I only take pics

Hiroshima In autumn 2019 I travelled for one month in Japan, I volunteered for two weeks in Minamata, in Kyushu Island, the other two weeks I visited some cities like Tokyo and Kyoto .  Hiroshima was the second city I visited on my Japan tour, I passed here only one day and it was a mistake: Hiroshima it's really beautiful with a lot to offer; now I think that I should have rescheduled my plans and given more time to this city. I had the time only to visit the Memorial Park, with the Peace Memorial Museum, a bit around of it and the Miyajima island. Peace Memorial Park Memorial Park This park became the centre of the rebirth of the city, it's a place where you can feel peace and at the same time commemorate, learn, don't forget what happened on August 6th 1945. The location of the Peace Memorial Park was once the city's busiest downtown commercial and residential district, the park was built on an open field that was created by the explosion. The park...

Fukuoka From here started my real Japan trip, I had to go back to Tokyo and I decided to do it stopping in the main Japanese cities. The first one was Fukuoka, the biggest city in Kyshyu island. I really enjoyed this city, I didn't expected such a nice city with a lot to give. Nanzoin temple A peaceful place  This temple is a bit outside Fukuoka, half an hour by train.  It is really a peaceful place, not really touristic, surrounded by a forest. It is possible to feel the holiness of the place, and have the time to enjoy yourself. Buddha The temple is famous for the big Buddha. It's  41 meters l ong , 11 meters high, and 300 tons.  The statue depicts Buddha at the moment of death .   It's the most famous part of the temple, but not the only one.   Into the woods In Nanzoin there's a path in the woods, where you can find a small temple and a lot of divinity statues to idolise. ...

Sumo competition A Sunday morning I went to see a kids sumo competition, in Minamata, organised by the school I volunteered for. It was a unique opportunity for me, and a cool experience. Also kids were happy to see me there. Sumo is the national sport, with baseball, in Japan, and students have to learn it, also because it is part of their tradition; for a European it could be a bit weird, but interesting. Everything in the right place In the Japanese school everyone is equal, school provides all the necessary to students. Shoes stroke me: all the same and also in perfect order. During their course of study, students have to clean their school and serve meals regularly. Dohyo Before the competition the ring (dohyo) was prepared putting salt, to purified it. Pre-match rituals Every wrestler before to start the match have to clap his hands to attract the attention of gods, extend his arms to his sides and turn his palms upwards to show he is concealing no w...

Minamata, Japan Minamata is on the southern island of Japan, Kyushu, in the Kumamoto prefecture. This city is known for the Minamata disease, a mercury poisoning caused by a polluted sea in front of the city, because of that now the city is one of the most ecological in the world. I suggest a movie, title Minamata, about what happened in the city with Johnny Depp.  I was there for two weeks volunteering, the topic of the work camp I did was to stop global warming. Our volunteer work was collecting bamboo in the way to produce charcoal that is a green source of energy and a filter for tap water. A second thing that we did was to go to a junior high school and follow their eco-program, an activity that we did was to clean a beach. It was a very nice period, I was inside the local community, did useful work and knew nice people. Fukuro, Minamata, Japan We were living in this village of Minamata, in a guest house that is the typical Japanese house that you have in mind, a woode...