The long lost post about Japan (Hiroshima-hen)
Tokyo Part
WARNING: Very Image Heavy
We waited at the station in Tokyo for the Shinkansen to come in and swoop us away to Shin-Osaka where we would transfer to another train and arrive in Hiroshima.
Then I saw that we were in fact arrived in Hiroshima
Upon first glance, Hiroshima wasn't much of a city. Compared to Asakusa and other places in Tokyo, Hiroshima seemed run down. When we walked out of the station, we pulled out our map to find our hostel when we were approached by an old man handing out maps of Hiroshima City. Surprisingly, the old man told us to follow him and he led us to our hostel. I was almost weirded out by this fact. In America, people only do that if you pay them and they will do anything in their power to make sure you pay. This man led us to the hostel and asked for nothing. Thinking back on it, it was really nice of him.
We dropped our bags and made our way back to Hiroshima Station where I ate the best kurokke udon ever. We found a post office, replenished our money and then found a department store where we (or should I say "I") spend 3, almost 4 hours, browsing the many stores inside: clothes, toys, book store (the majority of time was spent here), a pet store and the department store's basement food market (now THAT was a sight). My dad made a bet with me in the bookstore. His feet were killing him and he wanted to sit. There was a seat open next to an older man, but he didn't want to sit next to someone, because they move away. I told him, in my very American way, that was their problem and that he should just do his own thing. He did go sit down next to the man. And yes, the man did move after 2 minutes of sitting next to him. I continued to browse the manga section, which was just as confusing (only slightly less) as it was in the Ikebukuro Animate store. In America, books are arranged by Author's Names. In Japan, they are arranged by Publisher -____-;;;;;;;;;;
I did find what I wanted though (Yay!) and we continued on our way back to the hostel. I watched a bit of TV in our room and NHK always broadcasted about the Flower Festival that was going to happen in 3 days time. I made plans with my friends at Hiroshima University to go to the Flower Festival, which I really looked forward to!
Our first day in Hiroshima, or rather Hiroshima, can be summed up in very few words: Genbaku Dome, Peace Park, Miyajima, Hiroshima-jo. Hiroshima is a very quiet, very small area compared to Tokyo. We first took the city tram to the Genbaku Dome and Peace Park. For someone who's only ever read about the hardships after America dropped the A-bomb on Japan during WWII in history books in school, it was really difficult for me to control my feelings while going through the Memorial. It was really sad and extremely moving.
(Genbaku Dome)
(Sadako's statue in the Children's Memorial)
(Entirely made out of paper cranes)
(Memorial Tomb (for those who died from the bomb), The Eternal Flame and the Genbaku Dome lined up)
We later traveled by train and ferry to the island of Miyajima and the floating shrine.
Now, believe it or not, there are "wild", tame deer on the island of Miyajima that live so peacefully with the locals that you can go up and pet them. I was all for this idea except for the fact that the first one that we find, ate the plastic bag we were holding melon pan in and wouldn't stop chasing us.
See? It's a toddler with a wild deer.
A local feeding the deer noodles.
We walked all over the island, trying oysters (delicious, omg) and ikayaki (which I still have a droplet of the sauce on my sneaker from). We did climb up the island to the shrine and pagoda only to climb all the way back down where we made our way back to Hiroshima City. From there we walked all over the city looking for Hiroshima-jo. Not sure where to go, we waited on a street corner for someone to come by so that we could ask for directions. Nervous, I didn't want to, but my dad told me we weren't moving until I asked. Finally, an older man on a bike stopped and I asked him in my shitty Japanese but I understood his response perfectly and we found the castle in no time:
The second day we were in Hiroshima, we had already finished all there was to do in Hiroshima, so We decided to head out to Saijo where we did some sake tasting! It was a ghost town but I we managed to find a delicious tsukemen shop and some pretty awesome man hole covers:
Turned out two of the friends I met with the next day for the Flower Festival are actual residents of Saijo when they aren't at HiroDai, lol.
The next day, after they finished with their classes, I met some of my friends from HiroDai at that I had originally met at JMU. These two introduced me to the two things that only further my already formed obsessed with Japan and the only thing I keep talking about if anyone asks me about my trip: Okonomiyaki and Karaoke. Hiroaki even took us for a ride in his car. It was so weird being on the opposite side of the road, lol.
