Central Hiroshima

... bit relieved, actually.

"OK. Arigatou," I smiled, and walked off to continue my pursuit...

I realized that no matter how tactful my approach I would be viewed as rather bold by Japanese cultural standards. I was hoping on their world-famous politeness to smooth me through any shock factor

Well, I made it through that first encounter, so I was on my way...

She appeared to be in her mid-30's, had been sitting alone for some ...

... br>
I must say that was the softest sell I've ever gotten from Jehovahs. In fact, *I* did most of the talking!

In hindsight, I wished I'd asked them what the A-Bomb Dome meant to them as Japanese. I think I will return and find an appropriate approach to pose this question. I REALLY want to get viewpoints from "the other side."

-----
CHILDREN'S PEACE MONUMENT:

Clouds gathered over head and threatened to rain, so I made my way in search of shelter in case of ...

... all mixed together as is the habit in other cities. Oh...and they're a bit mad. I challenge you to try get a photo of them where they're making normal expressions! Anyways, great banter, along with some more beers was had before we prepped for sightseeing the next day.

This started by taking a tram to Hiroshima's peace park which holds several monuments and a museum dedicated to the Atomic bomb that was dropped here. For me, the most notable monument was the ...

... fragile. So anyway, ordered these pizzas with the iphone explaining I was allergic to fish and seafood. Great we thought, the person who took the order nodded when we said hamu and mushroomo ... great ... excellent ... when it turned up in was prawn and octopus ... PRAWN AND OCTOPUS ???? How the hell had ham and mushroom turned into that ???? Even Matt couldnt face it - so ...

... that they will die immediately or within the next five years. Mollie and I went through the museum relatively fast and walked around the park afterwards. We saw the monument created for the victims of the bomb which had a stone box with the names of everyone killed in the bombing and a fire burning in their memory. We also rang the peace bell and saw the A-bomb dome. The A-bomb dome was one of the only structures that withstood the bombing and is now a ...

... drop of water. This juxtaposition is the most powerful tool that could have been used to convey the purpose of the museum. On the top floor, victims` memoirs were on display. Across from the memoirs, there are the a-bomb archives. The touch-screen computers here give you access to a wide variety of info, ranging from the victims` profiles to related videos from the US military archives. As I was eating my apple in the Peace Memorial Park, I met an American girl who is an exchange student ...

... the only air conditioner in the place, and basically we have 2 rooms joined into one. The only other guy on the ground floor with us is some poor British ******* who is sleeping on a mat in the kitchen because the place is overbooked. He didn't sound real happy about it when I asked him about it either. The friendship centre is run by a couple of American ex-pats pushing the anti-nuclear love-each-other hug-the ...

... Fort, en we voor het eerst sinds tijden weer gevarieerd kunnen eten blijft toch voornamelijk het beeld hangen van een overbevolkte, vieze, ongeorganiseerde metropool. Ten tijde van ons bezoek staakt 90% van de in totaal 10.000 stadsbussen wat zorgt voor een ongekende chaos. De bussen die wel rijden zijn dientengevolge volgepropte moordwapens en 3 passagiers overleven de reis niet zo lezen we een dag later in de krant. Hoe anders is het leven als we in Hong Kong aankomen. India ...

... gt; Actually earning reasonable money for some time in our respective jobs obviously had something of an effect on us, as, this time, I enjoyed Kyoto from the relative splendour of a hotel. No sharing of 10-bed hostel rooms for me any more. Nope, I was travelling 3-star all the way. I quickly learned, however, that the Japanese interpretation of "single room" differed slightly from my ...

... listed and a must-see for hundreds of thousands of daytrippers annually. At high tide, both the shrine and torii appear to float, which would allow for an almost magical experience were it not for all the tourists gabbing away, gawking at scenery and taking the obligatory group photo. Deer run a bit rampant between the port and the shrine and are apparently quite a nuisance, but I guess the heat had made them too lethargic to bother hunting down freebies. I managed to ...