Chūgoku Trip: Day 3 ４月２０日

Days 1 and 2

Hiroshima 広島. It's a vibrant city with a population of 1.2 million people, but the name evokes a single disastrous morning in early August of 1945. Perhaps it was fitting that in a city so linked with tragedy that the day should start out gray and rainy. Leaving my hotel shortly after 8 on Friday morning, I walked along the modern streets and through the Hondōri 本通り covered shopping arcade (just stirring to life as I was passing through). And then I saw it - the symbol of the threat of nuclear holocaust, as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The former Industrial Promotion Hall, now better known as the A-bomb Dome 原爆ドーム:

The building's shell somehow managed to remain standing despite being close to the hypocenter of the atomic bomb blast. It now serves as a silent witness to what happened on August 6, 1945 and though this was the second time for me to see the structure, it hadn't lost its emotional impact. 

The A-bomb Dome sits across the Motoyasu-gawa River 元安川 from the Peace Memorial Park 平和記念公園. There's the Children's Peace Monument, dedicated to Sasaki Sadako 佐々木貞子, who died from leukemia at the age of 12 after being exposed to radiation in the bombing:

The Flame of Peace will be extinguished once the last nuclear weapon has been destroyed. Behind it is the Memorial Cenotaph and the Peace Memorial Museum:

The Memorial Cenotaph was designed by Kenzō Tange 丹下健三. Below the arch is a coffin-like box containing the names of all the A-bomb victims. The arch is aligned with the museum, the flame and the A-bomb Dome. This is the place where the annual memorial service is held every August 6:

One other interesting spot in the park is the Monument in Memory of the Korean Victims of the Bomb. About 10% of all the A-bomb victims were Koreans, many of them forced laborers:

After touring the park, I went over to the Peace Memorial Museum 平和祈念資料館. Back in 1990 during my first visit to Hiroshima, there was only one building, and I was somewhat disappointed by the lack of context given to the displays. It was as if just one day, for no apparent reason, this terrible bomb fell out of the sky, eventually killing 140,000 innocent people. Since my last visit, however, a new building has been constructed which does an excellent job of placing the tragedy in a broader perspective. Hiroshima's history as a military city from the Meiji period 明治時代 onward is explained in detail, including right up to August 6, 1945. 

There are also displays on the decision made by the American government to drop the bomb. Apparently, the original plan was to demonstrate the power of the atomic bomb on the Japanese fleet based at the Pacific island of Truk. However, officials wanted to see what the bomb could do to an urban area, and Hiroshima was chosen as one of the unlucky test candidates. From the documents displayed in the museum, at least, it appeared little if any consideration was given to the effects the bomb would have on men, women and children.

Both the newer and older parts of the museum are fascinating, in a very horrifying sense of the term. There are photographs of the damage (the second picture was one of the few taken in the city itself on the day of the bombing):

There are also personal effects like watches frozen in time at 8:15am, the moment when the bomb detonated:

A great many of the victims were students, who were outside involved in demolition work (they were helping to create fire breaks as many buildings in Japan at that time were made of wood and therefore susceptible to fire in air raids) when the bomb was dropped. In some cases, their bodies were never found, and all that remained were pieces of clothing or schoolbags. Others managed to make it to their homes, only to die there, and their families later donated some of their belongings they had with them when they died to the museum. The hardest for me was the tricycle belonging to a boy of almost four. He was riding it outside when the bomb exploded, and his bereaved father buried his son along with the trike in the family's backyard. 

Back in my younger, more right-wing days, I followed the party line - the atomic bomb was terrible, but it shortened the war and saved more lives in the long run. While it's easy to judge others in hindsight (and therefore feel morally superior by doing so), the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 長崎 were done more as a test of the new weapon's capabilities than as a militarily expedient strategic option (the Japanese were on the verge of starvation, and the Soviet Union was getting ready to invade Manchuria). To its credit, the Peace Memorial Museum refuses to pass any moral judgements, but its obvious from the displays that the people of Hiroshima paid a terrible price for the sins of others. As the saying goes, "No more Hiroshimas". 

The view from the corridor linking the older west building with the newer east building of the museum:

One final look at the A-bomb Dome before leaving the park:

The name "Hiroshima" may be synonymous with "nuclear holocaust", but the city has done a remarkable job in rebuilding itself from the ashes of the bombing. Here's the Hondōri arcade as lunchtime approached:

Speaking of food, Hiroshima is noted for its okonomiyaki お好み焼き, and the most popular place to have some is at Okonomi-mura お好み村, with 28 okonomiyaki restaurants packed into three floors. So I naturally chose a place outside, at street level, instead:

Fortified on the savory pancake (the beer didn't hurt, either), I rode the streetcar to the Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum 広島県立美術館. Unfortunately, photography wasn't allowed inside, but the collection was pretty good, with pride of place going to Salvador Dali's surrealistic Dreams of Venus:

https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/artwork/catalogue-raisonne/colleccions/hiroshima-prefectural-art-museum-hiroshima/484/the-dream-of-venus

Behind the museum was the attractive Shukkei-en stroll garden 縮景園. Originally laid out in 1619, the garden was destroyed in the atomic bombing, and in fact the bones of some victims are interred there. The present Shukkei-en is a well-done reconstruction. This couple was having some wedding photographs taken on the grounds:

Some more photos, including a panoramic shot:

Shukkei-en served as a necessary dose of beauty after a morning related to atomic destruction. I did a little more walking around the central part of Hiroshima before returning to my hotel. This is the view from the 9th floor of the Parco department store パルコ:

