Hiroshima

Hi everyone. I have returned from my Chuseok trip to Hiroshima. It was really a great trip and it was difficult to leave!
I'm going to post the link to my facebook album, so hopefully that works for all of you. If not let me know and I'll send pictures. There are just too many to embed here.

Click here for the photo album.

The first day I started off going to the A-bomb dome, which is the only building still standing from the blast,and is preserved to show the state it was in after the bombing. It was almost directly under the detonation so it wasn't completely leveled.

Ok, I'll embed one..



I strolled through the Peace Memorial park and found a lot of monuments and things dedicated to the victims of the bomb and to world peace. The park is really big and lush. It was created almost immediately after the bomb, I think in 1946, as they were rebuilding the obliterated city. Before the bomb, it had been the center of a very rich commercial and business district. There were lots of schools and hospitals, theaters, office buildings, everything you would find in a thriving downtown. After everything was destroyed they decided they wanted the area near the hypocenter to be a memorial park. So they made it so. There were rumors that nothing would grow there for 70 years but now it's a really nice area with lots of trees, flowers, grass, etc.

I heard the sounds of chanting and drums and followed it to find a Shinto/Buddhist fire ceremony being held in the park. They've held this ceremony every year for 26 years to pray for the buddhahood of the people who died, and they held it a bit early this year to commemorate the 10th anniversary of September 11, and include terrorist victims in their prayers, and the 6 months since the earthquake/tsunami to the north. So I was cheerfully greeted and given some water and a chair. I sat among lots of old Japanese people, who I couldn't help but think were very likely survivors of the A-bomb. And when they all went to throw their prayer sticks in the fire I went with them. It was a really cool thing to experience.

I went to the museum. It was really, really well done. You learn about the history of the city, the history of nuclear weapons, the efforts of the city to attain world peace, and of course the effects of the bomb. It is very powerful to see the artifacts and pictures, and to read the first hand accounts of survivors. It was really gruesome. But very, very interesting.

Afterward I went to Hiroshima castle, which of course has been rebuilt (like everything else in the city). But it had a moat and a Shinto shrine inside, and three trees that had survived the blast and were still alive, and a 5-tier tower you could go to the top of and get a panoramic view of the city. There was very little signage in English but it was still enjoyable.

Then I went to a garden, which it stands to reason was a Japanese Garden. I've been to Japanese gardens before, but this one was naturally in Japan, so it was really cool to see the 'real thing'. Everywhere you go in Hiroshima you randomly find plaques that talk about what happened there after the bombing. Here, too, there were pictures of the devastation and some more gruesome stories about survivors trying in vain to find water or shelter there. But now it is a beautiful park full of flowers and trees and wildlife.
I noted that I saw more wildlife in one day in Hiroshima than I did in an entire year in Korea. This further adds to the mystery of where the hell are all the animals in Korea?? Very strange.

Then i strolled along the paths beside the rivers in the city center. The city is on a river delta so there are 4 or 5 rivers that run through it. Sadly al fresco dining isn't very popular in east Asia, but I managed to find a place to eat outside next to the river. It was great food and a beautiful setting.

Next day I went to Miyajima. It is an island about 45 minutes by boat from Hiroshima. It is a huge tourist attraction for Japan and houses a world heritage site Shinto Shrine. The shrine was built so at high tide it appears to be floating on the water and the gate to the shrine looks like it is emerging from the sea. At low tide you can walk through it. Really pretty and interesting. Unfortunately there were very few English signs here as well. But I had read about it before going and enjoyed it anyway. Besides, it looked very Japanese so it was enjoyable.
There were lots of roe deer hanging around because they have become more or less tame due to constant interactions with and feedings by tourists. You can touch them and they don't care. At first i thought they were cute until one tried to eat my shopping bag and chased me around a bit. I had to throw food to try to distract it. Finally if found another person to harass. Lots of Japanese people laughed at me.

I ended up staying on the island longer than I had planned, because the boat I was going to take back didn't run at low tide. Which you would think they would advertise on their timetable since, you know, low tide is at the same time every day. So i stayed a few extra hours and did some shopping and more eating of the street food.

When I got back I went to a fancy department store to buy a new purse. I wanted a nice one that was a Japanese brand. The saleslady didn't speak English and all I know of Japanese is 'hello', 'yes', and 'thank you'. But we managed to figure out my price range and find a bag that was Japanese and she gave me some free stuff and I went on my way. Then I went back to the A-bomb dome so I could see it at night, and I had seen earlier an Italian cafe by the river there. So I ate Italian food and white wine within 10 meters of the hypocenter of the Atomic Bomb (interestingly, I saw a cockroach there, too. Perhaps it's true what they say about them being able to live through nuclear bombs?). But really, the rivers and bridges are so pretty there. It almost reminded me of Salzburg but of course felt very Asian, not at all European..I'm not sure why Salzburg came to mind. I guess just the use of greenspace and the rivers and all the bicycles. Nothing in the city is older than 66 years and in a way the whole place feels like a museum exhibit. Yet at the same time it feels very fresh and alive, and exudes a real feeling of peace, which makes sense since it is a city dedicated to world peace.

Just a really enjoyable trip. Too short, but worth every minute. It's only an hour flight, so perhaps I'll return. I would like to see more of Japan, too. But if I can only go there once, I am glad I chose Hiroshima and am satisfied with my Japan experience. Highly recommended to all to try to visit there someday.