After a long ride on the bullet train, I arrived in Hiroshima at midnight fully expecting it to be a dump- not because of the bomb but because most cities of historic importance tend to be tourist traps but thankfully I was proven wrong. The city is actually a thriving, vibrant city with lots of young Japanese hipsters, Obey graffiti, most importantly a Starbucks (it's not really a city if you don't have one). The city has a major baseball team with a new stadium and some spectacular food, most notably Okonomiyaki which is made with pancakes, prawns, cabbage, and dreams- delicious.
The following morning my travel group was welcomed personally by the mayor, who was a very interesting and well spoken man and we spent the rest of the day flanked by 10 or 20 news reporters, cameramen, and photographers which made the visit a bit surreal but never dull.
