Central Hiroshima

... a year and see this old wooden bridge so often, but I am still fascinated with it.<br> <br> The golden lights define the figurative art of wooden structure in the evening. I realize how elaborate the structure of the bridge is, and feel that there could be no other bridges like this.

... br>That night we went out based on a recommendation for a Japanese pancake. This was our dinner. There were about 7 different layers of food in this meal, but it was tasty! One thing about Japan is that all of the restaurants were for about a max of 15 people and the food was made right in front of you creating a unique experience.<br><br>Oh yeah one more thing....Chelsey's first beer (Kirin) on the rooftop....not very good...taste testing to be continued.<br><br>Next stop Kyoto<br>

... the couch with a lonely planet book in his hand...open.....and although he looks like he is reading, he is actually asleep. You will see very similar pics throughout some of the other blog entries, and I have two photographic goals on this trip. One - take a picture of birnie washing his hands at every place that has a puddle of water. Two - take pictures of birnie's narcoleptic bouts from country to country. Trust me, you will see what I am talking ...

... too, we all went up to pet it. It wasn't until later that we realized that deer are really really common on Miyajima and that petting one really isn't a novelty on this island...we walked and walked and walked some more and finally hit the place where the red arches were! We took many pictures and even went inside the temple! I also saw a five story pagoda! I loved the bright colors! Miyajima was so pretty ...

... of Robinho. After truly mastering the Hiroshima tram system, our next destination was the A-Bomb Dome, the exact spot where the atomic bomb hit during WWII. The building is still standing but is completely gutted and has been strengthened to remain in that state forever as a reminder of what happened. It was awe-inspiring that it even still stood at all when you read the plaques explaining exactly what happened and it was strange ...

... from the Edo period. It feels like your in a movie set or have actually stepped back in time. Ammmaaah-zing.<br><br>There were also these floats that they only take out once a year for the town's annual parade. They are three-hundred years old and still absolutely beautiful. Apparently, if they were to completely recreate them today they would cost about four-million US dollars. Which is probably why they just held on to them.<br><br>As I speak, however, We are in ...

... a fun one.<br><br>However, given that Rachael will no doubt recount the entire last few days in detail, I'll refrain from babbling endlessly too much and try to keep this paragraph to the good stuff. First and foremost, snow is probably my most favorite thing ever. After a botched attempt to visit Kanazawa thanks in part to both confusing Shinkansen terminals and rushed planning, the trip to Takayama was particularly refreshing. The two hour train ride ...

... it's the better of the 2 a-bomb museums overall and I spent quite a long time taking it all in. Headed back to the hostel and checked in. Immediately I got the feeling that it was a far friendlier place than in Tokyo - lots of people talking and it didn't take at all long to meet people. I did more talking in the first half hour than I did during my entire stay in the Tokyo hostel! I decided to go on a food hunt. Hiroshima leaflets and ...

I used to have mixed feelings about the usage of the Atomic Bomb on Japan. I kind of sided with the pro-bomb mentality that the bomb was justified: 1) to "save a million lives" because the Japanese would have fought to the death in a land invasion of Japan. 2) that Hiroshima was a military city that was used to make ships, planes, train soldiers, etc. 3) it would bring a quick end to the war. Ashleigh and I went to the museum they have located next to the Peace memorial. It was ...

... catch the Nozomi shinkansan for the first time - rather exciting travelling at 250 or so km/hr watching Japan fly by out the window. After dropping our bags off and managing to find the highly recommended Indian restaurant for a curry and beer we set off to start the sightseeing. The best travel recommendation we have received yet was to make sure you visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum before doing anything else. So we made our way over through the city with a stop ...