Hiroshima/Myajima Island

We had a short night bus to Hiroshima. I don't remember much of the trip because I slept quite well, but I guess that Mike had a pretty rough night. Overall, pretty uneventful, but when we arrived in Hiroshima we decided to start off our day right, just like any true American would: 

McDonald's

Everything in Japan is small! I could hardly fit into the booths. 

Hiroshima. This building stands as a reminder of the first Atomic bomb ever used against mankind. 

At 8:15 August 6, 1945. We were there at 8:15 in the morning and heard bells ringing as we solemnly pondered what happened in this place. 

Peace. 

The red ball represents where the bomb exploded, and you can see all the damage around it (although there are still a few buildings standing, the whole area was covered with buildings before the blast). It's estimated that around 140,000 people died from the bomb by the end of 1945. 

After walking through the museum (which was incredibly interesting and I thought very well done - I thought it was really good to see the Japanese perspective on it all), we went to the memorial, and then we decided to go continue our exploring. 

We quickly got stopped to try some free samples and take a survey with some Japanese girls! We actually gave some pretty solid insights I would say, and of course we always enjoy a chance to interact with the locals.

Hiroshima Castle. 

My attempt at copying one of Mike's selfies that he always takes. I think I did a pretty good job: 

(One of Mike's selfies - this one was actually from Osaka)

Mike stops to check himself out in anything that even slightly resembles a mirror. 

Myajima Island! This place is amazing. There are wild deer wandering around everywhere. We suspect they're part of an underground criminal organization because they reach into everyone's pockets and purses to take their stuff. Protect your wallets! Keep your shop doors closed! Keep your children safe! Hahaha, they're so great. 

So many deer! ^_^

The famous torii at Itsukushima Shrine symbolically marking the transition from the profane to the sacred. 

We rode the ferry back to the mainland, and I went to catch my bus from Hiroshima to Kyoto. I really loved Myajima and thought it was a total blast, but it was time to keep moving. 

The bus stopped in Osaka first, and literally everyone got off the bus except for me. So I rode into Kyoto by myself, and we got there too late for me to take a bus to the place where I was supposed to be couchsurfing. 

Before I move on with my quest to find a place to sleep tonight, first I better tell you about my bus ride. 

So there I was, with about 7 hours to kill, and sitting on a bus with maybe 10 other people (this is before we went to Osaka and everyone else got off). Anyway, I was sitting there thinking, this is lame, I would much rather be chatting with one of the Japanese girls on my bus then just sitting here watching a movie or something. 

Unfortunately there were no girls sitting nearby, but there was a pretty cute girl sitting about three seats back on the other side. So I slowly changed seats until I was in the one right in front of her!

The next problem was how to start talking with her. So I came up with what seemed like a good idea to me, and wrote up this message on my phone that I could easily pass back to her between the armrest hole: 

I ended up watching a movie before turning back, smiling, and passing her the phone. 

Her immediate reaction: shakes her head no. 

Hahaha! She totally didn't speak English, but I ended up communicating with her and figuring out that she's a University student from Hiroshima and she was on her way to visit a friend in Osaka. We had to use the little Japanese I knew, the little English she knew, hand gestures, and my Japanese-English apps to figure just that much out, but in the end I would say that we had a very positive exchange and I was a lot happier to experience that than just sitting around waiting to get to Kyoto. 

Once in Kyoto I was in a pretty rough situation because I had no way of finding a hostel besides just looking around. While on my way to find one, I met a Japanese girl (also from Hiroshima, also spoke almost no English) that had a suitcase. I figured out that she was headed to a hostel, and eventually that it was kind of a weird thing where you pay 1000 yen (around $10) for 6 hours of sleeping. The price sounded good to me, so I went with her. 

We got to the "hostel" or internet cafe place and they were all out of booths with beds, so I slept on the floor of one that had a computer and a reclining chair. 

What an experience! Then I paid around $3 to take a shower and borrow a towel in the morning. 

I guess I'll get more to that in the next post though.