Hi Everyone! Welcome back to Part Two of my Japan Trip Blog. I know I've been a bit slack of late with getting blogs done. But life has been a bit hectic!

Day 4

On the 4th day of arriving in Japan, I packed up my suitcase & travelled 500kms east to the old Capital of Japan - Osaka via bullet train & it was AWESOME. So you get an idea of how fast these trains go, by car this would normally be a 6 hour trip. Whereas on the bullet train, it took roughly 3.5 hours! It was so brilliant! I remember trying to stand up on the train & the G Force forced me back into my seat hahaha. Australia really needs to get on board (see what I did there) with something like this.

Once I arrived in Osaka & checked into my Hotel, I noticed this beautiful castle close by. Which I later found out was Osaka Castle. As soon as I saw it, I had to go & explore it, but it was closed. I put it on my list of sights I had to see before I left Osaka.

Day 5

This day was one of the most emotional days of the whole trip as I went on a day trip (by train - of course) to Hiroshima. I went to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome) & was astonished by the fact that this building/dome survived the bomb. Before heading over to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, I was standing by myself when this old Japanese lady walked up to me & asked me very sternly where I was from. I told her I was from Australia & her face instantly changed. She gave me a thumbs up, then said 'Australia is ok' & then she walked away from me.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome) - The Atomic Bomb was dropped directly above the dome

I then made my way to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum & once I was inside, you could feel the sombre vibe from the place. The place was packed full of people & many of them were crying at the relics that had survived. One piece that struck me hardest was a tricycle owned by a boy whose body was never found - the only thing left of him was this bike, it was so sad.

A tricycle that survived the Atomic Bomb in Hiroshima.

Day 6

After experiencing a fairly emotional day at Hiroshima, Day 6 demanded me to have a fun & light say - so I went to Universal Studios! I was looking so forward to this day as I would be finally going to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter! But I wasn't the only one who wanted to go here - the place was PACKED! This proved a problem when trying to go on any of the rides, but by just being there it was amazing. The attention to detail was FANTASTIC. There was a life size replica of Hogwarts Castle that you can walk through where they even have paintings that move & talk - but they speak in Japanese, so I had no idea what they were saying.

I only went on one ride, the Flight of the Hippogriff & it was basically a kids ride. After waiting for 3 hours, I didn't want to wait another 4 hours for the Forbidden Journey ride. So I continued to look around in the little stores & I had lunch at the Three Broomsticks. Universal Studios was pretty cool, but the line for rides were too long. The only way to get past this, is to pay another $80AUD to get a pass which allows you to jump the queue. But after spending $79AUD on the Theme Park ticket - I didn't think it was worth it.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogwarts Castle

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hagrid's Hut

Stay tuned for the next installments of my Japan blog.

Until next time,
Cora
x

Cover photo & photos within blog by Cora Corbett on Instagram

Japan Trip 2015: Part Two