The Beginning of Vacation

As I am sure you have noticed, I have not posted for about a week now. A lot has happened on the trip so I am going to try and break it up into a couple of sections. For starters, when we first arrived, Momo’s mother had a gift for Joel and I. It is hard to describe but I would relate it to an American bathrobe. It is super warm and will definitely help in my cold apartment. She also made us a quick dinner and then it was off to sleep after a six hour bus ride.

The next morning we woke up and decided to go for a stroll, checking out the local sites around Momo’s house. Within a minute walk there was a temple, the same one I went to on New Years. After the temple we decided to take the river to a shrine. The river seemed like a nice place to go for a run and just relax. However, I did not use the river one time as a place to run. In fact, I did not use any place as a track as I was extremely lazy the whole week. Mainly, it has to do with my new motto, but I will discuss that more in the New Years entry. Anyway, we headed to the shrine after the river walk. There wasn’t anything special about the shrine as it was isolated on a hill. It was a plain building with a few pictures and surrounded by sand. We went back to the house and along the way noticed what resembled a scaled down golf course. Luckily, there were a few men playing so we hung out and watched for a bit. The ball was a mix between a typical golf ball and the shuttle cock which is used in badminton. Also, instead of putting the ball in, it had to be chipped into a basket which hung about a foot or so off of the ground. I believe the name of the game is Smash Golf but I could be wrong. After watching we went back to Momo’s house and had some lunch; rice and eel to be exact. I must say, I tried some rather interesting food this week.

(The temple from Momo's back yard. There will be more pictures later.)

(I went and sat on the rocks which made up a natural dam. It was rather soothing not being able to hear anything but the sounds of the river.

(The Plain Shrine, different than the temple)

(Smash Golf Course)

(Smash Golf Ball - half ball and half shuttle cock)

(The view of Momo's house and surrounding community from a nearby hill.)

After lunch we drove to the Atomic Bomb Dome and Peace Memorial. However, seeing as it was close to the holiday, the museum was closed and we wondered around outside just looking at the monuments. After strolling around outside for a bit we headed to Hiroshima castle which also doubled as a museum. The castle had a moat and as we entered there was a woman with geisha attire on. We walked around the castle grounds for a bit and made it to the castle entrance. However, due to the holidays it was also closed.

(Shiyo, Justin, and Momo. This memorial was to honor all of those who died in Hiroshima.)

(This is the Atomic Bomb Dome. The bomb detonated about 600 meters away from this building and somehow it survived the blast.)

(Hiroshima Castle)

We ended up going up a long, windy road to the top of a mountain. Those of you who know me well know I am not a fan of such car rides due to my motion sickness. However, I made it to the top without hurling. It was a beautiful night and we could see two cities below us – Hiro and Kure. As my grandfather would say, the “Chi Chi” bird was out, meaning it was extremely cold, and we only ended up spending about five minutes outside. The drive up to the top reminded me of Steptoe Butte in Pullman and of course about a certain somebody. Nevertheless, it was still an amazing view and a great first day in Hiroshima.