peace

Spent the whole first half of the day on the train today going from Osaka to Hiroshima. The ride was long and there were a number of transfers, but we met two fellow Japanese 18 kippu users on the train and chatted it up. It was really interesting meeting and talking to strangers on the train. Up until now, we haven’t had any long train rides, so we haven’t met any fellow travelers. Plus, we were always together as a couple, so people probably didn’t want to cut into our group. Anyway, we met one guy who used to be in the navy and a lady from Osaka. We chatted about various things and it really helped pass the time on our three hour train ride to Hiroshima.

We arrived at Hiroshima mid-afternoon and headed straight for the Peace Museum. It's basically a museum displaying the history of the city and the atomic bombings from World War II. Seeing the pictures of the aftereffects and excerpts of letters from the victims was really sad. It was the first time I was so moved by a museum visit.

The Peace Bridge

Hiroshima is a very pretty city, full of trees and bodies of water. It's really hard to believe that all of this used to be full of rubbish and debris. 

Many memorials around the park. 

Peace "Watch" Tower
This clock tower indicates the number of days since the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima (top), as well as the number of days since the last nuclear test (bottom). The cogwheels can spin; the top one rotates at 100 times per minute, but will spin faster if the earth shows signs of being in danger. As it rotates faster and faster, the ones at the bottom will also begin to follow. Once it reaches the last cogwheel at the bottom, which is immovable, the clock will self-destruct. The idea is that if there ever comes a time where the clock self-destructs, it means we are reaching the annihilation of humanity.
So the message is: "In order to stop the cogwheels from spinning, we must work toward abolishing all nuclear weapons and seek for an age of coexistence among humankind without dependence on military force."

Everything in Hiroshima screams out the desire for peace and no war. The topic of World War II is rather sensitive, so I don't want to go too much into it. All I can say is that there are truly a lot of tragedies that result from war. In this sense, Japan was, indeed, a victim. However, knowing about the war crimes that were committed against Chinese people, I can't help but feel that the museum is forgetting something: that there are things far scarier than nuclear bombs–humans. And you cannot ever reach peace if you don't teach about the crimes humans commit, if peace is even something that exists.

"A dragonfly flitted in from of me and stopped on a  fence. I stood up, took my cap in my hands, and was about to catch the dragonfly when……"
the clock stopped.

   

Letters of Protest

As of March 12, 2013, a total of 604 letters have been sent by the mayors of Hiroshima in response to every nuclear test by any country since 1968.

model of the A-bomb Dome

compilation of the aim for peace

A-bombed horse
This horse experienced the bombing at a station about 1,750 meters from the hypocenter. Although its neck and body were burned, it continued to work as a plow horse after the war. White hair grew on areas of the skin where keloids had formed.
Really creepy-looking, almost unnatural. I don't know if it really is the real body of the horse, but it's hard to tell by feeling because of the preservatives. But we must not neglect the animals that were affected by this. 

A recap of the city on fire. People melting, burning..

What the city looked like after the bombing.

Clothes and shoes, among countless other items found and collected. All of these belonged to school children. 

This is the human shadow etched in stone. A person sitting on the steps to the bank waiting for it to open was exposed to the flash from the atomic bomb explosion. Receiving the rays directly, the victim must have died on the spot from massive burns. The surface of the surrounding stone steps was turned whitish by the intense heat rays. This place where the person was sitting became dark like a shadow.  

Paper cranes folded by Sadako
Believing the old adage that folding a thousand paper cranes would make a wish come true, Sadako tried steadfastly to recover from her illness by folding paper cranes. Her wish was in vain. After her death, a monument was built for peace and to console the soles of Sadako and all the other children perished due to the A-bomb.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial 

   

The Peace Flame that has burned since it was lit in 1964. It will remain lit until all nuclear bombs on the planet are destroyed and the planet is free from the threat of nuclear annihilation.

   

Atomic Bomb Dome

Completed in April 1915, as the Hiroshima Prefectural Commercial Exhibition, this skeletal structure is the only thing that remained. Though the history is tragic, the building stands magnificently, despite being half burned. When Hiroshima was being rebuilt, some people wanted to demolish the building to forget the tragedy while others wanted to preserve it as a memorial. I'm glad they didn't tear it down because these things are precious and symbolic.

After walking around the park, I had had enough of being in a depressed state. So to lighten the mood, we went to grab dinner.

We went to a restaurant called Daisho, which we saw in the Hiroshima city guide we found at the hotel. Once again, we had okonomiyaki. You might be wondering when we'll get tired of eating okonomiyaki because you're probably sick of seeing so much of it. haha But Hiroshima is the birthplace of okonomiyaki, and Hiroshima okonomiyaki is different in the way it is prepared and served.

Too bad we couldn't make it ourselves this time. There were no grills at the tables.

  

So what makes Hiroshima okonomiyaki different from all the rest is that there are soba noodles in it, and the ingredients are layered rather than mixed. Basically, soba noodles are stir-fried on the grill and then topped with a ton of cabbage. Toppings are then added to the top one after another.

Hiroshima is also known for oysters (right), and 60-70% of all oysters in Japan are produced here. 

itadakimasu!

And everything topped with dessert. Green tea ice cream, with red beans and sweet potato flakes (left), vanilla ice cream with various berries and strawberry jam (right). Can you guess which one I ordered?

autographed plates from various celebrities/famous people