Inside Hiroaki's car going for Okonomiyaki
HIROSHIMA OKONOMIYAKI!! How I love and miss you~ ♥
My dad hadn't been feeling good that day (he says the cabbage in the okonomiyaki only made it worse), so before we went for karaoke we dropped him off at the hostel. In foresight, it turned out that's when he started showing symptoms of Lyme Disease that he contracted from a tick he had on him from before our trip that we didn't discover until after we arrived back in NY, but he's all good now, or as good as one can be with Lyme Disease, lol.
Satoshi and Hiroaki (respectively from left to right)
This was our room for Karaoke or at least the screen, lol
The two dropped me off at the hostel. That's when we got The Call, as I call it. When we left, my grandmother was not in very good condition and we had been keeping in contact with everyone in the states through a program in my phone that allowed us to text and call through wifi, but we could only use it when we were at the hostels. When I got in, my mom had messaged me to call her and I did. She said my grandmother passed away. I woke my dad up so my mom could talk to him. Neither of us really slept that night. But, ontop of being sick, my dad didn't sleep and ended up making all the arrangements for us to come home (it was a Thursday when this happened) on Sunday for the wake. We only had Friday left in Hiroshima and from there we were supposed to go to Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Hamamatsu, Shizuoku and Hakone, but we canceled everything in those places and redirected our trip's path back to Tokyo on Saturday, just when we started to get the hang of everything. しょうがない。
I would be damned if I wasn't going to enjoy my final days in Japan though. I met with Takahiro and went to the Hiroshima Flower Festival
Those are all flowers btw, lol.
There was a parade, and I ate a lot of food, lol. While at the festival, HiroDai had a booth/tent in which another friend of mine was working. Sadly he wasn't able to get away after work to come hang out with us for dinner and karaoke but he was so shocked to see me, lol.
There was a magician there infront of the HiroDai tent named Jekyl, who was really freaking awesome. Just thought I'd plug him, lol. (#shamelessplug).
I understood him the whole time too, so that made it better for me, lol.
After we left the festival, I met with another Satoshi, Hiroshima Kenta (who upgraded to Host Kenta because of a misunderstanding between a worker at the okonomiyaki place thinking he worked as a host, lol. We didn't want to let him live it down) and Takahiro. And guess what we got for dinner? OKONOMIYAKI!!! ♥
Takahiro and Satoshi
Kenta and myself
And then we did more karaoke. Satoshi and Takahiro in particular were really generous, haha. We stayed for 2 hours and for at least the first 45 minutes - 1 hour, they only played Arashi songs, lol. Whenever I tried to put up a song myself on the touch screen, they grabbed it from me and put on another Arashi song until they were like "Is there anything else you sing?!" lol
The next day, we left Hiroshima and made our way back to Tokyo, Narita City more specifically with two stops in Tokyo and Chiba cause we got lost and wanted some food, lol. The one food I wanted to avoid the whole time in Japan, we ended up ordering 2 servings of on accident because I can't read kanji, lol. My bad. That's what happens when my dad lets me order food on a touch tablet. Hahah.
So, 6 hours from Hiroshima to Tokyo and another 2 hours to find a hotel in Narita. Tired of travel, we finally found a hotel. The lady that set us up in the hotel was looking at us suspiciously though, haha. Funny story, she told us they only have a room with two twin beds available, we looked at each other and said "That's great!!". I don't know what she saw in us, lol. Maybe we're just suspicious foreigners, but I think we look distinctly like father-daughter.
At the hotel, we unraveled, gathered our left over money to pay for the hotel and while my dad was in the shower, I watched that J-drama "35 year old high school student". When dad came out of the shower, I was explaining it to him as much as I could, considering the amount of Japanese I knew and he didn't. After that show ended, Arashi ni Shiyagare came on right after and I would be damned if I wasn't going to watch it because my dad couldn't understand it. Surprisingly enough, he really enjoyed watching it. Again, I explained as much as I could but the (scary-looking-teddy-bear) guest on there had them dress like Yankees and act out a fight scene (which if you've seen the episode, Ohno totally hams it up). Needless to say, I think my dad is an Ohno fanboy like my youngest brother after that episode (considering he also watched KagiHeya with me after the fact and questioned if that was the one he liked from that TV show), lol.
In the morning, we went to the airport and flew out to NY for the wake. I was very prepared this time on the plane and it was a lot more enjoyable for me. I watched the Ao no Exorcist movie, read the many manga I acquired, played my PSP, slept and snapped a picture of the whole city of Fairbanks, Alaska (:x) :
Overall, my journey to Japan, in Japan and back to the US was a trip that I will not forget. I am already making plans to return in the years to come and if anything else, this has only fueled my desire even more. I'm far from done with Japan.
