Friday morning we woke up early and headed to the Osaka train station. In another example of perfectly choreographed Japanese efficiency, the Starbucks barista wrote our train times on the - seasonal red! - cups so we would be sure to get our coffees in time. We pulled out of the station exactly on schedule and we were in Hiroshima in less than two hours.
I wasn't sure what to expect upon arriving in Hiroshima but I definitely didn't think there would be so much "there" there. The city is just as developed as other Japanese cities we have visited, with high-end stores, a massive public transportation network and sizable restaurant / bar scene.
We made our way via streetcar to our guest house, World Friendship Center, and dropped off our bags before spending the afternoon walking around the nearby Peace Park.
In front of the Children's Peace Monument, inspired by Sadako Sasaki, a young girl who died after the A-bomb and inspired the novel "A Thousand Paper Cranes."
One of the many donated artworks created by hundreds of paper cranes.
We stopped at a few of the larger memorial sites but didn't linger too long as our hosts had arranged a guided tour for us on Saturday.
I had read about a "floating shrine" nearby so we took a ferry to Miyajima, known to many as the Island of Gods, to check out the huge orange arch built on the shoreline. Unfortunately we arrived at low tide so the "floating" effect wasn't really applicable, but the area was still pretty scenic and we enjoyed walking through the Itsukushima Shrine.
A local helpfully warned us about the "aggressive deer" on the island but after Nara, we were pretty sure we could handle any form of near-domesticated wildlife. This guy basically posed for us near the welcome sign!
The Great Torii. Apparently much more impressive at high tide but still a pretty awesome sight.
Lion standing guard in front of the temple.
Another shot of the 'floating" gate.
Outside of the Itsukushima Shrine.
The combined ferry / streetcar journey took about 45 minutes so we were starving and exhausted once we got back into the center of town. We had dinner at a family owned Okonomiyaki spot next to our guest house and enjoyed the Hiroshima take on the classic Japanese dish (more cabbage and cheese - count us in!).
Basically in heaven.
Once back at the WFC, our accommodations for the next two days, our kind hosts Richard (from Ohio!) and Xinia took about an hour to tell us about themselves, the World Friendship Center and its mission (in a nutshell: peace on earth). We enjoyed chatting with them but called it an early night so we could wake up for a full day of somber sightseeing on Saturday.
I convinced Alex to go for a run at 6:30am so we would have time to shower before breakfast at 8:00am at the guesthouse. Over a simple and delicious meal we met the other guests staying at the WFC and traded stories about our time in Japan.
After breakfast, we were joined by Soh-son, a Hibakusha, or A-bomb survivor, who volunteers his time just to meet with travelers like us. Soh told us about this experience - he was five years old and only about one mile from ground zero when the bomb went off - and provided a first-hand account of the devastation that occurred in Hiroshima afterward. Needless to say, I had a bit of a hard time keeping it together. I wasn't sure what the general view on Americans would be but Soh assured us there really aren't any hard feelings these days (not so for Koreans apparently; according to our hosts many Japanese hold onto this grudge very seriously).
After our chat with Soh, we met up with another WFC volunteer, Miho, for a guided tour of the Peace Park. Much like Soh, Miho was extremely kind and very happy that we were there. All of the people we've spoken to here are very forthcoming about their hopes for peace, the elimination of nuclear weapons and also the end of nuclear energy (a bit more controversial than the previous two).
We learned about each of the various monuments with Miho and then made our way to the nearby museum.
The A-bomb Dome, one of the only buildings near Ground Zero that survived and has since been preserved.
Fall in the park was actually pretty beautiful.
Monument to the war's Korean victims. Koreans believe that the dead are carried on the back of a turtle to heaven after passing.
The Peace Bell.
The Memorial Cenotaph, below which contains the names of all known A-bomb victims from Hiroshima
The museum was as depressing as I feared but obviously a very worthwhile and important stop. Equal parts scientific information, history and tragedy, the exhibits left a very strong impression on Alex and I. It was (again) hard to keep it together as we walked past the scorched clothing remains worn by children who had died following the explosion...
In need of a reprieve, we headed to get lunch nearby and stumbled upon our favorite ramen chain, Ichiran. They only serve one thing - delicious ramen as you like it - and we have now perfected our order after three visits across Japan!
After lunch we wanted to rest and catch up on the computer so we headed to a nearby Starbucks. We were quickly approached by a barista who informed us they were hosting an inaugural tasting event for English speakers and strongly requested that we join. Enticed by convenient and timely free coffee and treats, we agreed and enjoyed a 30-minute lesson on coffee tasting. We also got to sample some of the most popular food offerings in Starbucks in Japan (which were actually pretty good!). We realized this was mostly an opportunity for the staff to practice their English, but still the entire experience was pretty hilarious - see below for the group shot they took. If we don't wind up on a company website somewhere, I am going to be very disappointed!.
Team Starbucks!
We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around downtown Hiroshima and were struck by how similar the city feels to any other. I know it wasn't fair of me to assume the city would still be defined by a tragic event over 70 years old but I am still amazed at the normalcy of it all. We are going to head to dinner soon and tomorrow we return to Tokyo for one more night in Japan. Next stop: Seoul!
View of Hiroshima - and the A-bomb Dome - at dusk.