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Japan stage of the round-the-world trip “World’sPIRIT”

Sights of JapanThe web site mapstor.com sponsors the round-the-world trip World'sPIRIT by providing topographic maps of Japan and adjacent islands.

The stage in Japan has started on 5th of October and finished on 15th. The participants have covered 2650 km by roads and 800 km by sea.

Japan is a country of more than 3 thousand islands, of which 4 are the major: Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu. The participants visited two of them: Honshu and Kyushu.

The route of this stage: Vladivostok (the marine ferry) - Fusiki - Toyama - Nagano - Tokyo - Kanagawa - Yokohama - Yamanashi - Fujiyama - Nara - Kyoto - Osaka - Hyogo - Okayama - Hiroshima - Fukuoka.

In connection with a number of technical, legal and organizational difficulties associated with a custom-house and operation of motor vehicles, in Japan participants were forced to hire local vehicles.

What do usual people know about Japan? - Sumo, ikebana, samurai, hara-kiri, karate, aikido ... Computers, cars, highways, robots.

Mysterious JapanBut it is external, tourist side of the country. The expedition went where the participants would like to: the highest mountains and the most distant villages and saw what is not known by lots of tourist to Japan.

In Osaka the participants of the round-the-world trip “World’sPIRIT” visited traditional «Autumn Festival». Each area of this city is different from others (specifically ordered in the only shop in Tokyo) special temple on wheels - «Mikosha». It recalls an old cart. Cavalcade of the dozens of chariots with loud music, songs, noise, petard, drums, flutes moves through the streets of the city.

«Hanami» - a holiday of admiration of flowers, maples, sakura, snow, the moon - all this chain of Japanese holidays of nature is called «Matsuri». Participants of the expedition visited a few of them.

On the island Miyadzhima they visited the unique temple on the water – Itsukushima, walked in the special «Dog parks», where for a small fee you can rent a four-footed friend and walk with him for several hours.

Participants of the expedition also visited the office, a museum shop and computer departments of the company «TOSHIBA» - one of the sponsors - and had a very cordial meeting with the leadership.

Apart from this, they were talking with geisha Geyko and Maiko from the city of Kyoto, hearing their playing samisen, sleeping on straw tatami in the highlands of ancient Shinto and Buddhist monasteries of Okunoin areas, participated in the traditional corporate parties.

Of course, the expedition traveled in the Fuji-San – the most sacred Japanese mountain. And prayed in Hiroshima, perhaps, the only town in the world where people are actually constantly calling to peace on Earth.

Thank you Japan for showing us your real face!

Travelling with mapstor.com 19-10-2008