From Nara to Hiroshima

Chipped Teeth on Rye.

I made it to Hiroshima just now. And I somehow managed to chip one of my teeth on a sandwich.

A sandwich.

A soft, chewy, delicious sandwich.

Dammit.

Now I’ve got this rough spot on my teeth that I can’t stop rubbing with my tongue. So now my tongue is sore. The tooth doesn’t hurt at all.

Getting from Nara to Hiroshima

The travel details are probably dull, but I’ll go over them anyway. I left Nara at about 11:30, got to Kyoto at 12:30, chipped my tooth at Isetan in Kyoto at 1:00, hopped on the shinkansen to Okayama at 1:21, changed trains to the RailStar at Okayama at 2:45, and arrived in Hiroshima at 3:36.

The Railstar trains are nice. It’s 2×2 seating, just like the Green Cars on the Tokaido shinkansen. I haven’t ridden in any Green Cars at all. (Green Cars are the first class section of the shinkansen.) I got the regular JR Pass to save $200, and I can reserve seats just fine. Also, the seats are pretty roomy and comfortable in the regular reserved cars.

When I got to Hiroshima, I wandered around the area a bit trying to get to my hotel.

And here’s a travel tip for those of you thinking about going to Japan– if the brochure says it takes X minutes from M Station, then take X and multiply it by the two times the number of bags you’re carrying. I’ve got 3 bags, technically, so it took me 6 minutes to find the hotel 1 minute away from the station. If it’s not near the station, I strongly recommend a cab if you have heavy bags. This place is right by the station, so no cab was needed. But in other places, it’s worth it to spend 1,000-1,500 yen on a cab to save your precious time and sanity.

Big View from a Small Room

I have a wonderful view here– I’m about 10 stories up, right by the river in front of JR Hiroshima Station. But I’m in the tiniest room ever. It does have some nice amenities but it’s tiny as all get-out. Hotel Kawashima, 6,300 yen a night, and the rooms have everything you need, except space. And it smells a little bit like men’s hair care products.

Photos!

This is probably the smallest hotel room yet for me (pardon the mess):

But the view is pretty cool. Just don’t fall out of the window!

Tomorrow I’ll try to see the Peace Park and visit Miyajima in one day because that’s all the time I have here. I’m going to scope out some places on the Internet and see if I can find a comfy room for Thursday Night that will help me forget my tooth for a while.

Speaking of which, does anyone know how to say Dental Wax in Japanese?

At least my dentist has e-mail. Maybe he’ll get back to me sometime tonight or early tomorrow with some ideas.

I’m a little woozy, too. Probably another migraine, or something like that.

Oh, and chocolate coronets are fun to eat. Something  else I learned at Isetan.

Tonight, I’m just going to relax in my room and get some food at the department store. I’m sure I can find one.

I hope I don’t break any more teeth.