Mt Misen
After the heavy air of yesterday and the many hours in front of a PC screen trying to salvage my files what i really needed was some exercise and some fresh air... and it came in the shape of MT Misen.
Mt Misen is situated on Miyajima island off the coast of Hiroshima and although it is possible to access the mountain by using a cable car, all i could think was "Where is the fun in that?"
I grabbed a walking stick and set off up the mountain. The going was fairly easy for the first part. So much so I got bored of the track and headed off into the woods to trail blaze my own way for a bit. I even ended up going up the river by using the many rocks that were strewn all over it. Then the going got tough... For the last 2.5km up the mountain the path became stairs. Steep stairs. And I dont care who you are... 2.5km of stairs is a lot. The going was tough and the sweat poured off my mighty frame but I slogged on and reached the summit. The view was awesome. I went to a few shrines on the mountain top and then caught the cable car back down. It was kinda fun at the top ropeway since all the monkeys and deer crowded round the cable car station. Afterwards it was a simple descent and train ride home.

Hiroshima
I woke up late to a grey and rainy day. I actually felt kind of nervous about what I was going to see today and how I would react. I first went to Skukku-en park to see the gardens there. They`d been laid out to make a minature landscape including mountains, rice fields and forests and was very picturesque.
Afterwards I went to Hiroshima Castle and took in the museum and wandered the grounds for a bit to take in the layout etc of the place.
Then it was time to head to the A-bomb dome. It looked pretty much like any other derelict building. Stark and skeletal. You wouldn`t know it had been in the middle of an atomic explosion if it wasn`t the plaques around telling you.
I wandered around the peace park and it was a weird air to the place. Quite solemn in some areas and really touristy in others.
The worst part for?@me was the hall of records which contained the names and information on some of those that had died. Not all of them since so much paperwork was lost in the bombing. The survivors accounts really struck home when you read some of the after-effects of the bomb.
The museum was a morbid affair to say the least. Some of the exhibits were pieces of clothes or skin and nails and although they were interesting to see I was still left with the thought that these were parts of people in front of me. I was pretty spaced out by the end of it, although I got a rather rude awakening in the form of accidently deleting my Ipod files so have lost all my photos of this trip. Which is slightly annoying.

Koya-san
Seems my luck is holding out! I went down to the prayer session this morning which was interesting. Afterwards I was invited on a tour by one of the monks and agreed to come along although I would have to leave at 3 to get to Hiroshima before too late.
Not only did we get a guided tour but we were filmed by a Japanese TV crew who were making a program on the foreign interest in Koya-san so I may appear on Japanese TV.
The tour was very deep which meant it was hard to take it all in but was really interesting and the monk leading us even lead us in some chants and prayers at some points. We even prayed to Kobo-Daishi, Koya-san`s founder. The guide, Kurt Genzo, was very interesting and well-informed on the area and history and said he`d been studying there for 9 years. We were lucky as we got to take in some of the decoration that had been put up the day before for Kobo-Daishi`s birthday which was pretty awesome.
I left the tour and headed to Hiroshima. My room here feels kinda sleazy after the grandeur and majesty of the temple at Koya-san although the coin operated porn channel on the TV really made me laugh.

Koya-san
Probably the most scenic place I`ve visited in Japan. Koya-san is simply beautiful. It sits on a mountain top which is accessed by cable car. The train coming through the valley is quite something too since it winds it`s way along railways along the sides of the mountains and you see the mist spattered peaks and the low lying valley down below.
Once I arrived in Koya-san there seemed to be a deep and almost breatheless air to the place. I stayed the night in one of the temple accomodations and was led to my room by a young Monk. After a few minutes another monk arrived and brought me some green tea and showed me around the temple then invited me to the morning service. He said then he would bring up dinner at 6pm and left me to it.
I had a quick wander around the town and the pouring rain did nothing to damage the beautiful scenery.
Dinner was a mighty affair. All vegetarian cooking and it was really nice although I had trouble finishing it since there was so goddamn much! I spent the rest of the night in the temple since the rain wasn`t very appealing to wander around in.

Movieland, More temples and more alcohol
Went to toei Movieland today and was pleasantly amused by the set-up. Lots of random movie-sets scattered around and the Power-rangers display almost cracked me up. Although my biggest joy was wandering along and hearing some kids shouting: "STEBEN-SAN!". I turned and seen three kids I`d met in Nara the day before run towards me. It was funny seeing them so after a quick round of hand-shaking and high 5s they set off.
After the movieland I headed to see a couple of the temples I hadnt got around the day before to see what was on offer and was quite impressed with the size and layout.
I then headed back to the hostel. I met Alex and her friend Nadine so it was time for some drink. We watched Team America on Alex`s laptop too. Great night!

