After a nice post sports festival nap Saturday afternoon and doing stuff around the house, I took the next to last train into Hiroshima. I’d been wanting to do something in the town at night, even if it meant I’d have to stay overnight. I saw mention of a all night dance party at a club called Cover, down in the district most of the night life is. Seemed interesting, I like dancing at clubs even when I don’t have anyone with me (like this time). Once I got to town, I headed to the Shack, a sports bar-like place in the center of the city. They pretend to do Tex-Mex food, but the quesadilla was a sad imitation of anything you’d get in Arizona. Oh well, it was food.

Cover wasn’t too hard to find, though it did take a little looking. Everything here tends to be several floors up in some narrow building. The club itself could be described as cozy I guess. In the outer room they had some couches & chairs to chill in while a couple artists (of sorts) were painting. The dance floor/bar area isn’t very big, only about the size of a large classroom I’d say. Advantage of this is everyone is together and more likely to be dancing instead of off in some corner (there is no such corner).

I arrived around 12:30a, so there was actually people dancing. Which, was a bit of a pleasant surprise since the last time I’d been in a club in Hiroshima, Club Jamaica, it never managed to keep a sustained level of activity on the dance floor. This was much better, I was able to just get out on the dance floor and look like a fool (as usual) without being about the only one out there (and feeling like a fool as well as a result). And even though I was there by myself and couldn’t really speak with anyone there most of the time, I was able to interact with some of the crowd and have fun (even, again, if I probably seemed like a goofball, it doesn’t both me if I’m having fun).

The music mix was pretty good, I’m not really good enough at the differences between techno/house/trance/etc. to give a review, but (as was said on American Bandstand so often) “it has a beat and I can dance to it”. They also had a video DJ mixing some cool footage on the TV’s with his 12″ Powerbook (same as mine).

The event was scheduled until 5am. Seeing as my last train home was back at 10:38pm, I was there for the night pretty much. Things were dying down & thinning out around 4am, so I left to wander around the city for awhile. It just didn’t seem worth the money to find a hotel for a few hours. So I wandered and wandered around the central area of the city, mostly just checking stuff out and seeing if there was anything open at that early hour. Not much really, just convenience stores. Basically the earliest anything opened was 7am. Waited around a bit more, retrieved my pack with a change of clothes from a locker at the train station and got some breakfast. I could have just headed home on the first train, at 5:47a, but I needed to do some shopping and I generally like to make the most of my train fare. So I killed more time around the bookstore by the station until the Diamond City mall opened.

Diamond City mall is a short bus ride from the train station and is unlike most shopping areas here in Japan (or at least in Hiroshima). Stepping inside you are transported to an American mall, with many American stores (like Eddie Bauer, Sports Authority, the Disney Store & the Body Shop) — just filled with Japanese people. Its even as large or larger than most American malls I’ve been in. In fact, I’d say it one ups the American mall on its food court. The prices are no worse and the quality is better. The presentation is certainly an order higher, several of the places served your food in sizzling cast-iron pots or skillets with wooden trays. Not likely to see that even at Park Place in Tucson. It even has an American style movie theater.

So, I went shopping. Or at least to the extent of my meager budget (constrained by saving for xmas plane tickets home). I at least managed my main goals of a rain parka and a pair of jeans that actually fit from Eddie Bauer and a few other splurge items. The couch at Muji (the famous no-brand name-brand store) will just have to wait until another month.

Needless to say by the end of my trip, I was a little beyond dead. My legs had given up being sore, there just wasn’t a point telling my brain anymore. Finally I made it home late in the afternoon and crashed. Maybe I should catch the first train home next time…

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