Japan&Vietnam 08.-10/2012
Departing August 21 towards Wakayama-pref. for about 3 months.
At least I liked to stay for 3 months, but sometimes things happen differently! :-)
Some problems at the customs and different vieuws/ideas give me some other thinking as well!
I know it's my own created web 
This creature was hanging in my neck while having lunch in Yuasa! It's very smart, it can write letters in it's web. Right bottom...
As from after the weekend I start drifting again ...
Went back to look at the most famous ricefield of Wakayama-Ken at Shimotsu!
And because I lost a great deal of my photos last time, I went walking from Haya to Tanabe and didn't forget about the torii at sea.
31.08.2012 Flying to Vietnam, Ho chi min.. looking at humanitarian Furoshiki-project.
Staying there for 1 week.
The most crowded place I ever have been to! Ho-Chi-Min city.... or former Saigon.
At least 10 miljon people live here and 7 miljon scooters!
Starting with a visit at the war-museum, everybody has to do. Looking at the horrors, this time the west did to the east!
We're invited also to visit a well organised humanitarian organisation wich takes care of children who are infected HIV-positive and some of them are homeless. It's called 'the smile group'
All (sun-)day people take care of these children to give them a great time!
They support them where ever they can and a lot depends on the finances there are.
Of course we participated at some spectacular games.
A wonderful day with a lot of noise....
So if you're interested or want to donate, this is a good project to help these children!
Take a look at there website.
Another project we came for to Vietnam is Maiko's Humanitarian project: Furoshiki!
From the swimmingpool we take the scooter to the next project........
A meeting is planned at a special bar/restaurant.
Maiko from Yuasa/Wakayama-Ken invited these people!
The project makes clothes which people, who are also infected by HIV and/or are misbused, make as a self-providing business.
Here at the meeting are also other participants who deliver the fabrics, selling at their stores and who are interested in the project, like me and Tanabe's guesthouse owner for instance.
Looking at new products.
Mr. Binh always likes laughing!
He showed us Ho-Chi-Min almost all week (at night!)
All people are from Japan, Vietnam and of course The Netherlands...
This is Sari's clothing shop: Shoko in Ho-Chi-Min!
Without asking, Mr. Binh bought us some tickets for the traditional Ho-Chi-Min's water puppet theatre!
Very nice to watch!
Crossing a river at Saigon!
My most favorite movie is 'The deer hunter'...
So the next day we went to the Mekong river!
A very wide sandy river.
The Mekong delta is a very interesting outing while staying in Saigon.
But also every tourist knows that. It's raining...
Some pictures give me inspiration to start painting my whole trip, the last 2 years (almost).
Not for architecture but for to paint! :-)
A very nice French lady Elizabeth takes me through Ho Chi Min city for a spiritual path!
And we had a fare well diner with her, Mr. Binh and Maiko san, but then at a Japanese/Vietnamese restaurant.
Back to Japan/Wakayama-Ken.
Hope to see you all again some day!
Back in Japan's Tanabe I'm invited to go to Nachi-falls/Kumano trail with guides for a outing and to film by Wakayama's broadcasting for expanding tourism.
Mr. Shoe san is almost in full pelgrim-clothing.
Every time a beautiful something to watch.
I'm going to Osaka to take care of some things...
Forgot to book this hotel! :-(
Funny story: .... From home I'm excited to go to Osaka, because there's a museum that has Myamoto Musashi's most famous drawing: strike perched on a dead tree!
I'm looking for 2 days to find this Kubo memorial Art museum. It's at Izumi-cho station and i finally found it.
35 min. from Namba-station and then a bus to the museum. It's now sept. 13th. and the drawing is removed and will be shown again Oct. 14th. .... That's my life! ;-) But they have Rodin, v. Gogh, Monet, Lautrec, Picasso and so on..... bla bla bla!
09.16 I'm helping Maiko's family with cutting the rice from their filed. Big experience!
To have this machine is of big need for cutting the rice in 1 day! But still I felt some muscles, the day after, I don't use so much...
This beautiful funny young lady, shima san wants to meet me, because of having the same interest in Vietnam's projects. We just missed eachother to meet in Ho Chi Min City!
Together we walked Wakayama city and watched my favorite music-band from Tanabe&Ryujin! ;-)
Before I go to visit the area of the big catastrofe of the Tsunami-disaster in Miyagi, to give a donation from my Dutch and Singaporian/Thai friends fore the victims there, I go visit Nara first for 3 days. (waiting for Maiko to accompany me to the Tsunami-area and be of big help to translate and take us to the right people at the spot!)
