Days 8,9,10 - Kobe, Hiroshima
Update: New rule when updating your blog, if you`re so tired you can`t see the keyboard, wait until the next day. Thanks KK for the editorial services. I`m a bad spellr, doh!
Kobe, and I don`t mean Bryant
Not sure what today is. It’s late so this will be short, but I’m
currently in Hiroshima. I left Wakayama two days ago and headed to Kobe area. Wound up staying at a hotel overlooking the ocean in Tarumi. I got adopted temporarily by a local family with 3 kids who took me around town and then had me over for lunch the next day. Got to try cold soba noodles (popular summer dish), and Japanese mountain potato, which is another new fav dish. Tonight was kind of mellow. Just hung out on the beach and watched the fisherman with the amazing Akashi Kaikyo Bridge as a backdrop.
The following day I hit more of Kobe proper which was interesting - a bit touristy in some parts, but impressive considering much of the city was leveled in the last big earthquake there.
Hiroshima
I checked out some of Hiroshima today but the museum was closed so I`ll catch that in the morning before I head to Kyoto. I really like it here. Can`t quite put my finger on what it is yet. It`s quite modern looking and there`s the ever present reminders that this was the site of the first atomic bomb dropped on a population in human history. The Peace Dome (or Atomic Bomb Park for locals) is really quite something. There`s a building still standing that you`ll recognize one I upload it, and a memorial for ground zero - quite a somber atmosphere there, but otherwise the city is thriving and has a fun/energy about it.
More updates to come including more photos. I`m in the process of doing an indepth head-to-head comparison of the most popular convenient stores: 7-11, AM-PM, Lawsons, or Family Mart (a.k.a Famima) Right now it`s Famima, but I`ll be sure to explore the others some more. You can buy everything there from good sushi dinners, souvenirs from your fav local soccer team, toiletries - you name it. Stay tuned.
Stats:
Strange Food Count: 34. Tried the infamous nato the other night. Not nearly as bad as I was led to believe. I was told it tasted like everything from a dirty dish rag to dirty feet. It`s fermented soy bean and wasn`t that bad really.
Photo Count: I`ve currently gone through about 4GB of memory cards and still have a week to go. I needs to find me a computer ASAP and dump this cr@# onto a CD.
Hours of Sleep: Improving. No longer operating on 3 hours a night like before. Racking up about 7 a night, although, I still wake up around 5h30 - 6h00.
Credit Card: Student Loans $alot, New Car: $even more, 2+ week trip to Japan when you`re currently unemployed: Priceless. As a wise man once said, `How can you put a price on a good time?` Oh wait, that`s my line, scratch the `wise man` part…
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Dude it aint even close: Lawsons rocks the house. Pay your bills, order that next trip out of town, shop online for products, and grab an milk tea and onigiri without even having to look (cuz they are all exactly in the same place in every store!).
Family Mart is a distant second, and is a good bet for magazines, and has better chocolate that Lawsons. The Famuri Marto (thats funner to say than “Famima”, IMO) next to the train station in Shimokitazawa (Tokyo) has the fucking bomb mochi, and I dont even think you can get it at Lawsons. I would love some coverage on the mochi status of the respective stores!
I once almost got hit on my bike by a car exiting a 7-11 in Ginza, so I dont go there anymore; brings back bad memories. Fuck 7-11.
Yeah…besides dude - you didn’t go all the way to Japan to go to 7-11 did you?
There were more 7-11 in Copenhagen than any other city I’ve ever been to. Wassupwitdat?
There is also a 7-11 here in Tromsø (the arctic fucking circle). Shit funny thing is, the sev here carries these fucking amazing gourmet cakes of all shapes and sizes for some unexplicable reason. Dominating the front end of the store is this massive glass display of these cakes, begging you to lay down 40 kroner (about 8 USD) for a slice.
And its just not fucking right to overhear “oh, wow thats good damn cake, where did you get it?”…Oh, you know, 7-11″.