Nara
Abusing the power of my JR rail pass again I shipped my ass out to Nara.
I arrived and walked up the main drag for a bit to check out the place and see what I could find. I reached a small pretty pond with a lot of artists doing painting so I decided to wander there for a bit since it was pretty sweet. As I walked I caught a glimpse of the 5-story pagoda that I had heard about so I headed that way. As I crested the hill I saw deer... lots of deer. I found a small stand nearby where you could buy deer biscuits so I did and then had many fans in the shape of (you guessed it) deer. I fed them biscuits while they affectionately (at least I assume so) prodded me with their antlers.
After that I walked around the park a little watching the deer chase young Japanese school children around. I came accross a pretty lake which was quite relaxing and emphasised by the gentle noise of the park staff raking in the leaves.
I then headed to the hall of the Great Buddha where a 16m tall bronze statue of the Buddha is held. It was an incredable site. It was quite as captivating as some other temples beacuse of the school kids running around but that in itself was amusing as they kept running up to interview me in English for their homework.
I then headed up to the Nigatsudo which gave an excellent view of Nara and on the way down I got chatting to an old man. He told me he lived in Nara and the place was amazing to wander in any season and any weather and that it was worth trying to see it in all seasons. I then hit the train and headed for home.
I arrived at the Hostel quite late and got chatting to some friendly americans by the names of Pedro, Martha and Mike. They were very cool and I hope they couldn`t smell me since I was all sweated up and covered in deer stench too (which might`ve taken some explaining). After a brief Onsen I headed to the main room where I got chatting to a Latino lass by the name of Alex. She offered me a drink but luckily I`d came loaded and pulled out my hip flask. We started chatting and drinking and got on really well. We headed out to get more drink but couldnt find an open shop so we stopped at a beer vending machine (GOD BLESS JAPANESE VENDING SERVICES!) and on the way back we had a flexibility battle to see who was stretchiest (she won... but it was close). I found out she did salsa so demanded she teach me some in the park which was fairly amusing since a) I was pissed and b) she was pissed. I then tried to teach her some breakdancing and this led to an inevitiable throw down and dance off (I won... but it was close). We then headed back and drank some beer and chatted away

HIMEJI!
So far I haven`t use my Japan Rail Pass since I was saving it for when I really started travelling around. So today I put it`s ass to work and jumped on a train to Himeji!
Himeji is a town famous for the castle since it is the only castle in Japan which is still mostly the original building since it wasn`t hit by the WW2 bombings.
I started in the nearby Gardens so I could get a good look around. I`ve really been enjoying the thoughtful and elegant layouts of the gardens in Japan so spent quite a bit of time there. I even took in a Japanese Tea Ceremony which was kinda fun.
I then headed to the castle grounds and bumped into Matt, my friend I met in the Shin-Osaka youth Hostel. After we got over the intial "Oh... what you doing here?" surprise we headed to the castle together. As we walked through the gate I espied a free tour guide who was finishing up with another couple so leapt on her like a bird of prey. I think she may have been finished for the day but said she would take us round anyway which was awesome of her.
She gave us a very detailed and interesting tour of the castle, explaining the historical, social and tactical aspects of Himeji Castle. She even explained to us how to use Shinto Shrines and let us use the one on the top of Himeji Castle. Afterwards Matt headed to the gardens and I went to get some food. I bumped into the guide, Rie, who took us around so I bought her some waffles as a thank you and then headed off to the station.
I got back to the hostel to find my new roomate was a very talkative Japanese man and although Im sure what he was saying was very interesting and well-formed I still didn`t have a F**king clue what he was saying!

Walking and wandering and Wondering Why?!?
Now Playing: Jack Johnson
Fate decreed that I should see the imperial palace today so I concurred and headed out that way. The grounds were quite pretty and relaxing so chilled out there mainly, listening to music and contemplating a lot of stuff.
I then headed back to the hostel and struck out for a long walk down by the lake to see what I could see. I wandered for a couple of hours and took some photos but nothing exciting really.
Apart from my deep thoughts and meaningful musings today was a bit of a non-event really.

Temples and Eel
The day started a little slow today since my drinking partner last night had some sort of bad reaction and wasnt feeling too well.
I took a leisurely stroll down to Ninna-ji temple to have a look around. The temple itself was very pretty but I was mostly taken with the palace area near by with it`s charming corridors and rooms and immaculate gardens.
After that I headed to Kyoto Station with two Cantonese guys I met the day before, Shenzen and Samon (sorry about the spelling guys!) to see if we could find a place to eat. They said I was to lead them which meant we wandered around for quite a while to find a place. We eventually got a decent place and I got my first taste of Japanese Unagi (eel) which wasn`t as exciting a taste as I`d hoped but it was like really soft fish meat with a delicate tang. We then took in a pachinko game which was funny since none of us really could work out what was going on! We then took in the Kyoto lights which werent as impressive as Osaka (said by me) or Hong Kong (said by Shenzen and Samon). Was a great night to chill with the guys. We got back to the hostel and had a couple of sakes then hit the sack.

Higashi-san, blast from the past and Japanese hospitality
Arrived in Kyoto just as my hangover cleared up so it was pretty good timing all things considered. Kyoto is a very pretty town and I got a great intro to it.
I went to a cafe to have some lunch and got talking to an older man about where I was from. He didnt speak English and I dont speak Japanese so the waiter was translating for us. Then he tells me he works at a Kimono printing factory and that I should come and visit it. So we jump in his car and drive to the factory where he showed me the process and let me print up a pattern on some material. He gave the printed stuff as a gift and then took me shopping to buy a frame for it. We then headed to the cafe where he bought me a coke and then took me back to the Hostel. His name was Higashi-san and he was an awesome host for the afternoon.
I got back to the Hostel and met up with a Glasweigan named David who I got talking to. We went for a drink and suddenly he says he had a school friend who studied in Aberdeen, Mairi McDonald. Small world since she was the flatemate and best friend of one of my exes, Naomi. Turns out me and David had been at some of their parties so we must have met before (I mean surely!).
We got talking to some of the locals in the bar and then one guy started buying us drink in the form of sake and shochu. He was fun to talk to and had a few questions about Scotland but wouldn`t believe I was only 22 years old. He kept saying I looked 30! I would`ve been offended if it wasnt for the fact he bought me another round of Shochu.