May there be peace on Earth

Boarding another night bus felt like our new norm; we had the Baggu all packed for the journey with our necessities, and were fairly wiped out from all our travels thus far. Like Will wrote in our previous post, we spent the evening waiting for the bus at the Umeda building in Osaka. Big thanks to our friends and family who tossed iTunes gift cards our way- we’ve bought a few movies to watch during down time. Tonight’s pick was the new X-Men. We liked it, and it was a welcomed way to pass the time. Now, how much coaxing will it take to buy the Sex and the City movie duo!?

I’ve also read 4 books already, and am happy to have my selection wider than the semi-horrible ‘free books’ iBooks has to offer. All non-fiction, thus far. I need some suggestions on what to read next (besides Amy Poler’s ‘Yes, Please.’ I am anxiously awaiting its release!). Let me know what’s on your reading list!

The night bus and I are not friends. I cannot seem to get comfortable, my butt goes numb and, my neck hurts, and I get cranky that Will is sleeping like a baby. Basically I become an ornery old lady. On this particular trip, it was the worst of the three we had taken, and I was an especially irritable girl when awoken at our stop- the University in Hiroshima. Oddly, we were the only people who got off there. Will said he booked the bus before he booked the hostel, so he wasn't sure exactly which stop to get off at but the University was only a little ways away from the other stop...we thought. We asked if we could get off at the next stop, but since the bus driver spoke zero english, and any change from an official, typed, company document is completely out of the question, we got off.

It was very early, maybe a little after 5 am, and the foggy haze was still swirling around the mountaintops. The weather has been very nice, like an extra warm autumn back home, but the mornings still bite with the changing season. This morning, extremely tired and weary, was significantly chillier than any before. Not only tired, but now frigid, I attempted to stay rational as figured out which way to go.

No luck. We couldn’t figure out which way our hostel was. It should have been north, so we traipsed north a bit, but something didn't seem right. No cell service (ever… we cancelled that) and no wifi were not helping our cause, and the screenshot of the map taken the previous night wasn't matching up with the map by the bus stop, and was proving useless. The campus was still sleepy, with no sign of life, and we were 100% lost. It was clear there was not a lot outside of campus, and we started seriously doubting this would be easy to maneuver out of.

We found a parking lot where 2 security guards were executing their morning routines, and through some serious charading, we gathered that the city was 3km away, and we could just walk back the way we came. Easy.

“Three?” Will asked, holding up his fingers to confirm, like a proud child who figured out how to hold his thumb and pinky finger together properly.

“Tree.” The nice man said.

“Ok, thank you.” Will responded, pointing in the direction that we would walk.

The man laughed and consulted his coworker, shaking his head and looking at us like we were insane.

“No no no… Three Zero!”

"Thirty?"

Ok, so we needed to figure out transportation.

The guard seemed to motion towards a bus stop that would pick us up, and after a very minor meltdown, we were on our way. Really, I was impressed I didn’t totally lose it in my state of discontent. Will gave me a mini pep talk and a hug, and I pulled it together. A nice young student was able to hand signal us to the appropriate stop, right as our bus was pulling away, and we only had to wait about 15 minutes for the next one.

A bus and train ride later, we made it to where we thought the night bus was going to drop us off. It was a 3-hour ordeal, in the chilly autumn air with little sleep, but we made it, laughing.

We spent the day walking around and experiencing the remains of a horrific part of our history. It was very emotional, walking among the death and destruction of a city that was exploded into nothingness. Worse, what and who survived the initial A-bomb’s destruction likely suffered horribly until a later eminent death. War is an ugly thing for everyone involved.

It was also incredibly cool to stand in a place where something so significant took place. Only 2 Atom bombs have detonated in our history. Hopefully that will be it. But standing there, among the wreckage, was a pretty powerful moment.

Most of the buildings surrounding the hypocenter were rebuilt, but the A-bomb Dome, as it's now called, was left as is, as a reminder of the horrors of war and those who were lost. But, out of the radioactive ashes, beauty was born, and the city created Peace Park. It’s a very simple park, with a few monuments and statues, a museum (that was under construction), a lovely river-front walk where live music is played on weekends, and a trendy, string-lit bar serving what looked to be extra tasty cocktails out of mason jars (trends travel far and wide… even the Pacific can’t stop Pinterest). We roamed the park and enjoyed the sunshine and locals, who were much younger and seemed more carefree than our previous stops in Japan.

