Day 1: Today was a very long day. First, I hitched a ride on a 6-hour plane ride to Vancouver, only to get on another plane just a couple of hours later, this time for a 10-hour flight. Despite these long flights, a nice dinner awaited us at a place called Ikinari Steak below our hotel in Suita (just north of Osaka). The chicken: amazingly seasoned, 9/10. The hotel: small, but only because they squeezed a third bed into a two-person room, presumably so EF could spend less money on hotel costs, 6/10.
Day 2: Today was my first experience with a Bullet Train, or a Shinkansen. For the day, we sped down the coast to Hiroshima and the island of Itsukushima. In the morning, after a ferry ride to the island, the group and I visited the famed Itsukushima Shrine and saw the Torii gate standing out in the bay. The next hour or two was spent walking down the Miyajima Omotesando shopping street, getting lunch, and watching deer attack a man and his drink. In the afternoon, we toured the center of Hiroshima City, visiting important sights such as the Peace Memorial Park, the Atomic Bomb Dome, and the Peace Memorial Museum. The museum was very mature, and some sections should be skipped if you are with children. Despite this, it teaches you and displays the truth of the past, so it is a beneficial experience to have (if you can handle the graphic images). Finally, at night, we ate a very unique dish called Okonomiyaki at the aptly named Okamoto’s Okonomiyaki (tongue twister). First, you start with a very thin crepe-like pancake grilled hibachi-style, then layered with cabbage, pasta, bacon, an egg, sauce, and garnished with some greens. 9/10.
Day 3: Today had fewer activities than yesterday, and I am still trying to figure out if that is good or bad. We started by leaving our Higashihiroshima-based hotel and taking a drive up to Himeji Castle. It was just as hot as the day before, the high being around 90, but it was fun to explore the castle and ascend the Tenshu, getting great views of Himeji city and the surrounding area. The inside of the castle was kept in great condition, and you had to take off your shoes before entering to stop any potential damage to the castle. One of the pillars was originally built, meaning it is approximately 415 years old. Nearing the end of the day, we took a trip to Dotonbori Canal, a giant, Times Square-esque shopping center. After a long expedition to help a friend find a charging pack, we ate dinner, shopped, and took a ride on the famous Ebisu Tower Ferris Wheel to end the day.