The Holyland part 1

Everyone knows that I have been wanting to venture out to this place since ages ago.
I cannot believe that it was in the making: a trip to Japan. I was able to make the trek with two of my friends: Sarah Lou and Paul.
Paul slep over at my new apartment the night previous because we would have to fly by the seat of our pants the next morning to make it to the airport in time. While having a car would be much easier- we like to take the road less traveled. The three of us had to be at the airport limo busstop by 5:00am. I know Im a morning person these days but thats just pushing it.

Once in Fukouka Japan at 1150, we hit the ground running but ended up getting a little confused about what to do.
[author's note: from here on out, we would continue to be blessed by many Japanese people who would go out of their way to assist us].
After riding on the subway and engaging in conversation with Chonan, a local, we soon found out how to obtain our JR rail passes and get on our way to Hiroshima. Oh wait, there is no smell here in Japan!

The JR pass is an essential to any foreigner going into Japan for more than 3 days at a given time. Since transportation is more expensive than the US and Korea combined, one would spend 1000.00 bucks alone trying to navigate around without the JR pass. The cost of the pass ranges from 300-400 bucks due to exchange rates at the time.

Hiroshima proved to be a peaceful place to venture to first. Many of the sights and stops within the city were very low key and mellow. The people proved to be friendly and the cuisine was amazing. The must see palce in the city was the museum/A BOMB DOME [one of the only free standing places that have withstood time and the blast].
I was surprised to see that people were very welcoming to us, being foreigners AMERICANS within their city. Many of their monuments did not protest America but just the overarching idea of war. Out of all the sights we saw, one that forever lurks in my memory is the Hiroshima Flame. The reading on the plaque states that it will be extinguished when "all atomic bombs are destroyed."
To wind things down, we went over to the docks to partake in Hiroshima's token dish- Okonomyaki!
This concoction starts with a bed of udon noodles. bacon. cabbage. egg pancake. finishing sauce. You couldnt ask for something better at the end of your first night.