Conversation at Last!
Trip Start
Aug 11, 2007
1
16
22
Trip End
Sep 21, 2007
Hiroshima,
Japan
Monday, September 10, 2007
Once again I admired the views as the train snaked its way through the Kyushu countryside, past more little harbors and tsunami-wall lined roads. I came to firmly decide on another observation which I had been aware of since coming to Nagasaki - Some of the Japanese people in the more rural areas, the older folk in particular, have a real reluctance to sit next to foreigners! I was told to expect this mind so if anything it was a bonus...more room for my stuff. What do they expect me to do?! I had bought some food in the train station...I just assumed it was a bentos box. To my horror it wasn't - it was a ramen box which required a pan of boiling water. I may have many things in my backpack but a pan of boiling water is not among them. What a bloody stupid thing to sell on a train platform. Beware!
Arrived in Hakata and transferred to the Shinkansen which wasn't a long wait either.
A-Bomb Dome
I took a bit of a gamble getting on it mind, because when I asked one of the station guys if the train went to Hiroshima, he did A LOT of talking in Japanese and made "X" marks with his arms, as if to say no...but I was sure it was the same train that I came in on so I got on anyway, because the next train with 'Hiroshima' shown on the departures board was over an hour away. After a while, and several thoughts of being on the wrong train, I pulled into Hiroshima. Perhaps the guy in Hakata just liked the X-Factor...The first I noticed about Hiroshima was that it is a great deal bigger than Nagasaki! I headed for the tram so I could make my way to the hostel. I almost got mowed down by an old lady on a bicycle on the way! There are many bicycles in Japan; all using the path instead of the road. I do wonder about Japan's older generation. In England they would be served with an ASBO (that's an Anti-Social Behavior Order...for any non-English who are reading), given an ankle tag and sentenced to house arrest. Probably. The hostel was closed when I arrived, but I was expecting this anyway, and so headed straight to the A-Bomb dome which wasn't very far away. I bought a day 2 tram/ferry/cable car pass for 2000yen - I plan on going on the cable car in Miyajima tomorrow and that alone is 1800yen so it is a good buy. You can get them from the conductors on the trams.
The A-Bomb dome is a building which was destroyed on the day of the bomb. It's been preserved almost exactly as it was on August 2nd, 1945 - apart from the obvious work to keep the remains standing.
A-Bomb Dome
It certainly gives you a good impression of just how devastating the bomb was. It's utterly destroyed, surrounded by piles of rubble and contorted steel girders. Not far from the dome is the museum, which is along the same lines as the Nagasaki museum....although perhaps a bit more graphic. There is a section of stone stairs from a bank which has the shadow of a person sitting there at the time the bomb went off, which was quite eerie to see. Lots of graphic photos, possessions, damaged objects etc. I think it's the better of the 2 a-bomb museums overall and I spent quite a long time taking it all in.Headed back to the hostel and checked in. Immediately I got the feeling that it was a far friendlier place than in Tokyo - lots of people talking and it didn't take at all long to meet people. I did more talking in the first half hour than I did during my entire stay in the Tokyo hostel! I decided to go on a food hunt. Hiroshima leaflets and guidebooks all make a big fuss of "Hiroshimayaki" - which is just a Hiroshima special Okonomiyaki (essentially a pancake with noodles, meat and veg, all fried up right in front of you). This is certainly one of my favourite Japanese dishes!
Spent some time wandering around Hatchobori which is one of the main areas of Hiroshima. Lots of shops and malls. After that I went back to peace park to get a feel of the place in the dark, before heading back to the hostel where I had a few beers and some good conversation with some fellow travelers. One lad was just embarking on a years trip - lucky sod! There was this Polish guy though, who opposed everybody's opinion and then said he didn't like England because it is "the most big brother place." I eventually switched off and joined a girl who was making paper cranes (an origami bird)....my first effort wasn't bad at all! Eventually went to bed. Miyajima tomorrow!
