hiroshima and miyajima

tuesday morning we woke up early for our first bullet train experience.  the bullet train is a fast moving train that is known for its short stops.  apparently, you only have 90 seconds for people to get on and off the train at any given stop.   we waited on the platform ahead of schedule and all rushed to get on the train for fear of getting left.

after our bullet train ride, we went to hiroshima.  heavy place for sure.  we first heard a survivor speak.  i knew the us had dropped an abomb there, but i had no idea the extent of the devastation that it left.  the city has rebuilt itself extensively and the people who live there are definitely peace seeking. 

her talk was very serious, but one of the quotes i remember was that she said that she was supposed to hate american soldiers, but they were so good looking!  everyone laughed.  we also spent time in the museum where we learned about the history of the town, why it was selected (military town without any allied prisoners, and how at 8:15 on august 6th life changed dramatically in hiroshima and the physical impact on the people and land - skin literally melting off of people.  the bomb was made of uranium unlike nagasaki which was plutonim.  some people believe that the second bomb was more of a scientific experiment, which is truly depressing.

it was expected that nothing would grow for 75 years; however, about a month later there was a typhoon which washed away some of the radiation and the land did begin to regrow faster than expected.    it is interesting that even today, people do not say they are from hiroshima - it has a negative stigma in parts of japan.  the survivor explained that young women did not tell their future husbands they were from hiroshima for fear that they wouldnt marry them.

the city of hiroshima constantly advocates for peace and the mayor writes a letter every time a nuclear test is performed in protest.  the war memorial has a flame that will burn until there is no more nuclear material.

i wont drone on about history; however, one of the monuments was for a child who had leukemia and she believed (japan tradition) that if you fold 1000 paper cranes your wish will come true.  she folded over 600 before she died.  now, many school children fold cranes before they come to visit hiroshima and they are on display near the statue of her (sadoko sasaki).

after hiroshima, we went to miyajima.  miyajima is an island near hiroshima, best known for the itsukushima shrine and the famous gate.  the shrine was built on stilts, just above the high tide sea level so that it appeared to be floating.  the gate is also in the water and is built from camphor wood. 

miyajima is also known for its maple leaf shaped treats and oysters.  i tried the treats which were like cakey bread with filling.  i preferred the chocolate one to the red bean one.  after we visited the shrine we had sometime to walk around the island and see the shops before we jumped back on the ferry back.

after miyajima, we took another bullet train to nagoya.  toyota plant tomorrow!

sidenote:  our organizers were amazing at logistics.  we would drop our bags off in the lobby in the morning and they miraculously would be in our next hotel room that night in our next city.  amazing way to travel and we would not have been successful in all of our destinations if we had to worry about our luggage.