WARNING: Very Image Heavy
We waited at the station in Tokyo for the Shinkansen to come in and swoop us away to Shin-Osaka where we would transfer to another train and arrive in Hiroshima.
Then I saw that we were in fact arrived in Hiroshima
Upon first glance, Hiroshima wasn't much of a city. Compared to Asakusa and other places in Tokyo, Hiroshima seemed run down. When we walked out of the station, we pulled out our map to find our hostel when we were approached by an old man handing out maps of Hiroshima City. Surprisingly, the old man told us to follow him and he led us to our hostel. I was almost weirded out by this fact. In America, people only do that if you pay them and they will do anything in their power to make sure you pay. This man led us to the hostel and asked for nothing. Thinking back on it, it was really nice of him.
We dropped our bags and made our way back to Hiroshima Station where I ate the best kurokke udon ever. We found a post office, replenished our money and then found a department store where we (or should I say "I") spend 3, almost 4 hours, browsing the many stores inside: clothes, toys, book store (the majority of time was spent here), a pet store and the department store's basement food market (now THAT was a sight). My dad made a bet with me in the bookstore. His feet were killing him and he wanted to sit. There was a seat open next to an older man, but he didn't want to sit next to someone, because they move away. I told him, in my very American way, that was their problem and that he should just do his own thing. He did go sit down next to the man. And yes, the man did move after 2 minutes of sitting next to him. I continued to browse the manga section, which was just as confusing (only slightly less) as it was in the Ikebukuro Animate store. In America, books are arranged by Author's Names. In Japan, they are arranged by Publisher -____-;;;;;;;;;;
I did find what I wanted though (Yay!) and we continued on our way back to the hostel. I watched a bit of TV in our room and NHK always broadcasted about the Flower Festival that was going to happen in 3 days time. I made plans with my friends at Hiroshima University to go to the Flower Festival, which I really looked forward to!
Our first day in Hiroshima, or rather Hiroshima, can be summed up in very few words: Genbaku Dome, Peace Park, Miyajima, Hiroshima-jo. Hiroshima is a very quiet, very small area compared to Tokyo. We first took the city tram to the Genbaku Dome and Peace Park. For someone who's only ever read about the hardships after America dropped the A-bomb on Japan during WWII in history books in school, it was really difficult for me to control my feelings while going through the Memorial. It was really sad and extremely moving.
(Genbaku Dome)
(Sadako's statue in the Children's Memorial)
(Entirely made out of paper cranes)
(Memorial Tomb (for those who died from the bomb), The Eternal Flame and the Genbaku Dome lined up)
We later traveled by train and ferry to the island of Miyajima and the floating shrine.
Now, believe it or not, there are "wild", tame deer on the island of Miyajima that live so peacefully with the locals that you can go up and pet them. I was all for this idea except for the fact that the first one that we find, ate the plastic bag we were holding melon pan in and wouldn't stop chasing us.
See? It's a toddler with a wild deer.
A local feeding the deer noodles.
We walked all over the island, trying oysters (delicious, omg) and ikayaki (which I still have a droplet of the sauce on my sneaker from). We did climb up the island to the shrine and pagoda only to climb all the way back down where we made our way back to Hiroshima City. From there we walked all over the city looking for Hiroshima-jo. Not sure where to go, we waited on a street corner for someone to come by so that we could ask for directions. Nervous, I didn't want to, but my dad told me we weren't moving until I asked. Finally, an older man on a bike stopped and I asked him in my shitty Japanese but I understood his response perfectly and we found the castle in no time:
The second day we were in Hiroshima, we had already finished all there was to do in Hiroshima, so We decided to head out to Saijo where we did some sake tasting! It was a ghost town but I we managed to find a delicious tsukemen shop and some pretty awesome man hole covers:
Turned out two of the friends I met with the next day for the Flower Festival are actual residents of Saijo when they aren't at HiroDai, lol.
The next day, after they finished with their classes, I met some of my friends from HiroDai at that I had originally met at JMU. These two introduced me to the two things that only further my already formed obsessed with Japan and the only thing I keep talking about if anyone asks me about my trip: Okonomiyaki and Karaoke. Hiroaki even took us for a ride in his car. It was so weird being on the opposite side of the road, lol.
