overall, a great day!

today started early with tons of japanese girls waking up early and not
being quiet at all. after all, i did have people in my room last night, 2
japanese girls that were also not quiet and didn't seem to want to go to
bed. ah!

so i got on the island at around 9 am and started the day with breakfast on
the beach (low tide = beach aroun the center of town) but it got cut off by
a deer who jumped over and was trying to grab my food and eat my clothing. i
swear, those damn things are pests and people should really stop feeding
them. they run after you and try to eat your clothing. they rip your paper
bags right out of your hands. they go through garbage, eat rope, anything
really that they can get their teeth on. and they make the whole damn place
smell like a zoo. i'm tired of deers, deer poo, deer piss, and having to
watch out for deers. i'm glad that i won't be seeing them again!

anyhow, after breakfast i hiked up to daisho-in temple. i have to say that
this was the best temple that i have visited so far. great view, free, tons
of things to see, beautiful. they are a tibeatan-ish branch, so it was
really different and wonderful. i attended mass, rotated tons of prayer
weels and exactly 1000 beads, checked out the sand mandala and the numerous
sites and thousands of buddhas. this place was magical and i'm really happy
that i saw it.

afterwards i rented a bike to make my way to some secluded beaches along the
coast. the bikes you rent in japan are not made for tall people, so it's
really hard to pedal properly on what seems to be a kids bike. but the
breeze was nice! unfortunately roight after the crowded beach the road went
straight up all the way to the top of the island it seems, so i had to
abandon my dreams of deserted beaches and accept the fact that there's no
way i could pedal there. so i went to the crowded beach, in the fartest
corner i could see. it was alright but the water really stunk like algea...
even though it was cold. it was refreshing though, so that was nice. but you
couldn't really swim or anything... anyhow, i'll have vietnam and thailand
and malaisia and australia and fiji for beaches, so it doesn't really
matter!

i managed to eat on the island and had the local dish for dinner (i forget
the name now, starts with a "o" and it was alright, although a little hard
to eat. basically the it's like a big layered dish. it starts with a
pancake, then they put on shredded lettuce and some beef. when that's ready,
they place noodles on it and a cooked egg. then, add some brown sauce (kinda
like a in-between teriaki and bbq...) and tons of green stuff (like finily
chopped parsley, but it isn't), i got to discover that i'm not good with
chopsticks: it's really hard to cut anything with those things!

then i just sat outside and people watched. fought some deers. watched the
sunset. took pictures. listened to a british family fight over taking
pictures. took pictures for japanese people and with japanese people.
listened in horror at the conversation some marines stationed near here were
having (like, hello! you'er rigt besside a place you've destroyed. show some
respect!) and saw other americans oddly dressed for japan (one was wearing a
bikini top in town, a big nono, the other had enormous fake breast hanging
out of her skimpy tight pink dress...). and then, i met a really nice girl
from new mexico (my 3rd person from there in 2 days) who works in nagoya but
unfortunately she's staying in hiroshima, and not at the dump here with me!

i keep looking west towards hiroshima and i keep telling myself, this is
where it happened. this place got destroyed, and where i'm standing got to
watch... it's verry surreal. tomorrow i am going to horoshima, i will see
the a-dome (the only building left standing after he bomb dropped), the
peace museum, the memorials... it will be really emotional. to think. people
were living and suddenly, the sun fell on their heads. the bomb exploded
above them in the sky. and all that was left of some people was ther shadow
burned into the ground. i will stand there. on radioactive ground. and see
how life was reborn... it will be an incredible experience. hard, but
something that one has to see.

never again hiroshima!

and then, it's back to tokyo!!!

(posted via hotmail - in case something weirds happens, this is why!)