HIROSHIMA AND BEPPU

After docking in Hiroshima, Larkin, Haru and I joined about a dozen other folks on a bus to drive to a charming little town, Kumano, that has a very famous brush maker’s Brush Pen Studio, Fude no sato kobo. Fude means brush and the city has been making them for over 180 years. This studio also offers brush making classes on some days…ours however was how to use their brush for calligraphy! Our guide was from Kumano who was so proud of her city. She still has a special makeup brush her mom gave her from the company over 30 years ago and it is still useable. It all started out as high quality calligraphy brushes but in order to make the economics work they expanded into other types of brushes. They are well known for their makeup brushes that are in many of the make up products we use in the states! They also have the largest brush in the world as you walk down the stairs. Above, Haru is overlooking the beautiful lake with the heart sculpture in back of the building…and Larkin is working on her calligraphy.

Of the photos below, one photo shows Haru and even a person in the background for perspective. The next two photos are from their website and shows both the hanging brush and their beautiful modern building.

The kids art work with calligraphy were framed and displayed. We have no clue what the calligraphy says in the next photos but I love the dogs, guitar, tram and funky shoe. The bottom girls look just like something I have framed of Larkin’s that she drew when she was about three!

After seeing the brush and all the kids awarding winning art, we went to the art room, took off our shoes – impossible without a chair when you have on hiking boots to keep your feet warm and a new knee – and were then taught how to use this huge brush – okay so it felt huge. We got to practice things we would want to say and Larkin made hers an adventure for Haru! We had thirty minutes for our “art” to dry when we finished, so we had time to buy some of their exquisite make up brushes. Our calligraphy art work now hangs by magnets on either side of the couch in our state room!

When we arrived back at the ship, we took the shuttle bus to the center of Hiroshima. You have to look close at the photos below to notice the empty shell of a building from the August 6, 1945. It was called the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall. The last photo is from a site on the city of Hiroshima and shows this building up close without other buildings in the background. There was a museum on the island we were dropped off on, but we chose to walk around the downtown and found a decent department store. They actually had really nice magnets for our cabin and again, I wish I had purchased a couple more! From what we heard, those that visited all war type excursions and museums were totally overwhelmed. I was happy to see this one building and then realize what a very vibrant city it is 80 years later despite the destruction cause during World War II!

Our next stop was Beppu…Japan’s capital city of hot springs. You’ll note the steam rising in the hills behind the city from our port side view as well as a few as we drove to a Usuki Village and Buddha site where the buddhas’ are carved into the hillside.

The Usuki village had the ruins of an ancient castle and we were able to walk along the old samurai streets with our guide. It was a slow day with not many people out and about. The ancient the architecture of this samurai village is amazing!

From the bus stop we all took photos of the ruins of the castle which was above us and began walking into the old village. Haru was so happy on his walk. He could imagine being a samurai warrior! The castle was built on an island by the feudal Lord Otomo Sarin in 1562 and he turned the island fortress into a city center. During the Edo period in 1603 this village grew into a prosperous city of trade under the powerful feudal lords. The district we walked in retains much of its original Edo Charm. Land reclamation connected the castle grounds to the city center. The castle itself was destroyed centuries ago with the stones possibly used in other buildings. Now walkers and joggers use the walking path that runs through the grounds. Some of our group took time to walk to the top. I like Japanese post boxes on the street too! It takes after our red fire hydrants!

Next up was the stone buddhas in the Usuki area that were carved in the 12th century in the hills above the town. They were carved in bas relief in the soft tuff cliffs. They have been honored as a National Treasure and they are now wisely covered to protect them from destructive elements.

At the end of the day, when we were ready to sail away, we had a drum performance by an award winning team as we left port. Our suite is in the middle of the ship, hence they were right in front of us! Haru wanted a photo with the little bunny but by the time he showed up it was too late to leave the ship. We all waved at him though!

JJ is enjoying his snow and we felt we must share stickers you can put on your car in Japan…the left is for old people and the right one for new drivers! You DO NOT have to use them! Would you?

Up next, Kagoshima and Okinawa…