We arrived safe and sound in Hiroshima, a relatively small and nondescript city, minus its giant role in history. We arrived on the 70th anniversary of the detonation of the atomic bomb. A somber day of reflection, and one that drew the most foreigners we've seen in Japan. We checked into the Grand Prince Hotel, an odd triangular building with the smallest resort pool I've ever seen but with gorgeous views of the coast and very reasonable rates. We walked to the end of the block to the only lunch spot open, a traditional Hiroshima style diner. We were helped by a gentleman named Shin-Ji, who had very little English but was glad to try out what little he knew! I handed over my gluten free card, and he was very interested. Luckily, we were the only two customers in the small space, so we had lots of quality time discussing what I could and couldn't eat. Shin-Ji whipped up a great meal of fried egg, pork and spring onions with no sauce or noodles for me, while creating a fantastic concoction containing all of the above for Tyler. Once served, he came over and started talking to us (with the help of google translate, god bless technology!) and he turned out to be a delightful guy. He was very worried that I didn't get enough to eat, and kept bringing me out little items after clearing it as gluten free. At the end of our meal our new friend gave us beautiful fans to take with us. A really wonderful and memorable lunch.

After our lovely meal, we regrouped and headed out by bus to downtown Hiroshima where we joined the masses . First stop was the Peace Museum which was packed wall to wall with bodies. Tyler and I made a quick survey and had to exit the building before being consumed by body oder and claustrophobia. Most of the museum can be found online as it's photos and remnants of that terrible day. We made our way down to the river and staked out a spot to watch the lantern ceremony. All are welcome to create their own lantern writing messages of peace and love and placing them in the river where a candle is lit inside before releasing them with the current. Tyler and I decided we'd rather have a good spot for watching than standing in the very long line to release them. We were joined shortly after by a couple of young Argentines who entertained us with their singing of American songs for a better part of an hour... At least it was fun to throw in a few lines of Castellano!

At dusk, ever so slowly, the lanterns began to be released. It took about three hours for them to finally be at their zenith - bobbing along, twinkling like little beacons of hope, filled with the good wishes of the world for peace and prosperity. It was a special moment, and I feel lucky to have witnessed it.

The next morning we got up early and made our way to the bullet train, Shinkansen, for our next leg to Kyoto. A very cool experience, this train travels at 200 mph. We watched the landscape melt away outside as we flew over villages and towns and sped towards the ancient imperial city and our next adventure .

I'll be writing more about our experiences in Kyoto, as there is just too much to tell in one paragraph, but a few observations about Japan in general before we leave this installment.
The country is incredibly clean, but bizarrely there are almost no public trash cans, and there are very few trash cans in any of our hotel rooms. I am not sure if this is because the Japanese don't produce much waste or if they are squirreling their empty water bottles, gum, and detritus to their own homes to dispose of. For travelers, it is a bit irritating to not be able to throw those things away in public places. A great thing is purse holders. To put your purse on the floor here is frowned upon, so every restaurant or cafe has little baskets under your chairs to place your bags, or my personal favorite, small ottomans that act as purse pedestals. I will miss these when we get home. There are also so many secret closets, panels and doors in all of our hotels. I'm sure it's just where the housekeepers keep their cleaning supplies etc... but there are so many locked panels, one right after another, in every hallway in every hotel. Tyler and I are very curious to see what's behind door number three.