Went to a little cafe on our way to the Kyoto Station. There was an older gentleman who waited on us and he was so cool. We loved him. I wish that we would have gotten his picture. When we left, I said 'gochiso sama desu' (it was delicious) and he got super excited that I said something in Japanese.
The shinkansen to Hiroshima took about 2 hours.
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| On a telephone pole. Even their warning signs are cute. |
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| A statue we saw while walking from the station. |
2. Hiroshima Castle
Got to Hiroshima a little bit late in the day. Started out at the castle, which was pretty interesting and the first place that we found the stamps that we had heard of. There were lots of swords.
Hiroshima Castle is also called "Carp Castle" and is pronounced RIJO in Japanese. Since this area where the castle was built was then called Koi-no-ura (Koi Sea Shore) and "Koi" means carp in Japanese, the castle was given the nickname "Carp Castle" in later years.
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| By the time the Sino-Japanese War broke out in August 1894, the extension of the Sanyo Railway to Hiroshima and construction of Ujina Port had made Hiroshima an ideal location for the Japanese Imperial Military Headquarters, which were moved here in September of the same year. The headquarters were established in a building within the Hiroshima Castle grounds that housed the headquarters of the 5th Army Division. The same building was also designated as the provisional quarters for the Meiji Emperor. |
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| The Meiji Emperor stayed in Hiroshima more than seven months from September 15, 1894 to April 27 of the following year. THereafter, the building was preserved as a historical monument, but was later destroyed in the atomic bombing. Now, the foundation stones are all that remain. |
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| Up close view of the castle. |
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| Tree on the castle grounds. |
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| Yo in Kimono. |
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| Me as a samurai. |
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| Me in Kimono. |
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| View of Hiroshima from the top of Hiroshima Castle. |
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| Another view of the city. |
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| Underground Communication Room (700m from hypocenter) In and around Hiroshima Castle were a number of military faculties including the partially underground strategic control room of the Chugoku Regional Military Headquarters. In the communication room soldiers were assisted by Hijiyama Girls' High School students mobilized for the war effort. The atomic bomb destroyed telephone and telegraph lines, but the students, using the barely intact military phone system, managed to relay news of Hiroshima's destruction. Theirs seems to have been the first report of Hiroshima's suffering. |
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| Memorial for the students. |
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| Another memorial for the students. |
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| Walls around the castle |
3. Atomic Bomb Dome
Got to the dome and instant tears. I was already stressed from getting lost and that it was so late in the day and we weren't going to be able to do everything on the list. I think that added to the emotions of seeing the site. The dome was pretty powerful stuff though.
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| As a historical witness that conveys the tragedy of suffering the first atomic bomb in human history and as a symbol that vows to faithfully seek the abolition of nuclear weapons and everlasting world peace, Genbaku Dome was added to the World Heritage List in accordance with the "Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and National Heritage (World Heritage Convention)." December 7, 1996, Hiroshima City |
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| The A-bomb Dome is the ruins of the former Hiroshima Prefecture Industrial Promotion Hall which was destroyed by the first atomic bomb ever to be used in the history of humankind on August 6, 1945. The atomic bomb was detonated in the air at an altitude of approximately 600m almost right over the hall. The explosion by a single bomb claimed the lives of over 200,000 people and the city area of about 2km radius was turned to ashes. In order to have this tragic fact known to succeeding generations and to make it a lesson for humankind, the reinforcement work of the ruins has been done by the contributions of many people who desire peace within and out of the country. The ruins shall be preserved forever. August 6, 1967, Hiroshima City |
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| The concrete section of the dome was burnt and even melted, leaving the skeletal steel frame exposed against the sky. It was the approximate epicenter of the atomic bomb explosion. |
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| One of the memorials for the children who lost their lives in the atomic bombing of 1945. |
Yolanda got video of the message recorded on this monument. Once I get a copy, I will post the video here. The message was really cool and could be heard in a variety of languages.
4. Peace Memorial Museum
I pretty much cried the whole time we were in the museum. This museum was pretty cool and a good choice of things to see while we were in the city. There was so much information in the museum on the history and artifacts found from the area.
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| The flame in the very center has supposedly been kept alive since the A-bomb. Memorial Cenotaph: "Repose ye in peace, for the error shall not be repeated." |
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| The layout of the city before the bomb. The A-bomb Dome is in green. |
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| Student Service Corps armband Students in what would have been junior high and above were organized into Student Service Corps units and mobilized to perform manual labor in groups. |
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| A dragonfly flitted in front of me and stopped on a fence. I stood up, took my cap in my hands, and was about to catch the dragonfly when.... |
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| Children's Peace Monument This monuments stands in memory of all children who died as a result of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima. The monument was originally inspired by the death of Sadako Sasaki, who was exposed to the radiation from the atomic bomb at the age of two. Ten years later Sadako developed leukemia that ultimately ended her life. Sadako's untimely death compelled her classmates to begin a call for the construction of a monument for all children who died due to the atomic bomb. Built with contributions from more than 3200 schools in Japan and donors in nine countries, the Children's Peace Monument was unveiled on May 5, 1958. |
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| At the top of the 9m monument, a bronze statue of a young girl lifts a golden crane entrusted with dreams for a peaceful future. Figures of a boy and a girl are located on the sides of the monument. The inscription on the stone block under the monument reads: "This is our cry. This is our prayer. For building peace in this world." On the surface of the bell hung inside the monument, the phrases "A Thousand Paper Cranes" and "Peace on Earth and in the Heavens" are carved in the handwriting of Dr. Hideki Yukawa, Nobel Prize Laureate Physics. The bell and golden crane suspended inside the monument are replicas produced in 2003. |
Letters of Protest: Successive mayors of Hiroshima have sent letters of protest in response to every nuclear test by any country since 1968. Each time a protest letter is sent, the mayor hopes it will be the last.
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| Thousands of paper cranes and gifts are left around the monuments throughout the city in hopes of peace. |
5. The Long Walk to Find Miyajima
Trying to find the way to Miyajima was a long and unsuccessful process. In the end we walked for what felt like forever and had aching feet and empty bellies by the end of our journey. We did see two boys on the river throwing oranges and catching them on the end of a long stick. It was really random and funny.
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| Fun metal circle in the middle of nowhere on the river. |
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| After walking about 1000 miles, we found the ferry, which was closed by that time. |
We asked around and finally found okonomi-mura. Got some beer and okonomiyaki. It was freaking awesome! I had totally been making it wrong, but I know better now. Definitely my favorite thing to eat in Japan.
Luckily, we made the last train from Shin-Osaka back to Kyoto. We decided to get a couple of beers and call it a night. It was a long day.
Wow :(
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