Good To Sea: Japan and Maddie Chapter 2: First Days of 2009

After a couple of work days (sleep days for a jet-lagged Maddie Mae), we trained back up to Hiroshima for New Years Eve, and a few days of relaxation and touristy exploration. We actually got there in time to walk around for an hour or so before we had to settle into the room to get ready for the evening. As I mentioned in my Hong Kong, I had a new suit. Well, I've been itching to wear it, so I broke it out for NYE. The fancy theme also gave Maddie a chance to show off a gorgeous new dress and her birthday present. Dinner was on the top floor of the hotel at a pretty fancy restaurant, and though we skipped the sham-pag-nah until later in the night, we made the best of it. Of the 5 or 6 courses, I think my favorites were the smoked salmon appetizer, the soup (squash or pumpkin I think), and the main course of lamb chops and some amazing mashed potatoes. The desert was "free" after buying the meal, and we got to choose 2 or 3 options from an incredible desert cart. Raspberry sorbet, Strawberry cheesecake, and something else I can't remember but wish I could have again!

The view from the top

Delicious lamb... don't look Maddie!

Couple of tall glasses of water - whoa, my side!

Dessert makes us happy.

After dinner, rather than find a rockin' party, we walked around in our classy costumes to get some pictures with the celebration lights that were still lit up all along the main road through Hiroshima. We tried to be creative, and I'll give you a quick sampling rather than trying to put every picture up here. It got cold quick (not really the best clothes for temperatures in the 20's) so we didn't walk around long. We looked for a little while for a place to spend midnight, but it ended up being a walking-tour of the nightlife district to take in the lights and the people before we headed back to the Hotel. I had to give Utah a call at midnight anyway, so the champagne and celebration in the calm (and cheaper) option of the room proved to be a good decision.

We woke up to a snowy view out the window, and despite more cold temperatures, braved the crowds on New Years to see some of the local sights. New Years Day is a really big day in Japan. The Shrines all over the city were crowded with lines of people to make their first temple visit of the year. The popular tradition is to visit the shrine to obtain an arrow for good luck, or to drive away evil spirits. The scene was amazing, and many were even dressed in traditional methods for the visit. A cold day of standing in line while wearing sandals? Not for me. After the Castle, we walked across the city to the Shukkeien Garden, another Japanese tradition of miniature landscape scenes scaled down to the size of a garden. The original garden was destroyed by the bomb, but the one they've reconstructed was gorgeous. Would have been cooler with snow on the ground, but we took what we could get! We did a little shopping on the way back to the hotel, but after a short rest and dinner at a rather sub-par pizza place (I know, I know, it's Japan), we were exhausted from the walking and decided to end the night early.

Not a bad view, eh?

"Yay Yay Yay! Happy New Year!"

Braving the crowd at the Hiroshima Shrine right near the Castle

Hiroshima Castle - Thanks to Maddie for the good photography on this one!

Maddie still had energy at this point.

We walked over the bridge eventually, but this was the best view of the park.

I promised Maddie a day of shopping wherever we could find, and believe me, we were shopped out by the end of it. Outdoor arcades, multi-story malls, underground malls, and more shoes than I care to remember. ;) There were some cool places of course. I managed to snag a Japanese copy of a Beatles album (yep, on vinyl), and a shelf full of those little animals with the jiggly heads. Yeah, bad description... just look at the picture. Oh, and they were in a Native-American themed store in the middle of Japan. Pretty strange.

Navigation Dan at work again! Do we look like tourists? I think the tall white guy thing already gives it away, but do I need the map too?

Post-shopping snack at a pastry shop. Pretty good hot chocolate too!

Funny Animals.

Maddie's favorite street, though she wants to come back when the cherry blossoms are actually in bloom.

The last day was a chance to wind down, but I had a very important event to witness. Unfortunately for us, the Utah/Alabama game was on at 10am, and no sports bars opened until the evening except for an Irish pub that didn't even show the game!! We had to choose between English football, or Japanese rugby. That didn't last long, and we eventually found an internet cafe where I caught the last few minutes of the game. I was pretty psyched for the rest of the day, and still think they have a good argument for #1. (I wanted to buy the SkiUtah shirt for the game, but figured I could probably find one at a thrift store in SLC sometime instead). I guess the silver lining to the unsuccessful search for TV's were the picture-worthy stuff we saw on the way. Anyway...

GO UTES!!! (or just Utah)