Alex in motion

By chance, I arrived in Takayama during their two day spring festival. The town has a well preserved district – which was my reason for visiting – that allowed you to see how people lived many years ago. Thus the festival was a pleasant surprise and unexpected bonus. This also meant finding accommodations was challenging, as everything reasonably priced was already booked and anything close to the city center was overpriced. Without many choices, I ended up spending the night in a love hotel in the next small town.

A love hotel is basically a short-stay hotel where Japanese men take women to engage in sexual activities. The women could be their wives (although unlikely), girlfriends, mistresses or escorts. Aside from the smoke-tingled furniture, framed lights over the bed and a massaging apparatus, the room looked disappointingly normal. I was expecting disco lights, love cushions or other weird kinky stuff. Heck, I couldn’t even find a decent x-rated film to watch on television (not that I’m into that kinda thing – I was just doing research).

The spring festival was very enjoyable, as throngs crowded the narrow streets to watch locals dressed in traditional attire sing, dance and play instruments. Some kids were dressed in dragon costumes, and danced in front of shop owners – perhaps for prosperity. There were also a dozen 200 year old floats with intricate detailing and designed. Each one has a well-documented history are only presented to the public twice a year for the spring and fall festivals, so they were a big deal.

I meandered the streets, enjoying the festival, sampling the local cuisine and store sweets and soaked the positive energy. Another bonus that complimented the good vibe was seeing cherry blossom trees, which were no longer in bloom in other cities.

Along the way from Hiroshima to Takayama (my next destination) is the town of Kobe. Made world famous for it’s beef, I was unable to find this precious delicacy outside of Kobe and really wanted to experience it from the source.

After researching for a highly rated restaurant close to the train station, I jumped into a taxi and arrived 9 minutes later. It was a family owned restaurant and the hostess – I’ll call her “the mama” – made me feel welcomed as if at home. There were a few other guests at the main table, two of which were from Switzerland who also came directly from the train station to taste the beef. We chatted and ended up sharing a taxi back to the station.

The table was a large cooking surface with aluminum sheets placed in front of each patron. The sheets served as plates. I ordered the lunch special, which was a 100 gram filet of Kobe beef along with miso soup, rice, mushrooms, cheese and some vegetables for 5100 Yen (approx $60 CAD or 40 EUR).

Despite popular folklore, the cattle used in Kobe beef are not fed beer or sake and are not massaged daily. In fact, to qualify as genuine Kobe beef, cattle must fulfill the following conditions:

• Specific cattle born in a specific part of Japan
• Farm fed in that specific part of Japan
• A steer or a castrated bull
• Processed at one of several specific slaughterhouses
• High marbling ratio
• High quality score

In addition, the cattle are fed on grain fodder and are brushed sometimes.

Watching the chef cook the beef and accompanying food was like observing a painter create a masterpiece. Each movement of his instrument was precise and efficient.

Despite the lack of beer intake, the result was the fattiest and tastiest meat I’ve ever savoured. It was so close to butter that I could have probably cut it with a fork.

The mama was very happy and proud to learn we came all this way just to taste her food, and as we rose to leave, she gave us a small parting gift. This rounded the overall experience to a perfect 10/10.

Hiroshima is best known as the first city in history to be targeted by a nuclear weapon when the USA dropped an atomic bomb on August 6, 1945. The bomb was developed as part of the infamous Manhattan Project. Shortly thereafter, Japan surrendered to the Allied Forces and today the city is informally known as the “City of Peace”.

Approximately 130,000 people, including women and children, were either instantly killed or severally injured. Tens of thousands were burned or genetically modified (and not the kind that gives you super powers). A stroll through the war museum presented the event’s history in painful detail, with vivid pictures, survivor video testimonials, personal belongings from victims and bomb details. The horrific and depressing experience reminded me of a previous visit to Auschwitz.

The one question the museum didn’t answer was, “Why was Hiroshima bombed?” According to my research, the two main reasons where

1. Hiroshima had not been previously bombed, and due to the size and shape of the city, it was well suited to ascertaining the effects of the A-bomb
2. It had a high concentration of troops, military facilities and factories that had not been significantly damaged

After the museum, we needed some light-hearted amusement, and walked for hours while visiting the local castle, some lovely parks, and the manga library. It was a picture perfect day and the girls and I cracked jokes at each other.

That evening we went to a Karaoke bar and chose the all-you-can-drink option. The bar had dozens of private rooms with a television, touch-screen remote, two microphones and some couches. Since nearly everything was in Japanese, the helpful staff showed us how to use everything and most importantly, how to order drinks.

Among all the songs song for the next 3 hours, the most enjoyable were

• Beds are Burning, by Midnight Oil
• I’m a Barbie Girl, by Aqua
• Wanted, by Bon Jovi
• A French song, who’s name I don’t recall

Although none of us were great singers, we thorough enjoyed the experience. I ended up drinking way too much (8 rounds of double Whiskey) and stumbled home in a drunken stupor. It was the first time on this journey that I allowed myself to become completely inebriated, as the country’s reputation for safety is well founded.

Early next morning, and despite a huge hangover, I managed to join the girls to a nearby Itsukushima island and trekked for several hours up Mount Misen. Accordingly to my Polish buddy, Subway Stef, there’s nothing that cures a hangover faster than a sweaty climb. He was right, and the views from the top of the mountain were worth the nausea.