Okay, I'm going to be bad and condense the rest of the trip into one entry, so I can get ready for (bah bah buuuuum) my India trip! For a more detailed version of hitchhiking events, please check out the blog of my partner in crime http://drunkensparrow.blogspot.com/
So, the day after Christmas, the second day in Hiroshima, we took the ferry out to Miyajima,
where we were nibbled (or full on bitten) by deer who were perfectly comfortable wandering the little streets of the town. 
We ate yakidango (which the deer also tried to nibble), 
walked out to the huge tori since the tide was out, 
left our mark on the beach,
and then decided to wander up to the big temple on the mountain, Daishoin. Yuriko rang the bell upon arrival (I rang it to note our departure) and we went in, only to find out that Daishoin is Kukai's temple! After studying Kukai's texts so intently last semester, I felt a sort of fate about coming to this particular temple. I bought and lit a candle for a blessing, and then we decided to try and hike to the top of the mountain, where the flame that was used to light the flame of peace in the atomic bomb memorial has been burning since Kukai's death (over 1000 years). We failed to make it though, as it was getting too dark and we didn't have any lights with us; primordial forests are not a good place to be stuck in the dark. 
We learned a similar lesson the first time I climbed Mt. Fuji. There was a magical moment where we ran breathless and laughing through the streets of the old fashioned town, toward the shore, right at dusk as all the little street lanterns began to light up, and felt like we were in Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (and being Spirited Away). The tide came back in and we were able to see the giant tori all lit up in the ocean, and play on the beach until we almost got stuck because of the tide. 
We then meandered back to Hiroshima, where we filled in the missing two of the three "M's" that you have to experience in Hiroshima. The first was the pub where we played on Christmas, Molly Malones, the second is "Micchan" the freaking most wonderful okonomiyaki restaurant ever, with Hiroshima style okonomiyaki (I can never go back to what I thought was okonomiyaki before, Tokyo just can't measure up). 
The third is a absolutely groovy bar called "Mac" where we graffitied our mark (the mark of the Sparrows) in the bathroom and took a photo with some of the staff who were friends with Paul, and drank whiskey while listening to Buffalo Springfield.
where we were nibbled (or full on bitten) by deer who were perfectly comfortable wandering the little streets of the town. We ate yakidango (which the deer also tried to nibble), walked out to the huge tori since the tide was out, left our mark on the beach,and then decided to wander up to the big temple on the mountain, Daishoin. Yuriko rang the bell upon arrival (I rang it to note our departure) and we went in, only to find out that Daishoin is Kukai's temple! After studying Kukai's texts so intently last semester, I felt a sort of fate about coming to this particular temple. I bought and lit a candle for a blessing, and then we decided to try and hike to the top of the mountain, where the flame that was used to light the flame of peace in the atomic bomb memorial has been burning since Kukai's death (over 1000 years). We failed to make it though, as it was getting too dark and we didn't have any lights with us; primordial forests are not a good place to be stuck in the dark. We learned a similar lesson the first time I climbed Mt. Fuji. There was a magical moment where we ran breathless and laughing through the streets of the old fashioned town, toward the shore, right at dusk as all the little street lanterns began to light up, and felt like we were in Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (and being Spirited Away). The tide came back in and we were able to see the giant tori all lit up in the ocean, and play on the beach until we almost got stuck because of the tide. We then meandered back to Hiroshima, where we filled in the missing two of the three "M's" that you have to experience in Hiroshima. The first was the pub where we played on Christmas, Molly Malones, the second is "Micchan" the freaking most wonderful okonomiyaki restaurant ever, with Hiroshima style okonomiyaki (I can never go back to what I thought was okonomiyaki before, Tokyo just can't measure up). The third is a absolutely groovy bar called "Mac" where we graffitied our mark (the mark of the Sparrows) in the bathroom and took a photo with some of the staff who were friends with Paul, and drank whiskey while listening to Buffalo Springfield. 
The next day (day 5) we had a bit of a disaster starting off, taking the wrong train out to where we were supposed to meet Paul, who was going to drive us to the nearest service area to start hitching. Anyway, long story short, Paul couldn't take us and his really lovely friend Chris dropped us off at the entrance ramp to the highway instead. 
