Day 5: Bullet Training to Hiroshima

Japanese schools are still in session, so this morning the house had the same busy feeling that is always present in my own home during the school year.

Kanon and Ruki scrambled to get their things together as my host mom prepared breakfast and got ready for work. Mr. Koyama read the paper and sipped coffee while trying to rush the children out the door. It was comforting to see how much our families share in common despite being an ocean apart.

After everyone else had left for work or school, I caught a bus from my house to Mitaka Station, which was about a 15-minute ride.

I made my way to the Chuo Express Line platform, and coincidentally got on the same train as Jamie, who also was returning from a host family stay. We rode together to Tokyo Station, where we found the rest of our group to catch the Shinkansen, or bullet train, to Hiroshima.

Bumped into this random American kid on the train! Small world. 

Riding the bullet train was a travel experience like no other. With maximum speeds of 150-200 miles per hour, it really does feel like you're moving as fast as a bullet as the train whizzes by towns and lakes and though mountains. The train took four hours to travel about 500 miles, and we got great views of some beautiful scenery along the way.

The gang is reunited after being separated for a few days

Waiting to board the train

We got a great close-up view of Mt. Fuji on the way down

#views

Lunch on the train, purchased from a stand on the platform

of Tokyo Station. Very good sushi and surprisingly fresh.

Hiroshima was not what I expected. Its population is about 1 million, and it feels like a major city with many modern features. Tokyo's massive size had changed my perspective on what makes a "big" city, but Hiroshima definitely qualifies.

Several rivers go through downtown, and mountains loom in the distance. A streetcar system runs down the city's major boulevard, and bicycles are omnipresent.

Downtown from the window of our hotel

The streetcar track runs in the middle of the road

We are staying at the Asterplaza International Youth House, which sounds like a hostel, but is actually very nice.

Each room has a tatami mat floor with futons that can be placed on the floor and traditional paper screens that serve as doors.

The four boys are staying together in one room, and it has more than enough space for all of us.

The "hostel" 

Our room looks like something straight out of "The Karate Kid"

One requirement for the trip is for participants to make 1,000 paper origami cranes before arriving in Japan to hang at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial in honor of those killed by the atomic bomb.

We have all been carrying our share of the cranes in our luggage up to this point, but this afternoon, we worked to string the cranes together to hang up when we go to the memorial tomorrow.

We packed 40 strings with 25 cranes on each

Hanging them all on one string was surprisingly easy

Sophie and Sydney bask in the glory of a job well done

For dinner, we had sushi again. I completed my most exotic culinary exploit of the trip so far when I tried a raw horse meat roll. The verdict: surprisingly bearable, but I would not order it again if given the choice. It had a very salty and surprisingly tender taste to it.

I present to you: raw horse meat on top of rice with ginger

I have been impressed by Hiroshima. It has some truly stunning views, and it is also nice to take a break from the constant bustle of Tokyo in favor of a slightly more relaxed, laid-back atmosphere. I am excited to learn more about the city's history tomorrow and continue exploring.