Note to self, don't let friends drive drunk, or get drunk and enlist in the military. *Smacks self on forehead* Yet thanks to that coerced decision whom I only have myself to thank, I currently find myself in yet another corner of the world, where things are like channel 126 back home (Discovery). Yes Iwakuni Japan, home of the world famous Kintai bridge (shh don't tell the bridge that most of the world has no clue of its' existence).
And no, coming here is nothing like my adventures in Europe but that is more a matter of circumstance than anything. Eighteen, fresh out of high school, on a break with the so called sweetheart, free, and determined to have a good time. Well I wasn't meant to take Europe alone but, when it came down to the wire my best friend didn't get his passport and I ended up going at it alone. Which, as I look back at it now was probably for the best, I mean it forced me to look at the situation with a little more awe than I might have with the teenage influence of a best friend. Smell London, briefly, taste Belgium and Germany, get under Amsterdam's skin, and well in a certain little way taste samples of many other flavors Europe has to offer via the people. Eye opener. At eighteen that is exactly what it was, and, I don't care if I have to break my back to do it I will send my children when they graduate. In shorter words, 'here you go, this is the world'. And in no means should travel lose its luster with age, I think it actually becomes a more informing and enlightening experience as you get older. Japan for example, I'm here on orders, that means I didn't pull my pants down, spin a glob and wherever little man landed I was like "lets go and have some fun there".
I landed in Tokyo on, well, I think it was the evening of Jan 12th. Rain. I am not sure why but every time I travel I always land in pouring rain, I suppose it is just one of those things, a trademark if you will. I felt like I walked into some Nintendo induced dream where if one weren't careful, they might find themselves being swallowed by some giant fire spewing plant. No it wasn't really that bad, but, the constant dings overhead followed by a pleasant yet indiscernible Japanese voice was very enriched with the digital undertones that video games often contain. Beep Beep. So there I was, no Yen (yet), no hotel, and no firm destination other than the airport the following day for my connecting flight. Don't ask me the name of the hotel I ended up in, you won't get a definite answer. When it comes to minor details, I will not remember them unless something blew me away, which nothing other than the obvious little novelties did. Don't get me wrong, a toilet seat that cleans itself is quite the sight, as well as all the other bite size accommodations, they all just didn't strike me as something I needed to remember the name of that hotel for. Ah the bar, peas and fried octopus chips...yummy. Er... Well hell, I'm up for whatever. I did the whole herring thing in Amsterdam, had the Belgium waffle in Belgium, the brat and well pig family jewel shooters in Germany; so I was quite prepared for whatever Japan had to throw my way in all senses, especially culinary (wow I was naive).
So after about say my fourth or fifth Sapporo I was feeling the good spirits and toured the area. I will say this, Japanese are very curious, I like this. Curious people invoke curious actions, meaning I give them reasons to be more curious. Japanese women, well, not so curious (until you are in a appropriate setting that is). Niko. My first experience with a Japanese women, and no, nothing too exciting happened (although I did realize not to mistake the bashfulness for the closed door reality that truly exists here). So a dinner from a vending machine that cooked my fries, hotdogs and supplied me cold Asahi, a latenight of wandering and strange television broadcasts, followed by a cabride with self opening doors and a short flight to Hiroshima. Transport to Japan concluded. Iwakuni, well, i'll get to that some other time.
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