The 1000 Day Holiday

Well its been a very busy week…

3/3 A day on the train. decided on destination Nikko, not far from Tokyo. 7.30am start on the slow train to hakodate – Aomori -Hachinohe. Then the shinkansen. 22.5degrees of muggy hell!
got to Nikko 8pm…

4/3 Nikko for the morning bouncing around the temples, shrines and avoiding the tacky tourist stuff and overpriced food everywhere. I had had enough by lunchtime. So headed to get my bags and get out of nikko. Alas many places in Japan run things like a concentration camp.

Bath: 5pm-7pm women, 7pm -9pm guys…
The hostel is locked from 10am till 4pm! DOH.. so had to wait around for my bags..
Got on the train and headed south.
Got to tokyo and tried to buy an overnight bus to Hiroshima. Sold out.. i guess thats what the girl on the phone was trying to say earlier to me in Japanese after she said she spoke english..

So on a whim I bought a 5 day pass JR student ticket, anywhere in japan, just not on anything fast.. so the train stops at every little station.

Got to yokohama on my existing pass, when I realised I didnt have a map of what connections I would have to make. so booked for the overnight bus the next night..

5/3: Yokohama.
spent the day wandering around different areas of yokohama. Finished it with cocktails in the top floor of the tallest building.. Quite chuffed on this..
The Tower has a viewing level on 69.. but it was 1050 yen..
So i went into the hotel, up to their bar/resturant where there was no cover charge before 5 on the 70th floor. So in effect had a free very yummy cocktail in very elegant surroundings w a fantastic view towards Tokyo

Got on the overnight bus to Hiroshima

6/3: Hiroshima
After talking to some guys who took a night bus to the snow. it sounded like the seats fully reclined.. Alas no.

Met 2 Slovak guys (andrej & thomas) on the bus so have been hanging w them for a few days.
Did a day trip to Miya Jima Island. Hiked the summit through a valley destroyed by a recent typhoon. Lots of tame deer everywhere, didnt see the monkeys as coundlt find the ropeway summit.

In the afternoon checked out the Abomb museum. Theres some spooky stuff there. Concrete with a `shadow` from where someone was sitting when the Abomb went off.

Had dinner at a Izakaya where noone spoke english – tops food and sat right in front of the grill so it was awesome.

concluded with a night walk around Hiroshima Castle grounds.

7/3 Himeji Castle
Morning train to Hemeji Castle, this was epic. an amazing afternoon. Even found the ritual suicide courtyard. The coroner has a raised platform to sit on, the wood is sloped for easy cleaning, and theres a well to wash the head in.

8/3 Kyoto
Hanging w Andrej & Thomas headed for some remote shrines in the hills of Kyoto.
seems every 50m on the trail there is another little shrine to pay & pray..

9/3 Day trip to Nara
Some huge temples.. a 430 ton bronze buddah thats lost its head a few times.
Climbed through a hole in one of the supporting beams and am now guaranteed enlightenment
Defiantely over the temple thing now.

Heading for Tokyo (and if i stay on the slow trains it will take me 7:30 – 15:30 for the tokyo run… Will play the oops, Wakarimasen (i dont understand in Japanese) and stick to the express trains as much as poss.

Intention is to hit Kagura near niigata (or maybe Hakuba – whichever has the best snow)