4 Kids in a Clown Car

Road Trip 2006!!!! To be honest, a road trip in Japan during Golden Week is probably the most absurd and unpractical things to do. But of course we wanted to attempt this absolutely crazy idea! So Tuesday night Sam, Michelle, Jamie and I loaded up my little car and headed south to Hiroshima! We drove all through the night and arrived in Hiroshima at 7am. It was great and a true road trip! Michelle was my GPS when she wasn’t driving and Jamie provided the entertainment. She had made an entire list of road games to play. Along with that it was my birthday week, so the girls had an entire themed schedule for the trip. We all were competing for points (or actually newly name as kudos) for the road trip. There were numerous things that you could accomplish to get a few kudos! It certainly made the trip a bit more interesting…thanks Jamie! Hiroshima was a city filled with a mix of emotions to say the least. The beautiful city now still holds hauntings of the travesty that once occurred. We walked through the Peace Park, saw the Atomic Dome and toured the WWII museum.

There were certainly parts where as an American you hang your head a little lower when witnessing the devastation that these people encountered. In the afternoon, we took the train and ferry to Miyajima Island to see the beautiful vermillion gate. We stayed until sunset for the dusk view. During this time we had a rest on the park benches because no sleep can definitely catch up to you! And I was munched on by the wandering deer around the area. Treated ourselves to Subway and hit the futon.

After a good night sleep in Japanese ryokan, we headed out early before the morning traffic could slow us down for the day. It was a beautiful, sunshiny day which was perfect for our scenic drive. We stopped at a few rest stops along the way to gas the car up and of course to make friends. That is right, we found a few random Japanese people to make friends with along the way. They even sung Happy Birthday to me and offered us cake for our long journey ahead. That day we definitely put in some car time! We drove to Himeji Castle and had a nice picnic lunch. Then we were on the road with a nice drive along the ocean. This is where problems hit! Traffic jams to the max however, we kept ourselves occupied. As we slowly drove past a bar, we saw them selling Miller Lite! That is never seen in Japan so of course we were all craving the American beer! Michelle jumped out of the car and delivered ice cold beverages to us. In Japan, there is a zero tolerance policy for drinking and driving so mine had to be held for a later time however, there is no laws about open containers anywhere! So cheers to us!

After our extreme traffic congestion, we finally made it to Kobe where the girls and Sam were dieing for some real Kobe beef! It is suppose to be the best in the world and might just have to agree. As a non-meat eater these days, I opted for the veggie dishes but certainly did enjoy the atmosphere of the restaurant. They chopped up veggies and the tender steak right in front of you so everything was hot off the grill. The American culture tends to portray Japanese restaurants as steakhouses by offering fancy knife entertainment, a pound of butter, and a pile of meat. I am sorry to say that this in fact is not Japanese at all and a poor representation of how Japan dines. This restaurant is the very first that I have ever seen that was slightly similar to how we portray the Japanese way.

(left) Car elevator up into a parking garage! (right) The BEEF

Since we were running a bit late on the schedule timeline, actually about 4 hours late, we were unable to make it to our next accommodations that night. Since it was Golden Week and the entire country was basically on vacation, hotels, ryokans and every street corner was booked solid. We decided it was either sleeping in the car, at the nearest bath house or the last choice a love hotel. As we drove into Osaka, a large city in southern Japan, at midnight we turned into a local love hotel to see if they had a bed open. The Japanese love hotels are just what they sound like, an hour by hour rent a room. I know what you are thinking but love hotels in Japan are nicer than most business hotels. It is true these hotels offer luxury at a decent price. We were a bit hesitant if they would allow three girls and one guy in but we had no problem reserving a room until the morning.

Up and early to hit the road again! Our destination today was Mie Prefecture. Again we hit a bit of traffic but arrived around noon in quaint little seaside town. We checked into our hostel which was originally an old Buddhist temple. After soooo much driving I was ready to hit the beach on the sunny afternoon. We got a buck of cold drinks, soba and laid out for the afternoon! After viewing a few sites including the wedding rocks, we took a beautiful dusk drive along the coast. That night we ate at a pasta restaurant where we forced them to translate the entire menu for us. They were sure loving us!

The Wedding Rocks

I woke up to Michelle and Jamie singing ‘Rise and Shine because it’s Your Birthday’!

I was officially 25 years old and had a great day! The girls had decorated the car with so many balloons, signs and ribbon that it certainly did look like a true Japanese junked up mini mobile! That morning we were off to Miki Moto pearl museum and do to some shopping. The pearls were fascinating and simply gorgeous; it I only could afford one. We drove along the coast some more and hit the nearest grocery store for a picnic lunch to take to the beach. We had some beach fun by celebrating my birthday by doing balloon races, having random people sing Happy Birthday and even throwing in a few fun dares! We decided to start our drive back since it was getting late. It was time to drive back to Niigata that night; one more night of no sleep!!! We stopped in Nagoya to have dinner at Hard Rock Café before making the long journey back. Some more signing and dancing was needed for we called an end to my Birthday so I got up on stage and shook it with the staff!

What a grand 25th birthday! The girls had one last surprise for me and the best one yet! Nelly, watch out because Jamie and Michelle will be climbing the charts with their number 1 hit ‘We did Your Birthday Over and Over Again’!!! It was a riot and make them sing it even now. Thanks girls! Sammy left Japan the next day and was so sad to see my little brother leave. Thank you for coming. We loved having you join us on our first Japanese road trip!