Day 2 & 3

Day 2

Woke up at 5:30am local time. This morning we make our way to the US military base. I was told that it was a Japanese base at the time of Pearl Harbor. The building where the order to attack the harbor still stands there. After showering I feel 100% better. There are many Lotus and rice fields where I am staying in the mountains. I was cleared for the base, bought a ticket to Thailand for the 8th, went to my first temple, ate my first Japanese meal (fried prawns), and went to the beach. We brought a snack to the beach, deep fried bread balls with octopus inside (ick).

Day 3

Today we went to a Castle called Iwakuni. First we walked across a wavy bridge (I'm not sure how else to describe it). Below was a river with fly fishermen. After walking the bridge we went to get ice cream and visited a friend of grandpa's at her restaurant. The building it was in had been in her family for over 300 years. She gave me some sightseeing guide and a notebook. Very nice woman; very bad English. To communicate she used a computer translator to tell me that because I had Japanese blood I have the protection of the Gods and that I am her spiritual sister.

To get to Iwakuni castle you must take a cable car. The castle was very beautiful but the museum inside was boring. Lots of swords with inscription in Japanese. The view was worth the long hot hike though.