Travel Journal – Monday 19/4 – 2010
Hiroshima, Raind and no hostel…
In this writing moment we’re on a Shinkansen train on our way to Hiroshima. The day has technically not ended yet and there is still a lot more that can happen but I want to use the time for something valuable and write my entry on time for instance and not a day or two after the day already has passed. Anyway…
I’ve heard that my cats are taking full advantage of Junior-kun1. That was to be expected since they did the same with my sister. Rasmus though seem to try to handle it as good as he can even though he cannot manage to stop them completely from the bad habits they have developed in my absence. He might get some respect from them but I think that he doesn’t have time enough to get the respect he needs to make them obey him even though he isn’t home. And with him in school they will learn his routines instead and use them against him. Since I’m home almost all the time and my routines mostly revolve around sleeping, eating and my expeditions outside is highly erratic plus short, (under one hour) they doesn’t have as big window of opportunity to misbehave as they have under Rasmus.
Anyway he seems to manage and he is happy in my apartment too which is the most important thing I think. The cats will have to readjust when I get back and I will have them back to normal soon enough. Speaking of home I have missed the cats somewhat and some people back home. But I don’t want to go home yet though. It’s fun here and with Miiko here fixing things and cooking it’s quite good. I could easily live here and maybe I will if I were to decide to do so. The cats could come with me and they could live in this apartment.
About today though, well there isn’t really much to tell since most of the day has been travelling again even though travelling with Shinkansen is a lot more enjoyable than travelling with regular trains will ever be. Plus that we watched a movie almost the whole first part of the trip. But this morning we went to this Tachikawa Main Temple and went through the ceremony there instead. I must say that the Church have a lot to do if they’re ever going to catch up with Shinyo-en.
They are quite modern in their temple’s and have the highest and most modern kind of equipment I’ve ever seen or heard of in a modern church. Maybe the size and place is vital to why it’s like this but still… direct sent television and a temple bigger than the Luleå Technical University and a lot more modern too not to mention escalators in the temple. I mean, elevators is one thing but escalators? And the temple was HUGE! Made in this modern style out of glass and metal and with soft floor (partly because of the no-shoes policy) but the entrance floor was big too. It felt like entering an airport rather than a temple. During the ceremony we could actually follow the talking afterwards since there was possible to have it translated directly.
The best places though were inside of the temple and as most temples and ancient things in the world photographs were strictly forbidden which is a shame. The most beautiful and amazing things were inside of the temple where Mari showed us various different prayer rooms filled with different icons and symbols of different kinds concerning not only Shinnyo-en but also general Buddhism. Some of them I’ve heard of and other I’ve read about while most of them were things I’ve just recently heard of from Miiko or Ildi2 whom we met in the temple.
Well, after this we went back to our apartment only to find that Miiko had bought us some food for the Shinkansen Trip. She is a really grandmotherly person in this way. Always wants to take care of us and asks us about hundred times; “Daijoubu”3. Which both me and Drak thinks is a little funny. It seems like she’s afraid we’ll fall apart or die or get mad at her because she gives us free food, shows us around, introduce us to people or just exists. But then again most Japanese people seem to think that you should excuse their existence all the time and that they are in each others way. If they could4 they would excuse their existence to the earth for every step they take on her soil until they excuse themselves away from existence. Very humble indeed.
Anyway I might return to this post later with a final report about what will happen when we arrive in Hiroshima. But first I can tell you a little about the trip;
We took the Shinkansen from Omiya to Tokyo where we changed to the train we had reserved seats on to Shin-Osaka. This train departed at 17:33 and would arrive in Shin-Osaka at around 20:30. From there we would take a train to Hiroshima that would depart at 20:59 and arrive in Hiroshima at 22:34. We are now currently on the train between Shin-Osaka and Hiroshima and the time is 22:20 so I guess we’re there soon. In Sweden the time is 15:20 so I guess Rasmus soon will come back from School and some of you will soon end your day (or begin it for those of you that are unemployed).
Today is Tuesday. The time is 11:43 or 04:43 and I’ve found some free internet at a Hostel where we unfortunately couldn’t stay. I just wanted to add some information about how it went when we arrived in Hiroshima.
When we arrived it was raining quite much. That was less than ideal. When we stopped to check some things in my bag we found that a bottle had opened just a little and some of my things were wet. It didn’t matter much. Anyway we walked and found a hotel, very expensive hotel (9000 JPY) but there we got a map and two umbrellas so we decided to walk all over town to the cheapest hostel in the town. Which unfortunately was full. So after checking about 3 hostels in total after the first hotel we found one for 7500 JPY in total5. There is only two cheaper hostels in town 3000 per person and night and 2500. We have really been spoiled by the fine price we pay in Urawa.
Anyway we got a room, a 3 tantami room which was quite nice since it was kind of a Japanese style of room unlike how it’s in many other places. We had two futons, real futons, and a big comforter. A little too big and too thick since that made me sweat like a pig during the night even though we didn’t have the heater on. Anyway it was nice sleeping there. I woke up around 6-7 when a kid down the hall started screaming and after that I just lie awake thinking about what to do today and so on.
Well, the rest is for the next entry.
Best Regards,
Herid Fel
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