Catch-up #6: Hiroshima and Miyajima

Monday was Enoshima. Wednesday was Kawagoe, Thursday night was a party at the izakaya with my Japanese class (a sort of farewell party for me and this guy named Hong who was going back to Korea).

Friday and Saturday was a 2-day trip to Hiroshima and Miyajima with my homestay parents.

These people are incredible. They paid for everything, from the expensive Shinkansen tickets to the hotel to the little things like drinks out of the vending machine. They wouldn't let me take my wallet out for anything (which of course, just made me feel guilty. I'm not used to that). Hiroshima is twice the distance away from Tokyo than Kyoto is. And I was gawking at the price to get to Kyoto.

Hiroshima, the site of the first atomic-bombing, has been turned into a tourist location. A very beautiful tourist location. But a very sad place to tour. Preserved ruins, statues dedicated to the deceased, and a museum explaning the situations that led to the bombing and the effects a nuclear bomb had on the people.

200,000 people died. This included soldiers, forced laborers, prisoners of war, and local civilians. 200,000....

We people in America balk at the hit 5,000 was during the 9/11 attack. Enough to go to war against another country. But we made the decision to kill off 200,000 people with a single bombed strategically dropped for political reasons. Yes, it ended a very devastating war, but it seems a bit excessive to throw something that big at another country.

The museum itself did nothing to victimize Japan or villianize America. It didn't proclaim America the hero and Japan the country of shame. It just presented the facts. That all sides had been wrong in this war and that such chaos should be avoided at all costs in the future.

The thing I didn't know about Hiroshima was America's strategy in dropping the bomb there. At the time, America had 3 options. To invade, to call on the Soviets for help, or to drop an atomic bomb. The bomb was decided b/c it would raise America up as a country of power and dominance, especially against the Soviets. Hiroshima in particular was chosen b/c it supposedly had no American prisoners of war. It was a military city (taken over by the military for its ports) and was strategically chosen for the impact an atomic bomb would geographically make if dropped there.

It's very disgusting when you think about it, how disconnectedly people can decide to end 200,000 lives. But I guess in war, when you're representing people by numbers bunched in shapes of triangles and dots, empathy is taken out of it. And pure cold-cut strategy is put in place. Like a game.

But yeah, there's my history lesson.

Miyajima on the other hand is a island with a shrine built directly on the water. The TV said it was because in the past, the people believed the island itself to be a god. But it was a beautiful experience there visiting the dock/shrine and going up the mountain on skylines. We stayed in a Japanese hotel on the island too which was cool. Although it did mean I had to experience a Japanese public bath.

The World Heritage Site. I.e. the a-bomb dome. The only building the survive the nuclear bomb attack, I think. It's been preserved and maintained, so it still stands as a site.

A statue dedicated to the children who lost their lives during the atomic bomb attack.

One particular girl who died b/c of the radiation poisoning caused by the bomb created massive awareness among the youths for the victims of Hiroshima. This statue is in memory of her. In the class cases are thousands upon thousands of paper cranes.

Hiroshima castle.

A temple... I forge the name.

The inside of our hotel room. Tatami floors n all.

The Miyajima Temple.

The infamous gate of the Miyajima temple.

Another shot. It was lowtide when we went, but usually all that land is underwater.

Okaa-san and me standing at the top of the mountain.

The rope bridge.

A creek/river in the park on the way down from the mountain. We stopped to play around.

Deer! There were so many here and they're not afraid of people at all. Kind of like goats in a petting zoo. Except it's not a fenced off area. They walk along the streets with you. You can feed them and touch them.

After visiting Hiroshima and from the very brief interaction with the various people on the streets, I have to say, I think western Japan just might be friendlier than eastern. Also, the various cities are much closer to each other and easier to get to. Kyoto, Osaka, Nagoya, etc etc. They're all over there.

When coming from CMU's art exchange program, I would refer to the Japan exchange as this: Do you want to go to Japan? Or do you want to go to Tokyo?