Miyajima is only about 3 hours from my front door but due to Golden Week traffic it took more like six. Luckily my car was in good company. In a total random side note, at one of the rest stops we saw a teacher Amy and I work with. Actually, she is our vice principal. In another random side note, this same teacher is from Tsuyama and I taught her daughter at AEON for three years. Honshu is a very small island.
We ended up staying at a hostel right near the dock for the ferry that goes to the Island. Since our first day was mostly spent in travel, we decided to go into Hiroshima city proper (about 40 minutes by street car) to chill for the evening. We decided to walk to the Peace Park where the Hiroshima Bomb Museum is located. I have been here multiple times as well, but that night there was actually a festival going on so the park was absolutely transformed. There were GIANT paper cranes in the yard next to the museum and also a lot of tables with candles that people were decorating. It looked like the cranes had been decorated by school children. Just past the museum was a stage where there was a traditional dance/play being performed with a man fighting giant snakes (or, giant costumes). On another nearby stage was a concert featuring 3 college aged (maybe) AKB wannabes.
After wandering around there we took a quick look at the shops and then went to an Irish Pub for the night. There was live music going on and Guinness being served. In a side note I went to Ireland my freshman year of college and the first beer I ever had was a Guinness. Add that to my summers living in Germany and I am a dark beer girl. I will drink the light stuff served at all Japanese restaurants for lack of a better option, but Guinness and Dunkelweizen have my heart. The pie I had was quite disappointing though. Maybe if I hadn't JUST been to England and Scotland... The top was all flaky but then there was no bottom part to the pie and it was mostly a watery broth underneath. Granted, this is probably healthier, but still... (and for the Americans, when I talk about pie I am talking about something like a chicken pot pie).
The next day we got up early and hiked to the top of Miyajima. Being Golden Week, the island was of course packed but that was alright. I think it helped me to stay motivated to see sooo many people passing me by. We had a great time taking photos at the top of the mountain and then took the long, slippery, miserable way down. It actually wasn't too bad but I wasn't really in shape for it. At the bottom of the course an old Japanese man was warning people about how we shouldn't use it because it hadn't been maintained. Would have been helpful if he had been at the top.
We did the usual taking pictures of the gate, eating okonomiyaki and cream cakes, and browsed the omiyage (the Japanese word for souvenirs). One new thing, though, was staying until after dark and seeing the island all lit up. It was gorgeous and the weather was not hot, not cold. I saw a lot of couples milling about in Yukata, or Japanese robes that look like kimono. Definitely put it on my to do list to actually stay on the island with a family. I am sure it is expensive, but very beautiful.
The last day of Golden Week most of our group went into the actual museum while Rich and I chilled in the park. Then Justin caught the train home and the rest of us drove to Iwakuni (where Nana, our first home stay student, was from) to see the Kintai Bridge- an old bridge that is sloped. We also caught the white snakes and some soft cream. It would have been nice to do more but we still had the long drive back.
Maybe not the most inventive or exciting Golden Week, but a real vacation and a good chance to hang out with friends. Of course, it was nice to come home to Motoaki who, in misunderstanding and thinking Justin would be with me, had bought pizza! Granted, it had broccoli and mayo on it... He was rewarded with his omiyage of Beef Jerky which I had gotten at the import store.
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