Inside Hiroaki's car going for Okonomiyaki
HIROSHIMA OKONOMIYAKI!! How I love and miss you~ ♥
My dad hadn't been feeling good that day (he says the cabbage in the okonomiyaki only made it worse), so before we went for karaoke we dropped him off at the hostel. In foresight, it turned out that's when he started showing symptoms of Lyme Disease that he contracted from a tick he had on him from before our trip that we didn't discover until after we arrived back in NY, but he's all good now, or as good as one can be with Lyme Disease, lol.
Satoshi and Hiroaki (respectively from left to right)
This was our room for Karaoke or at least the screen, lol
The two dropped me off at the hostel. That's when we got The Call, as I call it. When we left, my grandmother was not in very good condition and we had been keeping in contact with everyone in the states through a program in my phone that allowed us to text and call through wifi, but we could only use it when we were at the hostels. When I got in, my mom had messaged me to call her and I did. She said my grandmother passed away. I woke my dad up so my mom could talk to him. Neither of us really slept that night. But, ontop of being sick, my dad didn't sleep and ended up making all the arrangements for us to come home (it was a Thursday when this happened) on Sunday for the wake. We only had Friday left in Hiroshima and from there we were supposed to go to Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Hamamatsu, Shizuoku and Hakone, but we canceled everything in those places and redirected our trip's path back to Tokyo on Saturday, just when we started to get the hang of everything. しょうがない。
I would be damned if I wasn't going to enjoy my final days in Japan though. I met with Takahiro and went to the Hiroshima Flower Festival
Those are all flowers btw, lol.
There was a parade, and I ate a lot of food, lol. While at the festival, HiroDai had a booth/tent in which another friend of mine was working. Sadly he wasn't able to get away after work to come hang out with us for dinner and karaoke but he was so shocked to see me, lol.
There was a magician there infront of the HiroDai tent named Jekyl, who was really freaking awesome. Just thought I'd plug him, lol. (#shamelessplug).
I understood him the whole time too, so that made it better for me, lol.
After we left the festival, I met with another Satoshi, Hiroshima Kenta (who upgraded to Host Kenta because of a misunderstanding between a worker at the okonomiyaki place thinking he worked as a host, lol. We didn't want to let him live it down) and Takahiro. And guess what we got for dinner? OKONOMIYAKI!!! ♥
Takahiro and Satoshi
Kenta and myself
And then we did more karaoke. Satoshi and Takahiro in particular were really generous, haha. We stayed for 2 hours and for at least the first 45 minutes - 1 hour, they only played Arashi songs, lol. Whenever I tried to put up a song myself on the touch screen, they grabbed it from me and put on another Arashi song until they were like "Is there anything else you sing?!" lol
The next day, we left Hiroshima and made our way back to Tokyo, Narita City more specifically with two stops in Tokyo and Chiba cause we got lost and wanted some food, lol. The one food I wanted to avoid the whole time in Japan, we ended up ordering 2 servings of on accident because I can't read kanji, lol. My bad. That's what happens when my dad lets me order food on a touch tablet. Hahah.
So, 6 hours from Hiroshima to Tokyo and another 2 hours to find a hotel in Narita. Tired of travel, we finally found a hotel. The lady that set us up in the hotel was looking at us suspiciously though, haha. Funny story, she told us they only have a room with two twin beds available, we looked at each other and said "That's great!!". I don't know what she saw in us, lol. Maybe we're just suspicious foreigners, but I think we look distinctly like father-daughter.
At the hotel, we unraveled, gathered our left over money to pay for the hotel and while my dad was in the shower, I watched that J-drama "35 year old high school student". When dad came out of the shower, I was explaining it to him as much as I could, considering the amount of Japanese I knew and he didn't. After that show ended, Arashi ni Shiyagare came on right after and I would be damned if I wasn't going to watch it because my dad couldn't understand it. Surprisingly enough, he really enjoyed watching it. Again, I explained as much as I could but the (scary-looking-teddy-bear) guest on there had them dress like Yankees and act out a fight scene (which if you've seen the episode, Ohno totally hams it up). Needless to say, I think my dad is an Ohno fanboy like my youngest brother after that episode (considering he also watched KagiHeya with me after the fact and questioned if that was the one he liked from that TV show), lol.
In the morning, we went to the airport and flew out to NY for the wake. I was very prepared this time on the plane and it was a lot more enjoyable for me. I watched the Ao no Exorcist movie, read the many manga I acquired, played my PSP, slept and snapped a picture of the whole city of Fairbanks, Alaska (:x) :
Overall, my journey to Japan, in Japan and back to the US was a trip that I will not forget. I am already making plans to return in the years to come and if anything else, this has only fueled my desire even more. I'm far from done with Japan.