Hello!

イーオン日立校ブログをご覧くださりありがとうございます★

今週はSarah先生のブログです◎年末年始の思い出についてです(^^)

Dear readers,

I hope 2020 has brought good luck to you so far! Have you made any resolutions for the new year? Let me know your new year goals in the lobby sometime!

Today I want to tell you about my winter holiday! I did a lot of activities and had a great new year!

Before this year, I had never properly experienced traditional Japanese new year celebrations. However, this year, I got the chance for the first time! I ate new year soba on new year's eve, and on new year's day I was able to eat osechi and ozouni. I enjoyed it a lot! I loved the warm and healthy ozouni and my favourite part of the osechi was the sweet black beans. On new year's day, I went to a temple for 'hatsumoude', the first visit of the year.

Right after new year's day, I took a night bus and went all the way to Hiroshima, where I stayed for three days! The night bus was long (12 hours) but time flies when you're sleeping so it wasn't a bad journey.

Hiroshima was a great experience. The weather was sunny and crisp - good conditions for sightseeing! On the first day I visited the atomic bomb dome and walked along the river and through the peace park. The peace park was really atmospheric and it was interesting to see it live instead of on TV. I also visited the memorial museum of course, which helped me appreciate how well Hiroshima city has recovered since the wartime.

I ate two Hiroshima delicacies: anago (sea eel) and Hiroshima okonomiyaki! Both were incredibly delicious. I have to say that I prefer Hiroshima okonomiyaki to Osaka okonomiyaki, because the noodles are so delicious and I love green onion. I hope I can find a local place near Hitachi to eat it again sometime!

On the second day of my visit, I went to Miyajima by boat. Even though the famous floating torii gate was under construction, the island was still picturesque and lovely. I loved the sandy beaches and the temples and shrines scattered in the mountainside. I had a great time walking around, eating various local foods and even drinking Miyajima original beer. I had heard that the deer in Miyajima were less friendly than the Nara deer, but from my experience, they were very sweet and cute! I stroked some of them.

Finally, on the third day, I went to Onomichi along the shinkansen line from Hiroshima. I had never heard of Onomichi but my travel partner recommended it! It was a small, cozy town with a classic feel. The best thing about Onomichi for me was the walks up the mountain - on the way you pass a lot of lovely shrines and temples, get great views, and see a lot of cats! There were even some shops selling cat goods half way up the hill. I learnt that Onomichi was a popular town for writers and painters, and is also the setting for the Ozu film 'Tokyo Story' which I've seen before.

When I finally made it back to Hitachi, I was a little worn out from all the travelling and activities! But I had a wonderful time and experienced a new part of Japan so I don't have any regrets. I'm really glad I took a trip during my time off.

I hope you enjoyed hearing about my holiday experiences! Where do you think I should go next? Please let me know your recommendations for travelling in Japan! I'd like to experience more.

Have a great week!

Best wishes,

Sarah