Hiroshima Trip, Day 1: Friday

So last weekend was Hiroshima, and since it was such a large trip, I feel it needs several posts on this little magic box called the "computer."

I had one class on Friday at 11:10. It was the standard fare for class, except for the fact that we were talking about the details of the automotive manufacturing industry in nearby Toyota. It's difficult to understand that process in English. In Japanese it's nearly impossible. We were talked at for an hour and a half regarding the manufacturing process and how the "just-in-time" system is so awesome, etc etc. I just wanted out.

After class I had lunch with Miho and a couple of other friends. She wished me a good trip and told me to take lots of pictures to show her. I had already had all my bags packed before class, so all I had to do was go back to the dorm and meet everyone at the bus stop. We got on the 2:00 pm bus to go to the train station where we took the local train into Nagoya. In Nagoya we had to change lines from the local line to the Shinkansen line. That should ring a bell with everyone. The Shinkansen is the fastest train in the world. It travels at about 240 km/hr. If you do the math that comes out to FAST mi/hr. I took a short (about a minute) video to show you the countryside whizzing by.

The girl sleeping is Meghan, my "Shinkansen buddy." We were pretty tired.We changed trains in Shin-Osaka to finish our journey to Hiroshima station. At Hiroshima station, we had to get on another local train to go to Miyajima-guchi, where our hotel lies. We hit around rush hour on a Friday, so most of us had to stand for a good part of the trip.

We arrived safely and checked into our hotel, then quested for food. We found okonomiyaki. (remember that stuff? They put noodles in it in Hiroshima!) It was quite delicious. I was at a table with Katherine Marshall, the director of Education Abroad office. She came with us on the trip, and really enjoyed herself. After dinner, we closed the official functions for the night and adjourned to the bar. I'm not posting what went on as it might be compromising to our faculty member. We ended up retiring around midnight. Saturday was going to be a big day.