miyajima guchi - youth hostel computer, 100 yen / 30 min, old ass mac. drinking beer made from soy beans 184 yen / 500 ml @ 7eleven. bandaid on righthand index finger tip.

the rain did quit! and kokura castle looked good all over!! holy cow! i had a full day of playing and brought in a few bucks. after nightfall i was ushered over to a company drinking party and watched the smashed city hall employees cut loose for once. they cleared out early and i was gifted a carton of sake~

i took my sake over to a fun looking group and party crashed! i got fed and made some friends. i sang and entertained and sold a cd. when that group cleared out i was left with half a carton of sake and a left over 6 pack. this pattern continued to 2 more parties and i found myself crashing into every cubical in that internet cafe with a backpack full of booze and 6000 yen in my pocket! i "slept" there - first in my chair, then on my inflatable sleeping pad right on the cubical floor. there was so much crashing. the place was all blacklit and the muzac played musicbox versions of pop-rock balads. my neighbor evendently LIVED in his cube and snored like a encaged creature from the deep.

i finally got up and out of there around 10 and blinked in the light of day with no agenda for a few hours. i finally got my act together and took a train out of town - under the ocean and to the main island of hanshu - to what i hoped whould be a good place to hitch hike east. that was a long day, it took 4 rides to get to iwakuni (a mother/daughter, 2 university students, a mom of three, 2, 4, and 6, all in the back seat, and a web designer) and it was after dark when i finally arrived. i walked and found the hostel in the old samurai quarter. i walked over ancient bridges and down dark, ancient streets - it was really incredible. i checked in - they had lots of room - and did my laundry, took a shower. i walked to the ohanami spot and played for a little while. everyone ignored me, don't know why. one christian woman from the us military base talked to me for a while and gave me some cash.

at about 10 the whole wide world shut down. i've never seen such darkness in japan - the whole historical quarter was surrounded by mountains and when the lights when out there was nothing - i was impressed. i crashed, needed the sleep. the next morning i hiked out of town to the highway heading north. i caught a rided easy enough and enjoyed talking to the driver, a painter off to do some sales work, his trunk full of dentist's office art, and got to miyajima guchi in no time. i spent all afternoon on the island and filled the card in my camera~ pictures on the way!! feeling good - tomorrow i party with japanese mod friends in hiroshima!