10/26-10/27 Hiroshima

10/26 Miyajima

Some of the European students wanted to go to Hiroshima this weekend, I agreed. We also agreed on leaving on the earliest ferry possible, which was 6:15 AM. So, I woke up at 4:00 and we biked to the Matsuyama Ferry Port at 5:00 AM in the rain. It was interesting biking across the city when it was almost pitch black.

When we got there, we opened a door but a police officer made an X with his hands and pointed outside. Following his direction, we got to the front of what looked to be a small airport lobby. One of the students went up to the counter and asked me to come translate. I said "Hiroshima-yuki chiketto onegaishimasu." The lady asked to see my passport and had me sign my name, passport number, age, and nationality. All the other students could just write their name and age underneath mine. We each paid 3500 yen ($22.89) for a one way ticket to Hiroshima.

We got on board and I immediately left my seat to go look around the ship. First of all, there was an open floor space in the middle of the lounge where you could just lie on the floor. People were sleeping, eating, and watching TV. Behind that was the snack counter (which was closed) that sold various things including an awesome ferry company hat. I bought a hot gold boss coffee, and followed the Romanian student, Emanuel (Manu), to the top where he was smoking. We got a great view! Despite being 6:00 AM, the weather was just slightly cold, so I was perfectly comfortable on the top with my jacket.

I stayed on the top the whole trip, watching the islands go by in the rain.

We made one stop at Kure, famous for building the largest warship in history, the Yamato, and headed to Hiroshima.

When we arrived in Hiroshima, we got on the streetcar and rode in 40 minutes to Yokogawa station, where we hopped on a train bound for Miyajima. It was so crowded, everyone was pushed up against each other. There were also many foreigners. We joked about how Japan should ban all foreigners.

When we arrived, we fled the station and found refuge in a 7-11 to buy lunch. I tried maple and margerine pancakes which tasted almost like home. We walked over to the Miyajima ferry port and bought a 500 yen round-trip ticket to the island. It was a mess, but we made it on. During the 10 minute or less ride, I could see the massive torii gate growing in size. We got off at the Miyajima ferry terminal and it was crazy. Signs everywhere saying beware of deer because they will eat your food and clothes, Japanese highschool groups, foreigner tour groups, and random people everywhere. 

We went and took obligatory pictures at the torii gate, and headed over to pay to enter Itsukushima Shrine. I followed Ashild around as she collected shrine and temple stamps, and then we headed to a small restaurant to get some lunch. I got the Hiroshima Lemon Pork set lunch. It was amazing!

After that Ashild, Manu, and I went to a massive temple where there were so many different things. We went underneath a building to see golden drawings of Buddha in complete darkeness. We went into this cave with many statues of Buddha, wiped cinnamon on our hands, and listened to chanting on a radio. It was amazing. 

Then we headed to the giant pagoda, which looks almost exactly like those in San Francisco and Maui. Then we boarded the ferry and headed back to Hiroshima.

We got to the air bnb we were staying at, relaxed for a bit, and headed off to try the super famous Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki. Okonomiyaki is like a savory pancake with lettuce and tomatoes inside with sauce. But in Hiroshima they put a whole bunch of soba noodles underneath it, add meat, and a whole bunch of sauce on top. It's seriously one of the best foods ever!

We got lost a little bit but made it with the group. We sat down and I ordered the "special" okonomiyaki and sat down to wait. They totally overpriced things with the English menu but it's alright. I think everybody at the table was a foreigner.

The place was interesting because it was about 5 floors of these food stalls that the chefs rented out. It was like street food but inside. They played the Dodgers vs Yankees game on one TV, and the Japanese equivalent which was the Yokohama Bay Stars vs. the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks. Right next to us was a family from Lincolnshire, England. We talked a whole bunch, and we all managed to stay respectful.  The mom was taking a video for their vlog, us students smiled, and their 10 year old daughter ran away from embarassment.

Afterward we walked around to try to get into this top floor bar to look around at the city, but they charged entrance fees so some of us just went home. The Hiroshima Bomb Dome was illuminated and could be seen all around Peace Memorial Park.

The Hiroshima Bomb Dome (Genbaku Dome) was originally the Hiroshima Prefecture Exposition Hall, and is located almost right above where the Little Boy nuclear warhead exploded.

10/27 Peace Memorial Museum

In the morning we started off by going to Lawson to get some breakfast, and some baseball cards. Hiroshima is famous for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp baseball team.

We got ready and headed to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. This would be the only thing we did that day. Outside were a dozen tourist busses and several school groups. We entered the line in the museum to buy a 200 yen entrance ticket. I took my English guide and headed up to the second floor.

There's really no possible way I can explain what I saw inside. That which I can tell you is already widely available on the internet. There were gruesome photos and memorial art of what happened to people, and the city. They explained what happened when the bomb was detonated, why Hiroshima was chosen, and every known affect. Things still not known were explicitly stated.

I read excerpts from death certificates, journals, poems, postcards, and testimonies.

It was dead silent inside the museum. The rowdy foreigners who were joking loudly outside made not even a whisper inside.

One thing stood out to me at the beginning. They had the top portion of the only remaining factory chimney in the famous destruction photo. The 3 foot long lightning rod on the top was no longer standing straight tall, but 90 degrees pointing away from the bomb. Americans also died in the bombing. Japanese-Americans who had moved from Hawaii and American POW's, among other foreigners.

The information presented was accurate and covered every point. However, I could feel the slight bias in the messaging. The museum referred to the Japanese invasion of China, which resulted in upwards of 14 million Chinese people dying in an event worse than the Holocaust, as the "Manchurian Bridge Incident." There was no mention of how Americans rebuilt Japan after the war, which in Japan is known as the "Post-War Miracle." One of the exchange students was also curious about why they didn't include that. The museum also did not explain why Americans decided to drop nuclear bombs on Japan.

An exhibit towards the end talks about the build-up of nuclear weapons during the Cold War and the possible future. But most of it is focused on American decisions and policies.

We were in the museum for about three hours.

We took the train back to the ferry port, and headed back to Matsuyama.