Giappone on nhaima

Bow to the East, course set for Tokyo

Fri, 18 Mar 2016 11:48:30 +0000

I do not know where to begin, so I will say it all in one breath: I am moving to Tokyo!

Yes, I made it! Those who know me a little will understand that this is practically a dream come true — and to tell the truth, I still cannot quite believe it entirely :D

I am in a very particular mix of feelings that are difficult to describe.

I am used to travelling alone and for long stretches — I have done so since I was young, since my school days — but this time it is quite different.

In the dimension of travel in which, for better or worse, I had always moved, I was at ease because I had no great worries; I knew with relative certainty when I would return, roughly what I would see and how I would get around; there was no fear or confusion, there was mainly excitement, joy, and a great deal of curiosity to visit and experience a new country and a culture unknown to me.

There was movement, however slow.

Now, by contrast, there is something entirely different, something opposite: there is “stability.” A stability that, even if temporary (perhaps — who knows), I am transplanting completely into another country.

Because in Tokyo I will go to school every day to study the Japanese language, I will have a home to share, a job, groceries to buy, bills to pay, a city to discover and friends to meet. In short, that “normal” life which, for better or worse, I have always led here in my hometown or in Ventotene during the diving season.

Japan: Hiroshima, symbol of tragedy and rebirth

Tue, 14 Jan 2014 21:35:15 +0000

I believe that if you go to Japan — assuming you have enough days, of course — you cannot skip this city: a symbol of tragedy but, at the same time, also of human strength and the will to be reborn.

Hiroshima is the city razed to the ground on 6 August 1945 by the first atomic bomb dropped by the United States Air Force, which destroyed roughly 98% of its buildings and killed 70,000 people, with further deaths in the months that followed from radiation. Looking at Hiroshima today, with its skyscrapers and its modernity, one cannot grasp the immensity of the tragedy it endured; but you only have to reach the Peace Park to gaze upon the Atomic Bomb Dome, or set foot inside the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, and everything becomes tremendously clear.

The “attractions” — if we want to call them that — of Hiroshima are almost entirely concentrated in a single area, making them easy to visit in half a day. You begin at the Peace Park, a vast park that draws hundreds of Japanese visitors every day, mostly students, within which stand the Atomic Bomb Dome, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, and the monument dedicated to Sadako Sasaki.

The Atomic Bomb Dome — Photo by Simona Forti Sadako Sasaki was a child who survived the atomic bombing but later fell ill with leukaemia and, before dying, folded by hand a great many paper cranes, because an ancient legend says that if you manage to make a thousand cranes you may be granted a wish. It is not so much the monument itself, but the tens of thousands of origami cranes kept nearby, that make the whole thing deeply moving.

The origami cranes — Photo by Simona Forti

Just behind this monument, still inside the Peace Park, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, stands the Atomic Bomb Dome — the only building left standing after the bomb exploded. There are few words to describe it, let alone to describe the emotions its sight provokes. It sends shivers down your spine.

The Atomic Bomb Dome — Photo by Simona Forti

The Atomic Bomb Dome, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was the headquarters of the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, and what remains of it is partly the dome and some partial sides of the whole structure. The Atomic Bomb Dome is practically the best-known monument in Hiroshima and is the symbol of the city's destruction, but also of the strength with which the Japanese managed to rebuild an entire city literally from its rubble. Next to the monument, in all likelihood, you will encounter a man seated in a chair with a series of photographs hanging on a line. He is a man who, incredibly, survived both the blast and the illnesses contracted from the resulting radiation. He is there, asking nothing, to bear witness — to tell people like us, completely ignorant of what really happened, the truth about those terrible days.

