We arrived here in Hiroshima this afternoon on the Shinkansen high-speed train from Osaka. We quickly dropped our bags off at the hostel and then headed out on the tram to visit ground zero. The Atomic Bomb Dome.
The former HPIPH (Hiroshima Prefecture Industrial Promotion Hall) is one of the last remaining buildings from that fateful day on August 6th, 1945. On that morning, at 8:15 in the morning, as people were on their way to work, and children on their way to school, the Enola Gay dropped the first atomic bomb ever to be used in the history of humankind. The a-bomb detonated about 600 meters above the HPIPH, and consequently vaporized everything in the radius of the blast.
What remains of the building…
…has been preserved in the same state as immediately after the bombing, now serving as a reminder of nuclear devastation…
…a symbol of hope for world peace and elimination of all nuclear weapons.
Across the river from the dome is the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park which has a variety of monuments and memorials to help us all remember the impact of the decision to drop the bomb.
The Memorial Cenotaph has the names of all the people killed by the bomb. The Cenotaph carries the epitaph, “Repose ye in Peace, for the error shall not be repeated.”
Through the monuments arch you can see the Peace Flame…
The most jaw dropping memorial had to be the Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound.
That grass-covered knoll contains the ashes of 70,000 unidentified victims of the bomb.
Seventy-thousand human beings incinerated in a matter of seconds.
Seventy-thousand mothers, fathers and children.
WHOA.
….
No words can describe the lump in your throat or the knot in your stomach as you stand there just trying to imagine what it was like on that clear August day.
Behind the Peace Flame is the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. The museum exhibit presents the facts of the atomic bombing, with the aim of contributing to the abolition of nuclear weapons throughout the world, and to achieve world peace. As one might expect, the sights in the museum are gut wrenching. Some of the display cases show clothing, watches, hair, and other personal affects worn by victims of the bomb including several watches that have stopped working at 8:15am. Towards the end of the exhibit is when it really gets emotional as you see piece after piece of scorched childrens clothes, and toys, and lunch box tins that are charred beyond recognition.
Again, no words can fully describe this experience but perhaps the thousands upon thousands of origami cranes next to the Children’s Peace Monument can help to sum it up.
Despite the atrocities that took place in this city, they people of Hiroshima of risen above it all and have taken it upon themselves to shown us all what is really important in this world, and what it means to be a human being on this planet.
The railway system in Japan is above and beyond any other mode of public transportation I’ve ever experienced. Highly efficient. Highly reliable. And high-speed bullet trains!
It has become very clear on my travels that one of the defining factors in what separate an decent city from an excellent city is the train system. All of my favorite cities thus far have had great train systems… Barcelona, Berlin, Vienna, Athens, Budapest, and of course the entire country of Japan.
The train picture above is taking us 330 kimometers south from Osaka to Heroshima, and the entire trip will last just over an hour. I love flying, but unless I’m the pilot, trains are now my preferred method of travel.
It was just about this time last year when all 5 of us were in Tokyo, and it was freezing cold then!
It’s just about that time of year again, and since for the most part we’ve only packed clothes for warm weather, it’s time to head farther south to squeeze in a few more warm days before we head to the next country — Thailand.
We heard from some of the Japanese people we met, that Osaka was the shopping meca of Japan. They weren’t kidding. There are miles of outdoor malls, and each outdoor mall seems to be connected to a nearby indoor mall. And each indoor mall is flanked by streets lined with shops from major brands. And each shop is sandwiched between several restaurants. It’s amazing that all of these places manage to stay in business!
We’re aren’t much for shopping, but at least the stores here also double as funny photo-ops…
…with crazy displays mounted above the entrances…
…crazy billboards…
…and lots and lots of lights.
We did do a little bit of shopping however.
As we were walking through the isles of a technology store, past all the latest techno-gadgets and whizz-bang cell phones, I caught a whiff of a very familiar smell. A smell that brought back memories of home. As I turned the corner, I realized where the smell was coming from…
It was a Wendy’s!
Oh man! It’s been so long since I had a Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger and a Biggie fries from their 99 cents menu. It was one of the few cravings I didn’t indulge in during our brief visit to LA a few weeks ago. Imagine Jay’s joy when he discovered unlimited portions of ketchup! Just like back home.
I try not to eat too much food from American conglomerates while exploring the world, but this was one of those rare exceptions, and we only split a burger and fries, just for the nostalgia of it all.
One of our friends Kana (seen here practicing her WOW face)…
…was nice enough to play tour guide for the day and introduce us to some of her friends…
… as well as drive us around to different areas of Osaka to see some sights.
Like Osaka Castle…
Which has a great view of the city from the roof top terrace.
Inside the castle is a museum about the construction, destruction and restoration of the castle in addition to the details of it’s significance in Japan’s history. On the ground floor we had the opportunity to try on some ancient Japanese warrior garments. Would you want to run into these warriors in a dark alley?
I think not.
Once we finished playing around, and posing for some photos for some Japanese folks, Kana took us to her favorite yakiniku restaurant which was about a 30 minute drive outside of the city.
The staff there was awesome, and so friendly. They were thrilled to have the first foreigners visit thier resteraunt in over 10 years! It was an honor to be there, and the food was delicious! Even the tongue was tasty!
And so did Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu as Rokuon-ji sits on part of his former estate. Rokuon-ji is a three story temple that contains the ashes of Buddha. The top two stories of the pavilion are covered with pure gold leaf.
The temple sits at the edge of a pond called KyÅko-chi (Mirror Pond).
It’s a beautiful sight indeed.
A perfect ending to our stay in Kyoto, which started off a little rough, but things are definitely getting brighter (no pun inteded) as we make our way farther south to Osaka for a couple of days.
Today we took a little day trip out to the city of Nara, in the Nara prefecture of Japan. The main draw of the city are the hundreds of tame deer that just roam the city streets. Tame that is unless you happen to be carrying some food with you.
They have become so acclimated to the city life…
…that they even obey the laws so that they don’t get tickets.
Other than the deer there are a few others sights to see such as TÅdai-ji…
…which is a great big Buddhist temple built to house a colossal bronze statue of the Buddha Vairocana.
Just to give you an idea of how colossal it really is, each finger is about the same size as a human being. So ya, she’s a hefty one.
Before the sun went down we took a stroll through a nearby garden on the way back to the train.
Not many flowers were in bloom, but the changing colors of the leaves was still nice enough for a few photos.
Oh, and I almost forgot! On the way into the city we passed by a shop with these two guys kneading some dough with giant wooden mallets that was very impressive. Especially towards the end when one guy put down his mallet and started using his hands at double-speed, while his buddy (who he obviously trusts very much) kept walloping the dough with his mallet — also at double speed.
