So another three day weekend (I can’t even remember the last time I had a full week at school!) equalling another perfect opportunity to do something fun outside of Tokushima. The target for this weekend: Hiroshima and the sake festival.
So before you read any further let me make your reading a bit more accurate. Sake is not pronounced sayk as it looks like it is spelt, nor is it pronounced sah-key, it is infact pronounced sah-kay. Get it? Got it? Good. I shall continue...
Let me just say after my experience this weekend, I no longer dread hostels! It was like no hostel I’ve ever been in before. For a start, you had to take your shoes off at the front door! Now in any other country (especially England) I’m pretty sure my shoes would be gone by the time I came back for them. However, I had no such problem with my shoes in this hostel as everyone’s shoes were neatly lined up by the front door ready and waiting for the correct owner to step into them when they came to leave. The ‘no shoes’ rule in the hostel made for a remarkably clean hostel with carpets that weren’t completely ruined and falling apart which you wouldn’t touch with bare skin if someone paid you. Also the showers were powerful and warm, despite how many people had been in before you. They were also individual with a large space to change afterwards to avoid the awkward changing in your shared dorm! I don’t know whether this hostel is comprable with other hostels around Japan, but I would be more than happy to go back and spend another night in this one if ever I went back to Hiroshima.
So the ultimate reason for heading to Hiroshima this weekend was to attend the Sake Matsuri (Festival). This basically entailed paying a covering fee of ¥1800 to get your own sake cup and a programme listing all the available sakes in the arena. And there were a lot. The sake had come from prefectures all over Japan and each area had at least 10 different sake types to try – usually more. Now I don’t like sake but I couldn’t really refuse this opportunity to give it a good go right? So, 1 cup down... ‘wow, that was disgusting, maybe I should have another’... 2nd cup down... ‘nope, that was just as bad. Try one more?’... 3rd cup down... ‘Yup, I definitely don’t like sake and now I feel pretty sick!’. I would just like to point out now that sake is not like other alcohol where the more you drink the better it tastes. For me, sake tastes just as bad whether it is the 3rd or 30th cup (not that I got that far, don’t worry!). However, it did seem a shame to pay so much money to have only 3 cups of sake, so I thought I’d just have a quick break before attempting any more cups. Whilst I was waiting at the side, watching my fellow JETs consume more and more sake without me, I was also aware of the other rather drunk Japanese people surrounding me. One such drunkard decided, with his very limited English to come and speak to me – awkward! And not one of my friends came to rescue me. However, whilst being chatted up by this 50 year old man, he did introduce me to the first sake I have tried and actually liked! Well done drunken man! This also gave me an excuse to leave him, as I said I would go and get my tomodachi (friends) and introduced them to B hyaku san ban (103). Tasty stuff. After that, whilst trying a few different sakes in between, I knew that I had one that I could fall back on in the end. Total count at the end of the night: 16. Slightly less than most people and a lot less than some, managing to drink 50+!!!! I don’t feel bad however, as it wasn’t me throwing up for the rest of the evening, nor feeling terrible the next day. This was another positive I got out of the day – as we started at around 3 and finished at about 8, I was able to get rather merry and yet sober up in time for bed, therefore forgo my hangover the next day! Awesome. Note to self: Always drink alcohol in the afternoon, it’s good for you! =P
Ok so as well as drinking sake (and other things beside) there was also time to squeeze in a little bit of culture and sightseeing into the mix. After all, we were there three days. So on Sunday we went to an absolutely beautiful garden fairly near to the hostel. The focus of this garden was the giant pond in the middle full of koi and turtles, with countless paths criss-crossing and weaving around the outside. There was also a large stone bridge in the middle named the rainbow bridge that was definitely a centrepiece to the garden. I have always been a fan of the tranquillity and peacefulness of Japanese gardens (Americans aside) and this garden was of no exception, excelling in producing fantastic landscapes no matter which way you were facing. Anyway, it has fully made me decide that when I marry my rich husband I will get him to build me my own (possibly on a smaller scale) Japanese garden.
After spending a little time in the garden, it was time to move on and explore the island of Miyajima. The island was a 10 minute ferry ride and attention was kept throughout by the impressive image of the massive torii (gate) forefronting the island. This gate is so impressive as at low tide you can go up to the massive structure, placing money at the base of the pillars (which like a good tourist I did!) However, when the tide came back in, the gate base was surrounded by water making it for a striking site with the structure steadfast but floating in the middle of the water. Another famous aspect of the island was the tame deer residents, constantly after whatever you have to eat, but at the same time being placid enough for you to go and pet them if you so wish (which I did!) It was a really strange sight just watching so many deer casually stride past you as you are walking along the street. So in Miyajima, there was not a lot to do but wwe still managed to spend hours exploring the island. Whilst others decided to go an check out the temples, Broc, Bella, Todd and myself decided to keep climbing up the side of the mountain to see how far it went. Turns out, very far, and I was practically dying by the time we go half way up – that’s right, half way, I refused to go up the 1.7km to the summit. But from where we were anyway the view was fantastic, seeing the torii in the far distance made me realise how far I could walk before I died! It really was a magnificant place – great views and things to see everywhere, and despite the near-death, definitely worth a climb! Before leaving, there was just time to see the largest rice spoon in the world before we headed back to the ferry. This spoon was a beast! Tucked away amongst the omiyage/souvenir shops all of a sudden this spoon looms out of a building at you. I don’t know the point of it, but I certainly see that it’s impressive.
So on Monday, as the bus wasn’t leaving until 18:10, there was still more time for a bit more sight-seeing. And seeing as we are in Hiroshima, what is the most obvious thing to go and see and learn about? After walking around the city, especially once exploring the peace park, it is impossible to imagine such destruction and utter annihilation occurred in Hiroshima. Who knew that such beautiful surroundings could be grown out of nothing but ash and flames? However, it has been transformed (although still keeping old things like the trams through the city) and I believe the Japanese people should feel proud of such a place that they have recovered. Apart from all the shrines and monuments depicting the lives that were lost by the bomb, the most obvious feature of the area is that of the A-bomb dome – only foundations and framework left of what was once a magnificent green-domed western style building. The skeleton of the building now is an eerie but important reminder of the disaster caused by the bomb. The museum dedicated to the Hiroshima bomb was also very well presented, providing for me information that I had never thought, nor heard about before. Although arguably biased (can you blame them?!), it did strongly depict the horrific waste of innocent civillian lives in the city, whether foreign or Japanese, and the stories of survivors and their deceased family members, with viewable clothes and items, was enough to really hit home the devastation that the bomb caused, and certainly made one subdued and humble when faced with the awful reality of the situation. 
So quite a mixture of Japanese/Hiroshima culture this weekend, but definitely a memorable and enjoyable one. Needless to say though, after getting home last night at just gone 11, school today was a bit of a struggle in the ‘staying awake’ department!
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