The Road Less Traveled

It all started at around 12p last Friday. I was on MSN when I got a message from my friend, Luke. After the usual catching-up chit-chat, he said that he was going to take off on a road trip to the western part of Japan that night. Noticing that he was going to hit two of the same cities I was going to try visiting roughly 2 days later, we decided to have a little adventure together.
Day 1: Nagoya-Nagasaki-A rest stop in the middle of Kyushu
Most people have heard about Nagasaki if they paid enough attention in history class. It was the site of the 2nd atomic bomb blast in Japan. Since this city has so much history, Luke felt it was worthy of a visit. What we failed to realize was the distance from Nagoya to Nagasaki, which is location at the very bottom of Japan. Roughly 15 hours and many tolls later, we arrived in the city.
The city topography wasn't what I had expected. (Lots of mountains and hills) Well, truthfully, I really didn't know what to expect so it wasn't too surprising. Nagasaki is a sleepy little seaside port town with an important place in world history.

We hit all the major sites in Nagasaki: the Peace Park, the Hypocenter monument, and the Memorial Museum. We later ventured to find the Dutch area (there's a big European influence there because it was a major trading port) and a Chinatown (very disappointing... very expensive!!!). After studying the guide books and deciding that there wasn't much else to see in Nagasaki, we went back in the car and headed back up.

Day 2: A rest stop in Kyushu-Hiroshima-Okayama
It started snowing like crazy while on the road so we decided to pull over at a rest stop and wait it out. However, the wait was about 8 hours. Early in the morning, we continued up and back into Honshu to Hiroshima, where the first atomic bomb hit. For anyone who visits Japan, I highly recommend going here and especially the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. Even though I had been there before with the parentials, I was still moved by the exhibits and artifacts.

Later, we sampled the famous Hiroshima okonomiyaki (a Japanese pancake) and watched the Hiroshima branch of the Elvis Rockabilly club dance to some 50's classics, then hopped back into the car and marched onward.

Day 3: Okayama-Kojima-Himeji-Kobe-Nagoya
Okayama wasn't exactly a planned stop. It was more like we were both going crazy being in the car for so long. And after 2.5 days of not showering, I gladly forked over the money for a hotel. With our guide books in hand, we found the only sight mentioned in Okayama to see, Korakuen, considered one of Japan's best gardens.
I could only image that this place would be beautiful in the spring. However, it was the middle of winter. Oh well...

Also while flipping through the Lonely Planet, Luke saw that we were pretty close to the Great Seto Bridge, the world's longest 2-tiered bridge, measuring 13.1km (8.1miles) long. It took us a while to actually find the bridge while near the shore. (It was pretty sad considering it is a long bridge.) When we finally saw it, we decided to cross it and into Shikoku, another one of Japan's main islands. Some ¥5600 (~$56) of tolls later, we were kicking ourselves for ever considering crossing the bridge.
Our next stop was Himeji Castle, one of the oldest surviving structures in medieval Japan. I was expecting a lot of this place for some reason. I'm not sure why but I just did. But, it was pretty much like all the other castles in Japan. It was old. There were some swords inside and lots of empty rooms. I was glad to see that it did not have an elevator.
By the time we got to Kobe, which is about 30 minutes away, Luke and I were both getting a little weary of the car and the trip. So, we decided after blowing our money on some Kobe beef, we would head back to Nagoya early. We wandered Sannomiya, Kobe's main entertainment area, for a bit before deciding on a restaurant that was "gaijin" friendly. We spent about ¥5000 (~$50) each on the beef. It was good but I got more satisfaction from my ¥950 (~$9) hamburger from Outback Steakhouse. But, now, I can say I tried Kobe beef.

After loading up on some sweets, we made our way home. After our financially painful trip on the expressway to Nagasaki, we took trusty Route 2, a road that connects east to west. And the best part of this road: it was free! However, in Osaka, Route 2 disappeared and with that, a bit of our sanity. To make a long story short, what should've taken us 2 hours to do, it ended up being 7 hours. I would like to say that we were taking the scenic route. At 4am, we finally reached Freebell. I've never been so happy to see my futon.

According to the odometer, in total, we traveled 2,260km (~1,404 miles) in roughly 3 days. Would I do this again? Probably not. I know Luke will be in agreement with me. But we did what we had set out to do and that's all that matters.