Trip to Hiroshima Part 2

Boy, was New Years Eve 2009 a night to remember! Earlier that day we had begun our slow 3-day trek back to Nagano, arriving in Okayama at around lunchtime. It was an unusual place to choose for our New Years celebrations. I mean, really, why wouldn't we go straight to Kyoto, which was our next destination anyway, and which is a famous city full of historic temples and shrines? Okayama is only a small city, not even twice the population of Nagano, and by far the least interesting stop on our trip.

That night in Okayama easily became our most memorable. Richard said it was his best New Years ever.


We were so excited as we headed to a place called Aussie Bar, with images of meeting lots of new people and drinking and having a blast - particularly Richard. When we got there, we felt like we'd been robbed. It was this small, dingy bar with no food and NO ONE ELSE IN IT. The guy behind the bar wasn't even Aussie, he was a Yank! Grr. Maybe we were just early. And sure enough, a few minutes later, a group of people rolled in. They sat down, had a drink, and left. Okay, this was going nowhere, and we frankly told the guy behind the bar exactly that. He recommended us to another place not too far away, and we were like, "Great, thanks. We'll get some food and come back later!" And we never saw him again. :)

To his credit, the place he recommended to us was awesome. It was a Latin-American restaraunt/bar that later turned into a thriving club full of people. The night just kept getting better and better, and for no explainable reason, and I met so many people, most of whose names I don't remember. But I remember The Rob* - ahh, Rob, the local drunk who was pissed by 9pm and asleep on the bar by 10. But he woke up after a bit, had a drink and ripped up the dance floor... then back to sleep, then awake... and continued the night on in that fashion. He was such a friendly guy! I only spoke about 10 sentences to him for the whole night, but he treated me like I was his best friend. So, on the way out, I couldn't resist but get a photo with him. Ahh, Rob. *shakes head*


We crashed at 3am (it had been a big day earlier, after having visited one of Japan's three most famous gardens plus a castle) and got up at 8, so we could get to Kyoto and have time to explore. Richard, to his credit, kept up pretty darn well. He drank no less than $150 worth of alcohol the night before, and yet he kept up with our tight schedule for most of the day. He slowed down a bit later that afternoon, but I think we all did, as it was the end of our 6th day of non-stop action. (We put Richard in charge of directions at one point, just to see what would happen... and let's just say we had some backtracking to do.) Actually, that didn't stop Richard and I from finding a club in Kyoto that night and partying till 2am again (though it did stop Phil from joining us).

It was another awesome night where I met more people, including a bunch of Croatians, who I hung out with for most of the night, and Richard had way too much to drink again. But alas, it was our last night, so why the hell not! And the following day we were at it again, checking out some of Kyoto's historic sites, including Japan's most famous temple, Kiyomizu Dera. I might add that in the first three days of the New Year, it's a Japanese tradition to visit a shrine or temple... and, being January 2nd, it was completely packed.


That same night we got back to Nagano, very tired but very satisfied. Needless to say, our trip was crammed full of so many incredible moments, and it reminds me that that's why I'm here. Now I'm looking forward to my next trip, which is my return to Australia after nearly 2 years. Also, stay tuned for news on my contract... whatever happens.

* Click here to learn more about The Rob.