Day 2 – Tokushima

I was up at 630 am and out the door at 700am.  I went over to Namba Station and realized I was in the wrong spot.  The security guard gave excellent directions to JR Namba Station which was several blocks away.  Once there, I got cash from the 7Eleven machine then purchased my ticket.  While in line, I met my first ohenro.  Two gentlemen from Austria were here to walk as well.  One was in full gear from a prior walk.  After talking to them, I realized that hiking to Temple 6 was out of the question.  Besides, why am I trying to go so fast?  Slow down and enjoy this experience.  Upon arriving in Tokushima, I booked a hostel close to the train station.  It took a little bit of time to find the hostel and it opened at 3 pm.  Hence, I had time to kill so I went for a walk about town.  The first thing I saw was a tram to the top of the hill that overlooked the city.  One ticket later I was at the top and looked about.  Out of nowhere, I hear a lady playing “Country Road” on a ceramic flute.  I talked to her a bit and then she skurried off.  I do not think she was used to people complimenting her on her musical choices.  Back to the bottom of the tram and I noticed on my map that Tokushima had a castle.  Off I go to see a castle!  Well, the castle is a ruined castle high on a hill.  Pretty cool to see but nothing like the ones in Europe. There was a sign however that said “Let Peace Prevail on Earth”. Well said. 300 pm is finally here so I head to the hostel to check in. The front desk is very nice. The young lady spent a year in Michigan in high school. She told me she was about to go to NYC for a vacation. I listed my below 21 years old things to do. Went up stairs and took a shower and met another ohenro….from France. Surprisingly a very nice and well adjusted person. We ended up going to a sushi place I saw earlier. It was like being fed by my grandparents. They absolutely doted on us and the food was wonderful. A outstanding start to experiencing Japan! I am now back a the hostel writing this post. It is 735 pm here and 335 am at home. I should be able to fall asleep quickly as soon as I post this and finish my first video. Good night all.