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After the event, we headed to Angel Stadium to drop off the Camaro and the Explorer at the DUB Show… in the words of Collin, it was “super awesome!”

With a little over two days left on this amazing journey, we figured we’d check out one last sight before calling it and relaxing for the remainder of our time there. The Tsukiji Fish Market was something we’d all wanted to check out after seeing clips on what seems like every food or travel related television show. Although our timing sucked and we ended up making to the market later than we wanted, we were still about to roam around and see how the operation was run. In between all of the walking, we stopped at one of the many sushi restaurants to grab what we figured would be the freshest sushi we’d ever have. We browsed the menu, made our selections and impatiently waited. Everything was… incredible!

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After our visit to the fish market, we made our way back to Roppongi to check out the Marni and COMME des GARÇONS stores and check out a few other places. We ended up heading back to Shibuya for the rest of the evening to hang out and grab some dinner.

One our final full day we decided to venture out in the freezing rain to check out Sarashina Horii, a soba restaurant that Kim had been ranting and raving about ever since she saw it on Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.  Since I was freezing, I figured I’d go with the kake soba topped with duck which was pretty damn. Everyone got down on their soba and we ventured back out into the frozen tundra… or maybe it was light snow flurries.

Next stop, Akihabara, the electronics district. We did a little shopping, bought some souvenirs and Kim and I headed back to the Shibuya while Warren and Rachel stayed around Akihabara.

The final day we woke up to finish packing and made our way to Shibuya station to catch the Narita Express to the airport.

In the end it was sixteen days, four countries, six airplanes, a trio of bullet trains, dozens of subways and one incredible journey! Thanks for following along on this overdrawn trip, hopefully you enjoyed looking at the pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them. Stay tuned, I’m hoping there’s a whole lot more traveling to be done!

Click here to view the embedded video.

With that said, now that the whole gang was finally back together in Tokyo, we figured we’d play tourist and go cruise around. Warren, Rachel, Tim, Matt, Max, Reggie, Kim and myself left our hotel in Shibuya and made our way to Harajuku to grab some lunch and do a little shopping. On the way there, we ran across a group of attractive young ladies that were doing some sort of photoshoot in the middle of the road. We checked it out for a second and made our way to a local ramen house, put in our orders and got to it. Up next, we hit up Kiddie Land, a horrible, horrible place to go if you’re with those of the female kind. It was cool to check out all of the stuff inside but after about twenty minutes we all realized Kim and Rachel still had about four hours of shopping left to do in there.

The guys figured we’d go outside to kill some time and the same girls that we saw earlier came walking by. Feeling motivated, we decided to put on a little impromptu photoshoot in the middle of the street… entertainment ensued. Some of the images are below, some will forever be kept to ourselves… for our own sake. Anyways, spending the day roaming the streets of Japan with good friends is something that I will always remember. Hopefully there will be many more trips like this in the future, until then enjoy the pictures.

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Since we took the last train out of Hiroshima and ended getting back to our hotel in Tokyo pretty late, I figured I’d let Warren and Rachel sleep in while I took the Narita Express to pick Kim up. On the way to the airport, I got a text from my love, Tim Mar saying that they’d be heading to Chiba to visit RWB / RAUH-Welt Begriff. The pressure was on… how to pick Kim up at Narita, head back to the hotel so she could shower and rest after a long flight and make it all the way back to Chiba in time to see the RWB facility.

I get to Narita, jump off the train and pretty much sprint through the terminal to find Kim. I grabbed the bags, pick up our new Narita Express tickets and practically push her back on to the train. Fast forward thirty minutes and we’re passing Chiba, home to RWB… too bad we have another half an hour to go to our first destination. We make it back to Shibuya, bolt off the train and head for the hotel. By this time I’m already getting texts from both Warren and Tim telling me that they’re already on their way and that they weren’t sure how long they’d be staying. Uhhh, now how to figure out a way to rush Kim without her killing me.

