Hiroshima

So i finally got around to putting some snaps of Hirioshima up...

I went not last weekend, but the one before, with one of my housemates Abdul (he is from London). We decided to take the bus as it was much chepaer than the Shinkansen or flying. There was a catch though... The bus took 12 hours each way.

We departed Tokyo Sat night and arrived Sunday moring. The seats were smaller than buses back home and it was very crowded. I am not overly tall but Abdul is and he was struggling, espeically with his legs. The other problem is that they stop every 2-3 hours so eveytime they stopped, the lights were turned on and everyone was woken up. In hindsight, it was definately worth the money we saved though.

We arrived about 7am Sun morning and after a bakery breakfast, made our way to the hostel. Check-in wasn't until 4pm so we left our bags there and began our sightseeing. We spent the day roaming the peace park, which contains the Atomic Bomb Museum and the Hiroshima Dome. The Hiroshima Dome is a building that was destroyed by the atomic bomb. It was obviously gutted by fire and heavily damaged but most of the walls remained erect after the attack, so the Japanese have left the building as a memorial for August 6th, 1945 and i suppose, the entire war. It is quite chilling to view this building up close. This feeling is reinforced by a visit to the museum. It is very graphic and reaccounts many first hand stories of the incident. The damage and devastation caused by a single bomb is phenomenal.

One of the saddest reaccounts is a story about a girl called Sadako. She was two years old at the time of the attack. She survived the bomb but was diagnosed with Leukemia at the age of eleven. There is an old Japanese legend that says that anyone who folds a thousand paper cranes is granted a wish. Sadako started folding cranes to get her wish to banish the disease. She actually exceed 1000 cranes but sadly died on October 25th, 1955 at the age of twelve. Ever year people from around the world fold paper cranes and send them to Hiroshima. They are displayed in glass cases in the park, beside the Sadako memorial state (4th photo).

In the evening we visited Hiroshima Castle and then had a meal of the renowned Hiroshima-yaki. Okonomiyaki is Japanese style pancake. It usually contains cabbage, bean sprouts and seafood or meat. The Hiroshima version is regarded as one of the best Okonomiyaki in Japan and is different in that it also contains noodles. Needless to say, it was oishii (delicious)!!!

On Monday we visited and Island called Miya-jima, which is located quite clse to Hiroshima. Transport is via a ferry. It is a beautiful place- i visited there last year and it is probably my favourite place in Japan. Miya-jima is covered in beatiful shrines, but it is most famous for the Itsukushima Shrine. The shrine is situated in a small bay on the island and although the legs are exposed in my photos, water surrounds the shrine at high tide, giving the illusion that it is floating. The shrine is most impresive at night when lights illuminate it and the surrounding water. BTW- Shrines are Shinto monuments and temples are Buddhist, the two dominant religions in Japan.

On Tuesday we travelled South to a city called Iwakuni. The city itself is not particularly attractive and fairly industrial. The one famous site near the city is a bridge called Kintai-Kyo. It spans the Nishiki River and has a distinct shape, consisting of five arches. The bridge is made entirely of wood and not a single nail was used in it's construction. The original was built in 1673 but it is rebuilt every 50 years for safety reasons- this version was rebuilt in 2004.

We borded our bus exhausted on Tuesday night. I slept pretty well on the bus and arrived in Tokyo 7am Wednesday morning. It was a great trip! A beautiful and peaceful city.

P.S. Jima is a suffix used with Island names and kyo is used on bridge names


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