Japan Compendium

Posted bydpmahlumPosted inJapan Trip

Just because we finished riding does not mean we finished Japan.

We had a few days built in to see what big cities were like, since all our biking was in very rural areas.

First stop – Hiroshima. Stayed the night, which was good, as we spent most of the day at the Hiroshima A-Bomb memorial and Peace Park. It was stunning, the affect it had on a person. Feelings ranging from depression to extreme sadness to hope. At the end of the day, it felt like you had been compressed into a cube of raw emotion. I would sincerely hope any person that could ever release a nuclear device is required to spend a day in Hiroshima and the Peace Park.

370 meters from ground zero

Then we got back to doing what we do best, walking around like a couple of bobbleheads.

Hiroshima is famous for this dish – we liked it so much, had it for dinner, then breakfast:

Cooked right at your table
Finished product! With scallops!

One last look at Hiroshima from our room …. this was all just in ruins, flattened at 8:15 am August 6, 1945. But look at it now, there may be some hope for us, yet

THEN, off on the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) to Tokyo. When they say bullet train, they mean it. That train goes through the station at about 200mph, you don’t even hear it approaching. Oh, yeah, castle/temples abound:

Destroyed in A Bomb blast, then rebuilt to original specs in 1953

So into the largest city in the world. Tokyo. Get off the train and the literal river of people sweeps you along. We found our lodging, checked into the room we needed the entire trip – included in the room was a washer/dryer:

Of course, in Japan, the washer AND dryer are one unit

3 nights in Tokyo. Got in late 1st night, so, really 2 days. Items of interest:

Another translation lost
Markets galore
WTF, gotta quit ordering so much for dinner. I guess when you don’t know what you are eating, you get enough to toss the burpie bits out.

VENDING MACHINES – PART TWO

Sooooo, as on the bike trip, vending machines are all over. Difference is what is available.  Tokyo has a much broader selection,  too wit:

Vending machine Fish Juice – including the Fish.
Wanna bowl of hot noodles and sauce?
How about some dried insects?

More markets:

And a bit more translation oddities:

Hottest new thing in Tokyo,  Maid Cafes, where they dress up as French Maids…..

Nothing odd about this sushi place, just pick out what looks good (like Just The Shrimp), take it and they count the number of plates to charge you. We had an Impressive Number of Plates….

And so it wraps up .. left Tokyo more than 24 hours ago, and still have to go from Denver to kalispell  …. oh, yeah, that includes a 11 hours layover in aforementioned Denver

Thanks for sticking around,  this was actually more painful to write than read. Sayonara!

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