It's another long weekend in Japan, so it's time for Kerri to hop on the shinkansen (bullet train) and take a sightseeing trip with her friend Tarynn!!
We have arrived in the town of Hiroshima, famous because it was the target of the world's first atomic bomb during WWII on August 6, 1945.
Hiroshima is known as the "City of Water" in Japan because it has 6 rivers flowing through it. Therefore, it does not have a subway system, like many other Japanese cities. Instead, they have an above-ground electric tram system.
The tram cars are HUGE, often the length of 4 buses put together!
The tram tracks run through the middle of the streets.
KG gets to drive the tram!!
At one point, the tram was filled with old men. They all got off at the same stop. Guess where?!
A kyotei stadium, which is a gambling venue for boat racing!! LOL. (It has a grandstand just like at a horse track, but the field is a giant pond!)
First stop is the A-Bomb Dome. This is the only structure that remains in its original condition from the atomic bomb.
It gives a pretty good idea of the magnitude of destruction.
For many years, this building was quite controversial because it's a constant reminder to residents of Hiroshima of the horrible devastation caused by the bomb. All other buildings were rebuilt, yet this one still has rubble lying around.
This is the Children's Peace Monument. This was inspired by a girl named Sadako, who was 2 when the bomb struck. When she was 12, Sadako was diagnosed with leukemia due to years of radiation exposure.
Based on Japanese lore, she thought if she could fold 1,000 origami cranes, she would be granted good health. Unfortunately, she died before she finished her 1,000th crane.
Now the monument is lined with cases of origami cranes sent every year from schools and other children of Japan.
A chain of origami cranes. Apparently there is a good English children's book by Eleanor Coerr called "Sadako and One Thousand Paper Cranes" about this story that is worth checking out.
Memorial Monument in Peace Memorial Park.
View of the Peace Memorial Park.
The Memorial Monument, the Eternal Flame (which will be extinguish once the last atomic bomb on earth has been destroyed), and the A-Bomb Dome are all in a straight line.
I must admit the memorial park really reminded me of Washington, D.C. with the reflection pond and green space.
Now onto the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.
(Have you noticed a trend? Hiroshima is now known as the "City of Peace".)
Here is an aerial replica of Hiroshima in 1945 before the bomb. You can see the domed building with the green roof near the center. Records show that the target of the bomb was actually the T-shaped bridge on the right.
The city of Hiroshima immediately after the world's first atomic bomb. Notice the domed building in ruins (but one of the few buildings still standing), and the red mark at the bottom left where the atomic bomb would have hit had it not exploded in air. It never made it to ground level. It didn't completely destroy the T-shaped bridge, but it did destroy other bridges, including the one that used to be on the top left.
The first floor of the museum was very factual and interesting. It described the history of the city of Hiroshima, World War II, The Manhattan Project, and why U.S. was building the atomic bomb.
It even explained that Hiroshima was chosen as the first targeted city because the Japan army had a military base in Hiroshima, but they did not have a P.O.W. camp with U.S. soldiers in custody.
The second floor of the museum had a distinctly different atmosphere. It was mostly personal stories of the victims of the a-bomb, and it's subsequent black rain & radiation. Many were gruesome and disturbing! (Like recreated figures of people with grotesque full-body burns or with their skin hanging off in strings.) I'll hit the highlights for you...
Here's a watch stopped at 8:15AM, which is when the bomb hit. There are many broken watches and clocks all over the museum. It's hard to forget the bomb dropped on August 6, 1954 at 8:15AM because they most repeat it over 100 times in the museum.
Here's the remains of one little boy's tricycle and helmet who was outside playing when the bomb hit. Like so many others, the remains of the 3-year-old were never found.
There were many tales of the terrible affects of the a-bomb radiation, but for some reason this one really sticks with me. A man had his middle and ring fingertips blow off in the bombing, but he lived. From then on, those 2 fingers grew long black brittle curving nails, and whenever one would break or be cut it would bleed profusely.
It's worth noting that the Japanese weren't the only people affected from the atomic bomb or it's radiation. There were many Chinese and Korean people also living in Japan forced to help with the war. One report says that 1 in every 7 victims was Korean. But for decades, the Chinese and Koreans had a hard time being recognized as victims and receiving a-bomb treatment.
Interestingly enough, the term "Ground Zero" was coined in Hiroshima for the area directly under the a-bomb explosion. Since then, the word has been used to describe the exact point of many disasters, including 9/11 and the World Trade Center collapse.
Lastly, there are a few truly unlucky people who lived through the bombing of Hiroshima, and then somehow were also in Nagasaki when the world's second a-bomb was dropped 3 days later! The Japanese government only "officially" recognizes one man like this based on his proximity to the both bomb sites, and he passed away in January 2010. However, in 2006 there was a documentary film called "Twice Survived: The Doubly Atomic Bombed of Hiroshima and Nagasaki", and the producers found 165 people who were victims of both bombings.
After that tragic tale, who's hungry?!
Hiroshima area is known for okonomiyaki, and Tarynn made us hunt down this "Okonomiyaki Village" with 30 restaurants in it exclusively serving this food. It took at least an hour to find, and that included asking locals for directions 3 times!! I was very hungry, and you can imagine how cranky I was on our hunt for the special food.
Okonomiyaki is some times referred to as a Japanese pancake. Some versions are all mixed together, but in the Hiroshima area they like to layer the ingredients. So on the bottom is a crepe then cabbage, sprouts, green spring onions, corn, pork, and it's topped with a fried egg, thick soy sauce, and special seasoning.
(P.S. I love the hairstyle of this woman cooking our food. LOL. Maybe I should ask where she gets her hair done?!)
The finished product! It looks kind of gross in this pic, but it was actually quite tasty... although I was starving so that may have been a factor as well. I will say that I have had the kind of okonomiyaki where it is all mixed together, and that looks really gross! The layering is a much better idea.
By this time it's 5PM in Hiroshima, and everything in town is closing down!! What do you think 2 lovely single ladies decided to do with their free evening?
You'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out...