We caught a ride within 5 minutes, with the creepiest dude to day. He shall henceforth be known as "toothless trucker guy". Thankfully, we only had to bear 30 minutes with him before we were dropped off at a service area, and poor Yuriko bore the brunt of his ickyness, being that I couldn't understand his thick Kyushuu accent at all.
We caught a ride within 5 minutes, with the creepiest dude to day. He shall henceforth be known as "toothless trucker guy". Thankfully, we only had to bear 30 minutes with him before we were dropped off at a service area, and poor Yuriko bore the brunt of his ickyness, being that I couldn't understand his thick Kyushuu accent at all. 
Anyway, after a few rides,
(the only white person who picked us up)
we made it back to Kyoto, where we had deliriously delicious soba and then went to a local onsen, where we tried baths with electric currents (yikes) and violently purple blueberry water. After this entertaining experience we headed to the manga kisa Yuriko's friend recommended and yes, we slept there. Well, there was very little sleeping and much more reading manga and playing on the computers and chatting.
(the only white person who picked us up)
we made it back to Kyoto, where we had deliriously delicious soba and then went to a local onsen, where we tried baths with electric currents (yikes) and violently purple blueberry water. After this entertaining experience we headed to the manga kisa Yuriko's friend recommended and yes, we slept there. Well, there was very little sleeping and much more reading manga and playing on the computers and chatting.
The next day (day 6), groggy and a little stiff we headed to the nearest service area to begin our difficult freezing and rainy trek to Gifu.
I just loved this dog.
The benefits of weird rainy misty weather.
The weirdest part of this day (besides ending up in a car with a couple on their first date, 
and then some vehement human rights activists who drew a charicature of me) 
was when we were driving in cold rainy weather one moment, and then suddenly everything was covered in a few feet of snow. Seriously, it was about a 20 second gap. We drove through the most beautiful dark snow covered mountain range, and then emerged on the other side into warm sunlight. Bizarre. Eventually we got to a place where we could catch some local trains to the place we were supposed to stay the night. We played music on the platform and were generally goofy and ridiculous. It was beautiful.Small birds cast strange shadows
Well, this all started out fine, until we realised that the guy we were supposed to be couchsurfing with in tiny little Osaka Gifu actually lived in Osaka CITY, and we had no money and no place to stay and the sun was almost down and it was snowing in the middle of the mountains. Small panic. So we frantically start making phone calls, and my roomie sends out an emergency message on courchsurfing to see if there is anyone in the area, and then decide to get of the train in a little onsen town called Gero, where we asked the information office if there were any vacancies in any cheap places. Eventually we found one that was out of our budget but we didn't have much choice, so we went to the atm to withdraw money. In this process we found out we COULDN'T withdraw money, because my card didn't work there (small bank) and Yuriko's wouldn't let her withdraw on Sundays. Shit. About this moment, I notice I have a missed call from a number not in my phone. Thinking it was my other roomie, whose new number I hadn't saved yet, I called it back and was VERY surprised when an unfamiliar voice picked up. It was a couchsurfer who happened to have just checked her mail, live in Gero, and was offering to put us up for the night. And the universe comes through once again. So we spent the night with this lovely girl named Dominique, who made us yakisoba and taught us how to braid black hair and how to whip cream. We doodles on her motorbike helmet, watched (randomly) Kill Bill, and then passed out. 
In the morning (Day 7), Dominique dropped us off at a really nice onsen in a very classy hotel (which we sat looking like hobos in the lobby of and very conspicuously made hitchhiking signs to tape to my backpack), and after that we began the looooooong journey of leaving Gero.
Please note: Hitchhiking not on the highway in Japan can be rather difficult. Eventually we made it to our last ride, a man with two super cute little daughters whom we provided entertainment to until we got to Kofu, 
where my wonderful saint of a student was waiting (after spending the day hanging out at Mt. Fuji) to pick us up and take us back to Tokyo. 
Arrive at my house. Pass out. End of one hell of an adventure.
Please note: Hitchhiking not on the highway in Japan can be rather difficult. Eventually we made it to our last ride, a man with two super cute little daughters whom we provided entertainment to until we got to Kofu, where my wonderful saint of a student was waiting (after spending the day hanging out at Mt. Fuji) to pick us up and take us back to Tokyo. Arrive at my house. Pass out. End of one hell of an adventure. Collage of all of our benifactors, excluding the beloved pinneaple man.
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