We had some time to kill before check in, and enjoyed this proud moment. Truly homeless, and starting to follow the sterotypical norms,

Hiroshima was our first stay in a dorm-style room at a backpackers hostel called J-Hopper. The organization has a few hostels throughout Japan, and cater totally to our style of travel- plenty of maps and directions to the best sites, suggestions for evening plans, photos everywhere of travelers who have stayed, a full kitchen to cook in (which is common among backpackers, as like home, eating out is too expensive for every meal), and free wifi. That’s a requirement for us when we are looking for the next stop. No wifi? No stay.

Considering we are both private and like our bedroom sans other people gawking at us, it was actually very doable. Everyone is vulnerable and in the same position, so we just all lock up our stuff and try not to be jerks about it (as in, ‘hey, I am locking this secret pile of stuff up because I think you’re a bad person that want’s to ruin my world trip…’) and go about our business. We met a nice girl from Ireland, who also quit her job and planned to travel for a year. That was three years ago. We laughed together and shared travel plans. I wouldn’t be surprised if we did the same thing.

After getting settled and freshening up from a day of traipsing around the city and no shower or normal morning routines after the night bus, we headed out on the town. Hiroshima is buzzing at night, with plenty of the younger generation out for cocktails and dinner with friends. The hostel was in a lively part of town, so we were anxious to experience it.

Will wanted to try okonomiyaki, a Japanese savory pancake prepared as you like it on a teppan grill table side, so we found a restaurant sporting a picture menu outside that resembled the desired dish with English numbers we were willing to pay and took a seat at a bar across from the giant flat grill. We both ordered the basic with udon noodles, and watched the genius lady-chef go to work.

Layer upon layer of foodie goodness was stacked high, starting with a crepe-thin batter spread on the grill, flipped, then topped with a mound of shredded cabbaged. Letting the heat reduce the watery veggie, she continued to press the liquid out of the cabbage to compact the pancake. Green onions and shredded dried seaweed were next, along with some amazing MSG-filled seasonings. Add some bacon (yes I ate it) to the stack and I think there was a flip at this point. Another lady-chef was boiling the noodles, tossed them on the grill, an egg was cracked next to that, barely scrambled, and the dish was ready for assembly. The bacon topped crepe-cake is flipped onto the noodles, so the gluten-filled goodness is the base, the egg flipped on the top, and a slop of smokey, tangy sauce is brushed over the egg, drizzled with what I can only assume is the richest mayonnaise possible. Grab the little spatula, cut a slice, and start eating. Ohhhhh my. Heaven. Don’t forget to add extra mayo. Why the hell, not?

Happy and inappropriately full (again, I haven’t seen a single morsel of food left on a plate. I don’t want to risk dishonoring the chef when the food is this good), we rolled to a bar on the corner for a nightcap. I ordered a yuzu liquor on the rocks, which was tart and crips in my glutunous belly, and Will a tradtional sake, which was poured overflowing into the saucer below. It was such a grandeur pour!

Even slumbering with strangers, dorm-room style, in separate bunk beds, we slept hard and late into the morning, much later than normal. Like 8 o'clockish. It was a well-deserved rest after our night bus excuse for sleep the night before. Per the usual, we grabbed a quick to-go style breakfast from a corner convenience store and hopped on a cable car style to get to the port of a ferry, which brought us to Itsukushima, a pretty little island in the Inland Sea.

Arriving in the early afternoon, the tides were low, and tourists freely roamed the grounds surrounding the Itsukushima Shrine.

But, as the sun starts to set and the tides creep up to the shoreline, the shrine is surrounded by the sea, seeming as if suspended in water.

We spent the day hiking up Mount Misen, enjoying the scenery as we continued to climb to the summit. The views from the top were spectacular, and even the descent through the forest was stunning.

We hopped back on the ferry to enjoy a pretty sunset over the sea, and headed back home on the cable car, stopping by a local grocer for some dinner to cook at the hostel. Back to bed with a new round of stranger/roommates, we called it a great day.

Our last day in Hiroshima was low key; after checking out of the hostel, we slummed around the courtyard, using their free wifi, and relaxed at the Peace Park, enjoying some live music. We worked our way towards a bus station downtown to catch the night bus back to Osaka, and again, slummed around a café to pilfer some more wifi.

We hopped on the beloved night bus for what felt like the millionth time, and made it back to Osaka in fairly good shape. However, Osaka wasn’t as easy as we thought it would be, even for our second time around…

From Hiroshima, with love,

Sara + Will