Missed flight, Hiroshima, and Kyoto.

So the reason I havent posted on the blog in a few days is because we missed our flight on 12/28/12 from Seoul to Tokyo and were pushed back a day. We ended up drinking at the Incheon airport bars, shipping gifts home, and sleeping like hobo's on the terminal benches.... we even had a cart with us to hold our bags. On the 29th we caught our flight to Tokyo and upon landing we immediately took the Shinkansen bullet train to Shin-Osaka station where we transferred to another Shinkansen bullet train to Hiroshima. The whole travel time from Tokyo to Hiroshima was approximately five and a half hours. We arrived in Hiroshima around midnight and immediately stayed in a hotel right next to the station so that we could wake up early to go to Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park the next morning (12/30/12). After walking through the whole today, we walked over to Hiroshima Castle. After seeing the castle we packed our things and took the Shinkansen heading back east to the Shin-Kyoto station. We are now in the city of Kyoto at our hostel. We plan on going to Gion tonight which is the most famous Geisha District in Japan. Here are some pictures we took along the way! By the way we are having some technical difficulties with the pictures...so i'm aware that only the first picture is of high quality.

 

 Waiting in the airport terminal

 

Drinking at the Mojitalk bar at Incheon airport.

 

 

Sleeping at the airport.

 

 

Shinkansen bullet train in Tokyo.

 

 

Hiroshima dome, very close to the epicenter of the first atomic bomb explosion.



 

 

Peace bell. We got a chance to ring the bell with the wooden pole.



 

Before and after.

 

Memorial rememebering the 20,000 Koreans who were killed during the explosion. They accounted to 10% of the deaths from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

Hiroshima Castle.

 

 

Shinto shrine.

Chris and I performed the cleansing ritual in order to enter the shrine. We also performed the good luck prayer.

Navigating our way through Kyoto station.

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I have been blown away by the friendliness of the Japanese people. They love to come up and start conversation as well as help you if you look lost. Often they will give us their spot in line at the subway station. I have never met people who are so well mannered and patient. Sometimes too patient...(crying baby on the subway with docile parents) haha. Well we are off to the Geisha District, i'll update soon.