We left Kyoto at 7:30 this morning and took a train to Hiroshima.  We left our luggage in lockers at the train station and then went to go see the A-Bomb Dome.  I not even sure how I should describe the experience.  I mean, I've seen pictures of the building, but to see it in person gives you a completely different feeling.  It really hits you about what happened there because it's no longer a picture, it's a full, in your face reality.  In a way, it leaves you in awe.  I could feel my throat get tight, like I wanted to cry.  It's an incredibly moving experience.  There was a sign that said every few years, they do testing on the site to measure signs of deterioration.  It's the only building the city left from the bombing and it was debated in the 1960s as to whether it should be destroyed or preserved.  They chose to preserve it to remind the world what had happened and as a statement against nuclear weaponry.  We went to the Peace Museum, as well, which talked about the events leading up to the bombing, the development of the atom bomb, the events after the bombing, the effects it had on the people, and the movement to end nuclear weapons.  It was extremely interesting and incredibly sad.  Every time a country conducts a nuclear test, the mayor of Hiroshima sends them a letter of protest.  There were copies of letters he has sent President Obama at the museum.  I really think that my class (or everyone with me on this trip) should send Obama letters, as well.  It's really sick that, not only do we have what happened at Hiroshima in our history, but we have a present reminder of it staring us in the face.  And yet, countries are still developing nuclear weapon programs.  I am terrified for the future of humanity.

After the museum, we took a train to a ferry to go to Miyajima.  The first thing we noticed was all of the deer!  They were everywhere!  And they will come right up to you looking for food.  If you make the mistake of feeding one, they will all come to you and they will follow you!  I got to pet one, though, which was really cool.

First we went to Hokaku Shrine, or Senjokaku - Hall of 1,000 Tatami Mats.  It had oni (ogres, demons) on the roof tiles, and there were many different paintings on the inside of the roof.  Some were of deer, some of men on horses, some of men who looked like warriors.

Then we went over to Itsukushimo Shrine.  This is a famous shrine built by a warlord.  There is a large orange torii that was built in the water, so during high tide, it looks like it is floating.  Unfortunately, we were there at low tide, so we didn't witness the effect first-hand, but since the torii was temporarily on mostly dry land, we were able to walk out to it, which was pretty cool.  I bought Mom a good fortune charm and Mark a headband that is supposed to bring him luck during exams.

Tonight we are staying at a traditional style inn.  We got to experience a public bath, a Japanese banquet, wear yukata, and sleep on futons.  The bath was awkward for me, since I am so self-conscious about my body.  It was basically a large hot tub with faucets and stools outside of it.  What you do is go into the room and rinse yourself off first at one of the faucets.  Then you can go soak in the hot water.  When you actually want to wash yourself, you have to go back to the faucets to do it.  You can go back in afterward.  This way, the water doesn't get dirty or soapy.  The other girls were taking too long to get ready, so Becky and I went without them.  Becky and I were both a little uncomfortable with the whole thing.  There was already an older Japanese woman in there, but she just ignored us.  Once we got in the water, it was actually pretty nice.  Ellen joined us halfway through and the other girls didn't come in until Becky and I were pretty much ready to leave.  If you stay in too long, you start to feel light-headed.

The dinner was cool, but I didn't eat much.  I wasn't really crazy about the food.  I don't know what most of it was, but there was sushi such as squish and tuna, some kind of soup with muscles in it, sea snail, two thin slices of what tasted like some sort of beef, steamed egg, swordfish, and rice.  That's only a few of the delicacies I tried.  I drank plum wine, which was delicious, and for dessert we had a slice of pear and a strawberry.

The other cool part about this hotel is we sleep on futons.  Becky and I had to set them up (we were given instructions on how to do it), and it was pretty easy.  They're pretty comfortable, too.  Becky's gone down with the rest of the girls to take another bath.  I'm really tired, so I'm just gonna turn on the tv and try to sleep.