Hiroshima, Miyayima and Kyoto

October 6

I decided to not sleep the night before in fear that I would miss my train to Hiroshima. Staying in a dorm with 8 other people can be a challenge if you plan to leave early and it’s pretty dark! So I ended up checking out early and just resting in the lounge downstairs. I might hae cat-napped a little but still barely any sleep. I left around 4:30 am and ventured to my favorite place - 7/11 to get some breakfast. Thank heaven for 7/11 being everywhere and open 24/7. After breakfast, I ventured to the train station and found the shinkansen for Hiroshima fairly easy. While looking for my seat, a Japanese lady came over and asked me where I was headed. I told her I was connecting through Osaka to get to Hiroshima and from there she proceeded to introduce me to her Polish friend who had the same route. I got the sense that the Japanese lady was worried for her friend traveling alone so was a bit relieved that I could travel with her. Magda, the Polish girl, turned out to be a great traveling partner. She was pretty well-organized thanks to all the tips that her friend gave her. We had a great time exploring Miyayima through the ferry and then by foot. Lots of deer everywhere and the food vendors were great! Def try the oysters there. The view of the Gate is amazing and the whole island is just gorgeous. From there we caught the JR line back to Hiroshima and walked all around Peace Park. It’s saddening to read about the devastation that Hiroshima experienced from the Atomic Bomb. There were many visitors...Japanese mainly. From Hiroshima, Magda and I parted ways but made plans to explore Kyoto together the next day. I literally passed out on the train ride to Osaka/Kyoto and luckily woke up just in time. A group of Japanese men in suits were very helpful in guiding me to the right exit! I found the Khaosan Kyoto Guesthouse fairly easily...maybe a 10 min walk. Right after check-in, I met a group of folks in the lounge area who were headed to a Karaoke bar. Despite sleeping a total of 5 hours combined the past 3 days and my better judgement, I said sure I’ll go. Took a quick shower and then walked to the Rainbow Karaoke club. Sang and partied with people from Australia, Switzerland, Taiwan and Indonesia. We all had a great time singing and drinking till 2am!

October 7

Hmm in hindsight, sleeping in might have been a better idea instead of karaoke. I woke up tired and worn out and barely remembered that I was supposed to meet Magda around 9am at Kyoto Station. Took a quick shower and headed out only to be stopped by the front desk about payment. I ended up giving all the rest of my yen and leaving me nothing for subway or bus. So I had to go find an ATM...no luck of course...finally found a bank to do money exchange just so I can have 220 yen for bus fare...sheesh. Wasted quite a bit of time and was 45 minutes late. With no phone nor internet, it was hard to communicate with Magda and I assumed she would have gone her own way by then. So I ended up buying a 2 day bus pass to explore the temples on my own. My first temple was Sanjusangendo ...national treasure.. temple, which was memorable for me because that was the place where I discovered that I had cracked my tablet in my backpack. Now half the screen’s touch feature wont work. Luckily I still have rotation but it’s pretty annoying. On top of that, I got my fortune and it was the 2nd lowest possible fortune...something along the lines of my fortune being not good but not bad...hmm whatever that means.

Miraculously, I bumped in Magda at that temple too. Of all the temples and times around Kyoto, we found each other coincidentally. Relieved that I found my travel buddy again, I let out a long sigh of relief. We hugged each other like long lost buddies. From there, Magda told me that we were going to walk because apparently everyone in Poland walks, ok not really...just this crazy girl. I was not sure what she meant by walk, but it ended up being about 10kms in total of walking. We hit every possible shrine and hole in the wall during our walk of death. I complained, I cried, I whined...I fell...but nevertheless, Magda kept on marching. The woman is a walking machine! I will never forget Kyoto because my feet will never forgive me. Along the way, I asked Magda to teach me some Polish curse words. She did and I proceeded to use them on her! On a separate note, The Kinkakuji Temple or Gold Temple is pretty impressive...a bit tourisy but def a sight! One of the highlights from the day was running into an elderly Japanese woman and asking her for directions to a temple. She was this short and petite lady who could not understand English but was extremely nice. She motioned for us to follow her...like sheeps we did. The shepherd then led us to her house..again we didnt question. She then brought out her son who gave us really good directions. The lady also went and got us cold beverages. What a sweet lady! We took a picture with her to remember her by. One thing I will say about Japan is that the people have been friendly and helpful!

I later parted ways with Magda and wished her a safe trip back to Tokyo and then Poland. After getting back to my guesthouse, I went to Sushi Musashi...conveyor belt sushi...2 pieces for 137 yen, what a great deal! I ate a few variety of sushi and they were all so yummy. What I also like about the conveyor belt setup is that they give you complimentary green tea that you do yourself and push against a nob for hot water. You pick the dish you want from the conveyor belt and they charge you by the color/design of your plate at the end. After getting back to the guesthouse, I crashed pretty early...exhausted from all the walking!