Detail of the A-Bomb Dome — Photo by Simona Forti

The emotionally powerful journey you undertake through Hiroshima culminates in a visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. It is undoubtedly the most harrowing part, where everything is recounted through images, reconstructions, and remnants of that dreadful August day. You are greeted by a photograph of a clock frozen at exactly 8:15, the moment the bomb exploded over Japanese soil, and then you move through a series of stark testimonies from the era. What struck me most? A digital day-counter showing the number of days elapsed since the first atomic bomb exploded: 24,732 — and the number of days since the last nuclear test: 70! (as of April 2013)

The day counter at the Peace Museum — Photo by Simona Forti

At this point, to ease the weight of the visit somewhat, I recommend taking the ferry from the port and heading to the nearby island of Miyajima — about 5 to 10 minutes away. You know that famous image of a great red torii standing immense in the middle of the water? That is precisely what you will see as soon as you arrive on the island. Miyajima is a sacred island of Japan where it is said that both men and gods dwell, and where legend has it that one can neither be born nor die. There are many temples to visit, above all the Daishouin Temple and the Yakushinyoraizazou Temple.

Reaching Hiroshima is very easy via the Shinkansen bullet trains, which you can board using the JR Pass. It is about an hour from Kyoto and four from Tokyo. The JR Pass can also be used on the ferry to Miyajima.

Japan: the Ghibli Museum

Thu, 26 Dec 2013 16:59:54 +0000

A journey into the wonders of Japanese animation

For lovers of Japanese animation and of the master Hayao Miyazaki, there is a magical place that absolutely cannot be missed if you are travelling to Tokyo. This place is the Ghibli Museum of Art, situated in Mitaka, a district to the west of Tokyo, about 20 km from the centre, reachable in approximately 20 to 30 minutes from Shinjuku.

Museum exterior entrance - Photo by Marcello Barnaba

Visiting the museum is like stepping completely inside one of Miyazaki’s animated films, with all its magic, its fascination, its extraordinary genius. The Museum has been open since 2001 and was strongly desired — and entirely designed — by Hayao Miyazaki. Exactly as he does for his films, for the museum too he first sketched drawings and drafts and then handed everything to the team so they could create an incredible structure from them.

The Museum is situated inside a park, surrounded by greenery, and extends upwards rather than horizontally. At the entrance is a large, very high hall, where on one side you will find the cinema in which you can watch one of the short films projected exclusively at the museum, while on the other side a series of small rooms unfolds where you can observe and interact with the various animation mechanisms used for the production of the films.

Cinema ticket - Photo by Simona Forti

Going up to the next floor, there is then the room for younger visitors, where honestly I would have liked to go in myself. This room houses a large “Neko Bus” where children can play and have fun, sitting inside it just as in the film “My Neighbour Totoro” :-D On the same floor you will find the souvenir shop “Mamma Aiuto!” where you can buy absolutely everything! Pins, notebooks, plush toys, magnets, small towels, t-shirts, character figurines, and much more. A true paradise for lovers of his films.

Japan: Nara and the great Buddha

Tue, 26 Nov 2013 14:59:42 +0000

During our trip to Japan, among the smaller cities we visited near Kyoto, Nara is without doubt the one I loved most. Apparently small, it reveals itself in reality as a true gem. You only need to step out of the station, cross the first large junction, and you immediately find yourself walking along a small street full of delightful shops that leads you straight to the marvellous Nara Park. The park is one of the unmissable sights of this city, and almost all the places of greatest interest are found within it — and to our great astonishment it is home to some 1,200 deer that freely roam and interact with people! Which is why Nara is also known as the city of deer :)

Nara

Thanks to a well-made map that a lady at the information centre kindly gave us, we managed to take a long walk through the park visiting the main temples and sites. One of Japan's great qualities — excellent, I would say — is that everything is always well organised. One could almost travel without a guidebook, given the large amount of information that is often readily available at every station.

Japan: Kyoto and the allure of tradition

Wed, 26 Jun 2013 18:52:45 +0000

Kyoto was without doubt one of the cities that has remained most deeply in my heart.

Known above all as the city of the geisha — where you can still encounter them walking along the streets of the Gion district — Kyoto is the city you absolutely must not miss if you are seeking the atmosphere of Japanese tradition.

Shinto shrine at Fushimi Inari near Kyoto Although Kyoto is itself a vast city, with its enormous shopping centres, the lights and colours typical of Japan, it has managed to maintain and preserve its more traditional side — the one that makes you feel a little as though you are inside a film, that evokes wonderful sensations, that truly lets you see and understand Japanese culture. There is an infinite amount to see in Kyoto, so I will limit myself to telling you about what I visited and what I think is worth seeing.

