Golden Week!!!

I'm back from my Golden Week vacation and had an amazing time! I went with my two co-workers Ayako, the manager (she used to be the assistant manager), and Ayuko, the head teacher. First we went to Tottori where we climbed up a mountain side to see an unusual and inspiring little temple. That night we stayed at a ryokan (Japanese inn) where we were served traditional meals and got to soak in an onsen (hot spring). You have to be naked in the onsen, and I was a little worried about that at first, but when in Rome . . . It turned out to be a lot of fun though, and really relaxing. Later that night we had massages, but it wasn't like any other massage I've had before. There was a lot of short, quick poking. Sometimes it really tickled, and other times it really hurt. In the end I think I was more tense after the massage than before. The next day we went to see the sand dunes, but the weather was really bad so it wasn't too exciting.

After that we went to Hiroshima. I'm probably a little biased because my family was from Hiroshima, but I thought it was one of the most amazing cities I've ever been to. There are seven rivers in the city (I think) so there are bridges everywhere. Plus, there are tons of green mountains surrounding the city so the skyline is amazing. Peace Park is absolutely beautiful, and kind of reminded me of Washington, D.C. There are also street cars all over that reminded me of San Francisco. We visited the A-bomb dome, and the Memorial Museum. The whole museum was incredible, but two things touched me the most. The first was these two models of Hiroshima before and after the bomb. It literally took my breath away when I saw the absolute devestation of the city. The second was this photograph taken right after the bomb by the journalist Yoshio Matsushige. The picture was of injured people staggering for help after as the city burned around them. Along side the photo was a quote that went something like this:
"It took me 30 minutes before I could force myself to take a picture. When I did, I suddenly felt calm. I tried to take a second but my viewfinder was clouded with tears." In the end, he was only able to take five photos, and those are the only pictures ever taken directly after the bomb.

The next day we met up with Ayako's friend, Kaori. She and her boyfriend drove us to Yamaguchi prefecture where we saw a castle and a really awesome bridge. Later we went to Miyashima where we saw the great Toriya gate and Itsukushima Shrine. When we got there it was low tide so you could walk out and touch Toriya, but when the tide is high it is surrounded by water. I think Miyashima was one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.

It's getting late, and I have to go to work tomorrow (boooo) so I'm going to end this here. I took a lot more pictures than this, so let me know if you are interested and I'll send them your way. Enjoy!