A quick shower, change and she’s ready to go. Now already over an hour behind the rest of the group, we’re flying through the stations and en route to Chiba and the RWB facility. Finally reaching the station where we’d be getting off, we head downstairs to the taxi line and jump in the first available one. I try and explain where we need to go along with showing our drive the address on my phone and we get nothing. He has absolutely no idea what I’m saying and the address on my phone is only complicating things… three seconds later my door opens and we jump out. Let’s try this again. We jump in another cab and try to explain where we need to go again and end up with the same result, an open door and us exiting through it. Now scrambling, I put in a call to Mark Arcenal who was already at RWB with everyone else to get my some directions. After a quick exchange we give it one more shot and finally end up getting directions after Nakai-san picks up the line and tells our driver where to go. Finally!

A quick ten or so minute drive, sun setting and the realization of getting any decent pictures dwindling with every red light we get caught. I see it! I point! The driver pulls off and we’re there! The first automotive related thing that’s excited me in probably ten years. We’re finally here and it’s pretty damn amazing.

As soon as I jump out, camera in hand, I get to shooting. I want to capture as much as I can with the little bit of sun light that was left and still have a little time to take it all in. If you’re into cars, there’s a very good chance you’ve either heard of RWB or seen something that’s been produced by the man himself.

Alright, enough rambling… look at the pictures and enjoy them as much as I enjoyed taking them. If you ever have the chance to visit this place, you’ll agree that it’s pretty damn awesome. It’s been a long time since I’ve been excited about something car related and this place had me pretty giddy. A huge thanks to Mark and Tim for making this happen and also to Nakai-san for letting us come down and check it out!

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First up, the A-Bomb Dome, one of the last standing buildings left after the atomic bomb was detonated. Originally built in 1915 as the Hiroshima Prefectural Commercial Exhibition Hall, the A-Bomb Dome is something that completely wowed me. Standing in front of the dome and having the chance to walk around left me feeling pretty strange. It’s difficult not to be overwhelmed when you sit back and think of what happened here on august 6th, 1945 and think of the sheer destruction that happened in an instant.

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While walking around the A-Bomb Dome, we were approached by Mito Kosei, the only in-utero person to survive the attacks. We spoke to him for a good fifteen or so minutes as he briefed us about things that he felt both the American and Japanese government was hiding about the attacks and also told us some of the other related sites to see. I’d definitely google him to find out some more information about him, he’s definitely an interesting person with a very interesting perspective on the attack.

After our conversation, we walked over to the Hypocenter, the approximate area where the bomb was detonated where you could see some of the places left behind and the affects that the bomb left on them. Afterwards, we made our way through the Hiroshima Peace Park and towards the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.

This statue was located near the detonation site and shows the damage that the shrapnel cause, the “shadow” in the image below is from the flash of the explosion.

The Hypocenter, the exact spot where the bomb was detonated.

Having heard from friends that had visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum before that it’s pretty amazing and overwhelming at the same time, you could definitely get that feeling as soon as we walked through the doors. With countless artifacts that have been collected over the years, the museum definitely gives you a great look at how things were before and after the bomb. Videos, clothing, sections of builds, pictures and all sorts of other things fill the museum walls and leave you wishing there was more. Thankfully the museum wasn’t too busy on the day we went so we were able to take our time and go piece by piece and really get the chance to take it all in.

If you’re ever in Japan and have the time to make it to Hiroshima, I highly recommend stopping by both of these sites to check them out… it’s definitely something worth seeing some time in your life time.

A watch that was found that stocked ticking at the exact time that the bomb was detonated.

Models of the “before” and “after” showing the destruction.

A piece of a wall that was hit but shrapnel.

A piece that shows how many nuclear weapons various other countries have, this being the US… each one represents more than one.

Various images of the mushroom cloud above Hiroshima from different parts of the city.

An image captured a few minutes after the bomb detonated.

Below are a bunch of images of random clothing, books, canteens, a wall covered in black rain, cranes etc. that were found after the fact.

The bomb that was dropped… obviously not the real one.

The picture shows a young man that was wearing a hat when the bomb went off, completely insane.

A-Bomb Dome – Google Images
A-Bomb Dome – Lonely Planet
A-Bomb Dome – Japan Guide

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum – Google Images
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum – Lonely Planet
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum – Japan Guide