hiroshima

cam and i had researched some of the trains traveling between tokyo and hiroshima. there were some decently priced ones. . . but they might take something like 15 hours to get there. and there were the expensive ones that could get us there in a few hours. i really do want to take a bullet train at some point, but when it’s more economical to fly. . . i will fly.

so our third and fourth airports were haneda and hiroshima. right off the bat, haneda was a much newer and pleasant appearing airport. it’s getting bigger and there is more public transportation being built to connect it the city, so if you’re wondering which airport to fly into, even thought haneda isn’t as well known.. . . i’d recommend it. it just seemed to have more of those creature comforts than what i saw exiting narita.

we left early, around 9 and landed in hiroshima around 11. there was an hour long bus ride to get into the city. and while at the bus station we booked tickets on a bus to kyoto for the next day. we then followed directions to a house owned by the ‘world friendship center.’ i booked the place based on something i read in a travel guide. it’s obviously not a chain hotel, so i worried a little as we followed the somewhat sketchy map and directions i had. no, it’s not a hotel, but it is clean, sweet, and cozy and the people who own it are super friendly. we had futon beds, wonderful air-con, and a shared bathroom. there was one couple staying there as well, and we didn’t run into them except at breakfast.

for me, the public transport was even more confusing here. maybe it was because we only had a day and figuring the system out wasn’t as necessary since we were staying so close to our destination, but i really felt confused. there were trams, trains, streetcars, subways. we got on one of them and followed the directions as much as possible. i was kind of glad we decided to walk to the peace park, even though it was blistering hot.

we got into the room around 2 or 3. it was really hot and we had walked a bit from the bus stop. so sitting for a little while in the air-con was rather pleasant. but we had to get our day on the way. the friendship center was not too long a walk to the peace park though i was grateful for a lot of trees and their shade. we opted to walk through the museum while the sun was still high.

the first section of the museum was really informative. there was a really detailed history of everything leading up to the dropping of the bombs. a question that formed in my head was ‘why hiroshima, why not kyoto or tokyo?’ that was answered in detail. (hiroshima had become a building center to support the war, they didn’t have any ally pow’s that were known of. . . and after narrowing down from about 17 sites to bomb, it came down to weather and visibility. on that particular day, it would be very easy to see the effects in hiroshima.)

some of the surprising things were how warring japan was throughout history leading up to world war II. i never followed japanese history. it seemed so bizarre that an island nation would be attacking china and korea so repetitively. i still don’t understand their motives or what they were after, but it seemed rather relentless. after seeing some of the history, and especially after living a bit in korea and hearing some of their views on the japanese, it kinda seemed that japan was deserving of a bitch-slap. that being said- i’m not in favor of war, i’m not in favor of nuclear weapons. it seems that civilians end up paying for the mistakes made by the military and ruling class. the sad catch is, i’m not sure the war would’ve stopped without the bombs.

well, enough on things i don’t know much about. . .

onto the museum and park.

the second half of the museum was more difficult. i understand the desire to show the meaning of life that was lost. i understand the desire to shock. . .but i just don’t know about the second half of the museum. there was a large scene of mannequin children walking through the rubble and fires with skin sloughing off their arms. i can be quite fascinated by disgusting and horrible things, but i was a little unsure of the decency. there were toddlers all over this place. if they have any memory of visiting this museum, what will it be? i guess i’m a little more used to a warning that presets the viewer- objects in museum may be disturbing. perhaps that just seemed redundant since i was walking through a nuclear bomb site museum?

the discomfort continued through a section of artifacts that were found. the museum was able to link each object to the owner who died, and each object had an audio story of that person’s life as it was extinguished by the bomb. i could only get through a handful of the artifacts. each person, each loss is excruciating, tragic and undeserved. it’s unfathomable and overwhelming.

we moved on to the outdoor park.

not as much to talk about. there were some beautiful sculptures and some eerie building remainders but it was really beautiful.

overall, i didn’t feel like i was in a city that had been so devastated. i’m not sure what i expected, but i felt surprised to not feel like i was in the museum the entire time.

we found the first of several covered shopping streets and did some shopping and stopped for a ramen dinner. we walked through the park again on our way back to our room. the a-bomb building is rather stunning lit up against the night sky. across from it some guy sang and played guitar on the river edge.

off to bed and an early morning to catch some breakfast with our hosts.

we had a delicious breakfast and a lovely chat with a couple from switzerland. they were vacationing in japan for five weeks! we swapped stories of overwhelming heat and confusing train systems. they had already been to kyoto and suggested a zen garden as a site to see. . . (added it to the list.)

(their english was really good. they only knew a couple of phrases of japanese- like us, but it got me to wonder about traveling through japan without knowing english or japanese and how difficult it would be. it’s sorta odd to think that knowing english would help you get around japan.)

we headed back to our rooms, sorted through our packs a bit and then headed into town to catch a bus. kyoto next.