Japan: Koyasan and the Buddhist temples

Fri, 21 Jun 2013 14:54:17 +0000

If there is one experience from my trip to Japan that has remained particularly close to my heart, it was without doubt the visit to the area of Koyasan and the overnight stay in one of the Buddhist temples.

Konpon Daito Pagoda

The Koyasan area takes its name from Mount Koya and is situated on the Kii Peninsula, in Wakayama Prefecture, not far from Osaka. Mount Koya, considered one of the most sacred places in Japan, was founded 12 centuries ago by the monk Kukai, also known as Kōbō-Daishi, and over time became the main centre of Shingon esoteric Buddhism, one of the largest and longest-lived schools of Japanese Buddhism. Mount Koya stands at roughly 800 metres above sea level and the entire area is rich in Buddhist temples and ancient monastic complexes, nestled in the green of nature, which offer board and lodging to travellers.

Japan: Tokyo, the great metropolis

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 13:38:58 +0000

Trying to talk about Tokyo and/or recommend some places to see in a single post is practically impossible. If I were to describe it in a few words I could say it is enormous, ever-changing, colourful and unexpected. As with all of Japan, Tokyo also changes quickly; you can pass from the incredible crowds of Shibuya to the almost provincial calm of Musashino — all within 20 minutes by metro.

A street in Musashino The districts — or rather the prefectures — are numerous, some very different from one another, and deciding which of them to go and visit was a task at which we only partly succeeded. But despite frequently consulting the Lonely Planet during the trip — which is very well done and particularly useful — I essentially let myself be guided by "chance" and instinct. That is my way of travelling. However much I try to draw up a rough itinerary to follow, I invariably end up upending it. I love getting lost in the back streets of neighbourhoods, getting off the metro at random stops and visiting places I had never even heard of. After all, Japan is a country that lends itself beautifully to this — it has so much to offer that you would never want to go back to the hotel.

Japan on a budget (or almost)

Wed, 22 May 2013 12:57:06 +0000

Japan is one of those places to visit at least once in a lifetime. It is a marvellous country, a country where you truly understand what respect means — respect for other human beings and for the land — where everything works perfectly, where people tend towards collaboration and cooperation rather than individualism. It is a country that can change very quickly, even simply by passing from one street to the next; from the delirium of lights, colours and sounds of a certain Tokyo neighbourhood to the more traditional and ancient atmosphere of Kyoto.

It is a country where people are not, in truth, cold or impenetrable as is often believed or said; they are simply terribly shy, extremely careful not to disturb others — especially foreigners — and deeply honest. And it is not even true that it is such an expensive or unapproachable country as one might think. With the right precautions you can do a trip to Japan of 10 or 14 days without spending a fortune.

Buddhist Temple at Koyasan

Japan: when to go and how to prepare

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 12:15:09 +0000

The trip to Japan, a lifelong dream finally come true. One of those journeys you have absolutely no plan to make but that almost happens by accident, thanks to an airline offer that lets you buy a return ticket at a truly affordable price. When I bought the ticket in December I had the possibility of choosing when to travel, somewhere between February and June.

After a great deal of searching, researching, and analysing, I chose late April for two main reasons: the first is that I have always wanted to witness the cherry blossom, which normally occurs between April and May; the second is that spring (March to May), together with autumn (September to November), is one of the best periods to visit. The climate during these periods is very pleasant, not particularly hot or cold, and so it lets you walk around the cities without any particular difficulty. It must be said, however, that late April is a holiday period in Japan — the Golden Week — so it is wise to book accommodation well in advance to avoid the risk of finding everything completely full.

Photo by Piermaria Mendolicchio

Since my trip will last around 14 days, and I intend to move around enough to see a bit of the country without getting stuck in just one city, I preferred to use two cities as a “base” for sleeping so as not to have to keep moving from hotel to hotel with luggage in tow. My bases will be Kyoto and Tokyo plus one night in a Buddhist temple as an interlude between the two cities.