Japan is Located on the Sun

When Andrea and Alison were here (I usually refer to them as "The Girls" to Bridget) we only had a few days so we had to jam pack a lot it and it was also super hot. I have been saying all summer how hot it is here and everyone back on the East Coast tells me how hot it is there; however, I find Japan indescribable. During rainy season (June to August) it is in the mid 70's to low 80's; however, you know that AWFUL humid feeling right before it rains well it is like that all the time and it rains all the time but that feeling never goes away (and no sun!). Now it is slightly humid but when that sun is out it is H*O*T,,,HOT HOT HOT! Andrea said it perfectly when she said Japan was not the land of the rising sun but the land where the sun actually is (I told this to my Japanese travel people and they were laughing and said it was so right). One thing that the Japanese use to combat this sun and sweat are little mini wash cloths that are sweat cltohs. It took me forever to get on this bandwagon but I am so glad I did and I bought the girls some for their trip. When I first gave them their sweat cloths they looked at me like I had 4 heads but I definitely think they appreciated them!

On the first day of their trip, also the sunniest and hottest, we headed to Hiroshima. In addition to the Peace Park we also went to Hiroshima Castle and saw some beautiful views and more importantly, had a nice breeze at the top! The girls said that the Pepsi they bought up their was the best they ever had because it was so cold.

Of course since it is me there is always something interesting going on and now I am proud to announce that I will once again be on tv. When we were at the museum we spotted a Japanese television crew well this guy came over to me and Andrea and told us that he was a reporter in Hiroshima and was making a video for foreign tourists and would I mind giving some of my thoughts. I said yes and Andrea said no...........thanks buddy. Well he wanted me to go through the museum more and so I did and then they ended up following us around throughout the entire thing, seriously I think I am the video!!! He then asked me questions what I thought about the museum, what I liked etc. He also asked me where I was from and when I said Washington DC he said "So you might have heard that the US dropped the bomb how do you feel about that?" O boy!! So if you ever see a video for the museum see if you see me and at least this time I wasn't working out!

All by the Peace Park there were these old men just sitting there with vests on and were clicking their counters when people walked by..........so very random.



Oragimi peace birds, I saw that you can leave them there and register them. they are behind the Children's Memorial.



Hiroshima Castle: also called Carp Castle. It was the home of the daimyō (feudal lord) of the Hiroshima han. Originally constructed in the 1590s, the castle was destroyed in the atomic bombing in 1945. It was rebuilt in 1958, a replica of the original which now serves as a museum of Hiroshima's history prior to World War II.