I visit the most important places, but also walk the streets to avoid tourists!
Sept.21 Kansai airport, flight together with Maiko to Tokyo.
Sept. 22 Shinkansen to Sendai and Seiito san, vollanteer-worker in the areas for the tsunami disaster places brings us to the areas where the damage was the worst! Except the area of Fukushima nuclear power system of course.
I'm sorry, not knowing the right names of the places yet, but here is the monument of a building of which a woman was warning the village people to get away out of this low area before she was killed by the tsunami!
An area what was fully build with houses, temples, schools and companies has completely vanished from the earth. And so.... many villages!
The (small) stories give you the best impression!
We stay at this hotel/ryokan at the shore. We're the first visitors after the disaster of 11-3-11!
They're not opened yet, but through Maiko's contacts we're allowed to stay for 2 nights.
The building is located at the seashore and about 15m' higher then the seawater level. The tsunami was 23m' high when it came ashore. In front of the hotel there was a train-station and some houses. They're completely vanished and the rail-tracks completely bend and soil under it is washed away! Along the shore the whole rail-track cannot be used anymore.
Looking in books and magazines of photos before and after the disaster gives a good impression also.
What is left?
About 500 KM. shore has been structed by the disaster and more then 16.000 people have died. Many are still missing.
Maiko's contacts are Keiko and Ryoko san.
Two beautiful ladies who do a lot of vollanteer-work.
They bring us the next day to the spots to see the best!
Here people build a kind of emergency-buildings to open a business again.
The bad thing is that people lost there houses and shops but almost nobody was insured being strucked by a natural disaster, so the government doesn't help anybody!
This young lady is 85 years old. She completely lost her house. (many people did, among also Keiko san, the volanteer-lady next to Maiko san)
After what happened she decided to start a business of her own (so at the age of 84!!!) to give people a meal and drink as good as feeling being at home! Wow, amazing or not?
We had lunch at her place with a broken hart to listen of what she had to say.
Driving from seashore-village to another! Everywhere the same vieuw!
Very slowly things are being rebuild, but many people cannot do!
And many deserted place.... As a symbol of the tragedy, sunflowers are placed in these empty spots.
According to an old legend sunflowers will come to heal the broken feelings...
Back at the hotel.
The buildings that are completely destroyed symbols are put at the spots for remembering and building up again.
The biggest volanteer-worker Seiito san shows me the huge waves and tsunami-disaster.
Before going back I donate a gift from my friends to the ladies and they will take care about the money being spent to the people who are homeless and don't have money anymore.
Then I here an amazing story again! Those people are given letters from the government to pay tax over the houses they have lost by the tsunami-disaster........ BIG WORLD WE LIVE IN.
Silent witness!
Maiko san has a beautiful Buddhist way of saying goodbye and to have a good and healthy future!
The ladies gave me a photo book and dvd of what has happened to show at home and they are very thankful of the donation my Dutch friends gave.
ARRIGATO GOZAIMASHITA!
[ Do itashi-mashite.... :-) ]
Super diner
And thank you for letting us stay at the ryokan which was damaged very bad also! To the owners at the back of the photo!
We can send tulip-seeds the the ladies!
We visited Kesennuma City, Minami-Sanriku Town and other places.
Sendai area, Matsushima area Ishinomaki and Kesennuma areas. Better details will follow....
Koganezawa station is out of order for the time being!
I'm sorry to say ... ... ...
Back in Osaka, Shima chan shows me some architecture!
This is a well-known building, because I had a poster of it hanging in my room many years ago!
It's worth it to look at.... for me :-)
But still I know making the right decision not being a Kenjiku again!
Umeda area, Osaka!
And also Osaka's JR-station is brand-new.
Shima's working space.
Nice place for own-made lunchbox! Arrigato,
Shima chan! :-)
At Wakayama I'm spending my last week of my travel-route!
Saying goodbye to everybody.... But hoping to meet some special persons again!
Shima shows me her great-grand-father's museum.
He painted all his life in the 20th. century and became quid a personality in japan!
And also Maiko chan showed me so many beautiful places!
I have to go back to visit Koyasan and all Wakayama-KEN!
A vieuw from a temple at Yuasa.
Most famous monk who lived here, Myoe from the 12th. century. He brought the "Mantra of light" and like our dutch friend Vincent van Gogh, he cut of his ear in front of an image of Buddha at the Kozanji-temple!
Future unknown...
But wish to come back if things more clear!
Arrigato Nihongo desu! :-)
