of Osaka city and accessible by road, railway and high-speed ferry, to the railway stations in Osaka and Hiroshima, and Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport, one can get a clear glimpse of Japan’s prosperity and the uniquely high lifestyle of its people.
Japan is an island nation that is located in East Asia. Popularly described as “The Land of the Rising Sun,” The country has a history and heritage spanning thousands of years. The Japanese, a workaholic community, still retain a lot of their ancient culture, although their women now wear the traditional kimono only for weddings and other special occasions. They are looked upon with tremendous awe and respect, as they have some of the world’s leading brands in modern technology, fashions and trends.
The country is a very homogeneous one, meaning that almost 99 percent of it is made up of only Japanese people, the guide says. “The people in this country are well known for their politeness, so if you find yourself lost or bewildered while visiting, you will probably find someone who is most willing to help you.”
While in Hiroshima, we 65 scribes from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other countries in the Middle East, Africa and South America, who were on a visit for the Mazda Brand Forum, were aware of the first atomic bomb that was dropped here. Nagasaki was the other city that went through the colossal damage. Hiroshima, whose history begins in 1589, is a city of 1.16 million people preserving a unique mix of old and new. Hiroshima Castle, Shukkeien Garden, Fudoin and Mitaki temples speak eloquently of the past and are much loved by residents and visitors alike.
It was on Aug. 6, 1945, that the world’s first atomic bomb exploded over the city of Hiroshima. That single bomb instantaneously crushed and burned most of the city’s buildings, taking hundreds of thousands of lives. Visitors make it a point to tour the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. Built in 1955 to preserve and convey to future generations the facts about the unprecedented tragedy, it collects, stores and displays artifacts from the atomic bombing and other materials that speak of the tragic events of that day. Children on school fieldtrips could be seen listening in the museum and the park to testimonies from the atomic bomb survivors.
Peace Memorial Park, with the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims, was constructed by the city of Hiroshima as an appeal for lasting world peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons. The extensive park grounds are filled with monuments including the Cenotaph for the A-Bomb Victims, the Flame of Peace, the Children’s Peace Monument and the Fountain of Prayer.
Going around Hiroshima, a modern city with towering buildings, it’s difficult to believe that it was reduced to rubble by the atomic bomb. After the war, it accomplished an amazing recovery. Today, it is the largest, most vital city in the Chugoku-Shikoku region. With modern buildings lining Aioi-dori Avenue, elegant shops and restaurants in Motomachi CRED, and the outdoor cafe on the Motoyasu-gawa River, downtown Hiroshima has become a popular destination for both residents and tourists.
Hiroshima now has never-ending curiosities, what with fun and fascinating museums. Among Hiroshima’s great attractions are its large number of art museums and public galleries plus a zoo, a botanical garden and many other facilities for public education. Among them, the Hiroshima Museum of Art, with works by Cezanne, van Gogh and Renoir, has one of the largest and finest collections of French impressionist paintings in the world.
The Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art is among the very few public museums of contemporary art anywhere in the world. The city’s Prefectural Art Museum is among the largest art museums. Its Botanical Garden has the country’s largest greenhouse, and Asa Zoological Park effectively uses its enormous property to allow the animals to live and play in comfort. The Hiroshima City Transportation Museum offers a unique look at vehicles that tell the history of transportation, while Hiroshima City Forest Park offers an oasis of greenery and the Hiroshima Children’s Museum is the first children’s museum in Japan. Other popular facilities include the publicly funded Hiroshima City Manga Library, the glass wonderland Garasu-no-Sato Museum (Glass Village) and the Mazda Museum, a museum in an auto factory.
The final leg of the tour was Tokyo, a vibrant city that is the political, economical and cultural center of Japan. It is here that all the state-of-the-art technology such as IT is concentrated. The history and culture of the city spans 400 years, handed down from Edo to Tokyo. The Japanese capital has four distinct seasons — spring, summer, autumn and winter. Even in Tokyo, where everything is so urbanized, seasonal festivals and events add color to people’s lives. Ota is the area that has prospered as an air travel gateway while retaining its old style aura. The Tokyo 0located in this area.
Shinagawa, which thrived in the Edo era, is the location of the Tokyo Bay that has been totally renewed and yet maintains a reminiscence of the good old days. Odaiba is the waterfront area that offers all kinds of entertainment. Shiodome is another bay area, which is the place to see modern Tokyo and remnants of the Edo era. Ginza is an elegant and stylish town where a retro-modern atmosphere still lingers in the air. Lined up with old department stores full of history and tradition as well as prestigious boutiques, Ginza is a flamboyant district for sophisticated adults. A tour of Japan is not complete without taking an all-round view of Tokyo from the top of the Tokyo Tower and witnessing some of its traditions like Ikebana flower arrangement, Sushi food and tea ceremony.
More than simply putting flowers in a container, Ikebana is a disciplined art form in which nature and humanity are brought together, an accomplished Japanese florist says. Contrary to the idea of floral arrangement as a collection of partly colored or multicolored arrangement of blooms, Ikebana often emphasizes other areas of the plant, such as its stems and leaves, and draws emphasis toward shape, line, form. Though Ikebana is a creative expression, it has certain rules governing its form. The artist’s intention behind each arrangement is shown through color combinations, natural shapes, graceful lines, and the usually implied meaning of the arrangement.
Sushi is perhaps the most famous Japanese food in the world, the manager of a Sushi restaurant in downtown Tokyo, says. In Japanese cuisine, sushi indicates dishes that use sushi rice, which is seasoned with a sweet vinegar mixture. Since Japan is surrounded by ocean, seafood has always been widely consumed as well as rice. So, the combination of raw fish and rice, sushi, naturally became a popular food in Japan. Originally, raw fish was fermented in salt to preserve it and eaten with seasoned rice. That’s the origin of sushi. Even though there is sushi that doesn’t include sashimi (raw fish), raw fish and rice are the main ingredients of sushi, he explains. Aside from Sushi, the Japanese cuisine is one of Japan’s greatest attractions. A great variety of Japanese cuisine and food from around the world can be enjoyed.
The Japanese tea ceremony is a very special event in Japanese culture, an expert tea maker tells us. The host spends days going over every detail to make sure that the ceremony will be perfect. There are various styles of tea ceremonies and it is recognized that every human encounter is a singular occasion that will never recur again in exactly the same way, and so every aspect of the tea ceremony is savored.
