When Scott and I awoke from the mini-coma Saturday morning, we didn't really have time to do anything or get breakfast before we needed to catch our 7:30am train to Hiroshima to hang out with Moriyasu. Fortunately we had made reservations ahead of time and when we got on the train, we didn't need to move seats every 5 minutes. I bought some M&M's and a chocolate orange SoyJoy, which tasted like a piece of cardboard spritzed with orange juice that was left in the vicinity of some chocolate for about an hour or so, to hold me over on the train ride until we could get some real food. I would go on about the beautiful countryside and show off the 2 good pictures I took out of 150 , but I already did that after the Kyoto trip and you take the same tracks to Hiroshima. We did however have to change trains in Shin-Osaka, where Scott of course sniffed out premade pork cutlet sandwiches. Scott consumes pork like he has a personal vendetta against pigs. Watching him eat breakfast is mildly nauseating, as I am still not even sure if he chews the bacon or just swallows it whole.
Once we got to Hiroshima, Moriyasu was waiting for us at the gate. After a quick hello he took us up to what I can only descibe as okonomiyaki heaven. On the sixth floor of a building across from the station is a giant room filled with nothing but kitchens who specialize in okonomiyaki, which is a savory Japanese pancake filled with cabbage, bacon, egg and coated lightly with Japanese mayonnaise and okonomiyaki sauce (BBQ sauce) eaten directly off of the teppan in front of you. It doesn't sound that good when I write about it, but trust me, I ate it and thought it was delicious and I am one of the worlds pickiest eaters. We sat down at one restaurant at the back of the room where the chef promised us the best okonomiyaki in the world. As far as I can tell, he wasn't lying.
After lunch Mori-chan took us on a very long train ridetp Miyajima Island and Itsukushima Shinto Shrine, during which we passed the Atomic bomb Dome, which Moriyasu said he wouldn't take us to because it was depressing. Once on the island we walked out into thigh high water to take pictures of and next to the Torii (gate). Moriyasu hung back and took the best pictures, but he hasn't sent them to me yet so I can't post them. The water around the gate was surprisingly warm. I could swear it was as high as 80 degrees in some parts and never dropped below 70 in other parts. Which is an unsettling feeling in water. I kept looking around for little kids who may have peed in the water where I was walking. Warm patches always freak me out no matter what form of water I'm in. My childhood has forever damaged me in that way.
Itsukushima Shrine was gorgeous and there were deer walking around everywhere. They will walk up right next to you and let you pet them, which I did. Petting zoos around the world should be jealous and avert their eyes in shame to this place. The boat ride to the island, including the return trip was 350 yen and the entrance to the shrine was only 300 yen. At less than $7 for the entire experience it is a trip that I would recommend to anyone who goes to Japan. Unfortunately, once we actually entered the shrine, the tide was still out so all of the little pools of water that would normally surround the complex were dry.
After walking about and going through all of the little gift shops, Moriyasu took us to get Momiji Manju, which is a delicious bean filled pastry. Now, I know what your thinking...what could possibly be delicious about a bean filled pastry? First off, I'm not sure I like your tone. Second, they are Japanese sweet red beans, or azuki. And that delicious little pastry is freshly made and warm and melts in your mouth. As far as dishes with beans go, Japan got this one right, unlike natto, the foul, stomach-churning, unpalatable, vomitous fermented soy beans than many Japanese love to eat. Run into a Japanese person who has just eaten natto and their breath may hospitalize you.
Not only did we get Momiji Manju, but I got the Japanese version of Cream Soda, which is melon soda with vanilla ice cream. Simply breathtaking. I have yet to find this in any shop in the Tokyo area, which in my book is a serious problem and I am organizing a march to get this put into more restaurants across the country. This beverage is one of the best things I have ever accidentally ordered.
After our little stop, we took the boat back to the mainland and went back into Hiroshima city, where Moriyasu undertook the unforeseeably daunting task of finding Scott and I a hotel room for the night. Apparently, we decided to come into town the night when a major concert was in town in addition to the local professional baseball and soccer teams playing home games. We eventually got a hotel room, but only because one hotel had a cancellation. And we only actually got the room because Moriyasu agreed to stay with us since the owner didn't speak any English and didn't really trust foreigners. As if finding the room wasn't difficult enough, the room was 6 feet by 10 feet and it felt like a coffin. That and the TV in the room only had one channel, which we would have had to pay for if we wanted to watch, and it played nothing but Japanese porn. Definitely a notch below motel in the hotel ratings book.
Fortunately the let down that was our hotel room was made up for by Moriyasu's superior knowledge of great places to eat. Right around the corner from our hotel, down a very cool covered street that served as a sort of outdoor mall was a Yakiniku place to die for. When you enter the restaurant, which is underground in the basement of a 6 story building, you are met by the inviting smells of grilling meats and smoke. The restaurant is filled with Japanese business men taking a load off after work with friends and coworkers, all of whom are genuinely having a great time.
The food was amazing. I am actually salivating a little bit just thinking about it. To make things even better, the dessert menu offers different sherbets, all of which were served in the actual fruit. Not an entirely unheard of treat in the states, but when the melon sherbet shows up looking like a perfect wedge cut straight from the melon, and you've had a couple beers and life can be described as "smooth," it is pretty amazing. That and I'm pretty sure I was weeping as I ate it. Half of the tears were joy while the other half were reflective of a deep sadness due to the knowledge that I may never get to eat this dessert again unless I come back to Hiroshima.
After dinner we went back to the room and slept off the sizable amount of food that we consumed. Scott of course had the A/C on max so Moriyasu and I froze during the night because we couldn't find the controls in the dark abyss that was our room. When we awoke, Moriyasu took us to a french restaurant called Anderson's for a quality breakfast. Moriyasu ordered a cafe latte that came with a heart on it. Despite the evidence at hand, Moriyasu denied that it was because the girl who served the food was in love with him and that this was her subtle way of telling him.After breakfast we walked back to the station where we hung out for a little bit outside of a McDonald's. Despite the promise of a hot dog that was 200% tasty and arguments about what percentage tasty the normal hot dog was, we managed to avoid eating at McDonald's for the entire trip. We said our goodbyes then hopped on the train to Osaka, where we were supposed to meet Scott's ex, Naomi. After waiting for an hour and a half outside the designated location, she was a no show so we hopped back on the train and headed back to Tokyo where we were able to rest our extremely blistered feet. By this point in the trip I had developed a nasty blister on my right foot that has set up a highly reinforced camp, complete with heavy artillery, between by big toe and the one right next to it. This one blister has since continued to make the last four days in Japan a living hell when I do any extended walking. It is like the battle of Thermopylae in-between my toes.