The weather had improved greatly since the morning, so I decided to try again to see a baseball game. This time the Carp were playing the Chūnichi Dragons 中日ドラゴンズ, and it was no problem at all getting a ticket for the game. My dinner consisted of a hot dog, plus a Jun Hirose 廣瀬純 bentō 弁当:

There was still some time before the 6pm start of the game, so I took a walk around Mazda Zoom-Zoom Stadium .Just three years old, Mazda Stadium is a great improvement on the older Japanese ballparks. For one thing, it has real grass and not artificial turf, and the infield isn't all-dirt like at many older stadiums in Japan. It's also possible to walk the concourse around the entire stadium:

Looking outside, you could watch the bullet trains 新幹線 passing by:

My seat was along the third-base line:

The game turned out to be a pitchers' duel, with the starter for the Carp being Bryan Bullington, the No. 1 pick in the 2002 draft and a former top prospect with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Unfortunately for the home team's fans, the Dragons won this one 2-0:

It wasn't a cheap night out: the ticket was ¥3000 ($37); the hot dog, bentō and a couple of beers came to ¥2800 ($34); and the two souvenirs I purchased (a teddy bear for Amber and a cap for myself) set me back ¥4400 ($54). In other words, seeing a baseball game in Japan is just as expensive as seeing an MLB contest in the States! But it was a good game, and I had a good time, so I was glad I was able to go.

Like virtually all large Japanese urban areas, Hiroshima has thousands of places to eat and drink after dark. I took a walk through one entertainment district, Nagarekawa 流川, before retiring for the evening:

Chūgoku Trip: Days 1 and 2 ４月１８日と１９日

One good thing about Taiwan is its close proximity to Japan. Much of the former colonial power can be reached in less than three hours flying time from the Beautiful Isle, but in addition, there are direct flights to a number of Japanese cities, making Taiwan a convenient base for traveling to Japan. Take Hiroshima 広島, for example. From most places outside of northeast Asia, Hiroshima can only be reached by first flying into Kansai International Airport 関西国際空港, and then taking an expensive bullet train 新幹線 ride from Ōsaka 大阪 to Hiroshima (unless you have a Japan Rail Pass, highly recommended if you plan to travel extensively around Japan). From Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport 臺灣桃園國際機場, however, China Airlines 中華航空公司 has flights two days a week to Hiroshima Airport 広島空港. Provided the carrier's less-than-stellar safety record holds up during the trip, the flight only takes a couple of hours. I left Taiwan around 5:30pm last Wednesday, arrived in Hiroshima Airport at around 8:50pm local time, and after breezing through immigration and customs, I was on a 9:10 bus from the airport, and heading toward the city. From the terminus at Hiroshima Station 広島駅, I hopped on a streetcar and got off a few stops later at Kanayama-chō 銀山町駅, where my home for the next three nights, the Chisun Hotel, was waiting for me just on the other side of the road. I was checked-in shortly after 10pm.

The next day, Thursday, was when my vacation started in earnest. Leaving the hotel around 8 in the morning, I hopped on a streetcar (not this one pictured below, which was heading toward Hiroshima Station)...

...and took it to the very end, Hiroden-miyajima-guchi Station 広電宮島口駅. Though it was very inexpensive to ride (only ¥270, or about $3.30), the hour-long trip through Hiroshima's suburbs was a little tedious. After finally reaching the terminus, it was a short ferry ride to Miyajima 宮島.

Properly called Itsukushima 厳島, Miyajima is both one of the most sacred sites in Japan's native Shintō religion 神道 and one of the traditional Three Views of Japan. This was my second trip, actually, to Miyajima, as I had visited this part of Japan (briefly) back in August of 1990. Upon alighting from the ferry, I soon came across one of the island's many tame deer:

Just as in Nara 奈良, these animals are considered messengers of the gods and are therefore safe from harm. As a result, they've grown accustomed to being around people, and can be a nuisance at times, especially if you if you happen to be snacking. Moving on from Bambi, Miyajima's most famous sight soon came into view. Even if the name of the place doesn't ring any bells, surely you have seen this image. The "Floating Torii" 鳥居 is featured in virtually every tourist brochure and coffee-table photo book on Japan:

  

I was fortunate in that the tide was in, allowing for the classic view of the torii. When I was here almost 22 years ago (!), the water had receded, and I could walk out onto the mudflats for a close-up view of the gate.  The torii fronts Itsukushima-jinja 厳島神社, one of the most important of the many Shintō shrines around the country, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The shrine is noted for its "floating pavilion", which is built out over the water. When the tide is in, it does indeed appear to be floating on the surface. Here is the view looking toward the main hall of the shrine...:

...and the view in the other direction of the torii:

After paying my respects to the gods 神, I left Itsukushima-jinja and made my way along the streets, which were pretty quiet at this time of the morning (around ten on a weekday):

I had picked a good time to visit Japan. The start of the  Golden Week holidays ゴールデンウィーク was still about a week away, so most of the places I visited on this trip were not yet overrun with tourists. And though the peak of the cherry blossom 桜 season had already passed, there were still plenty of beautiful blooming flowers to be seen, like this one in Ōmoto Park 大元公園:

The park was also the site of Ōmoto-jinja 大元神社, a National Treasure 国宝 by virtue of having the oldest bark-shingle roof in Japan:

For me, though, the significance of the park was that it was the starting point of the Ōmoto hiking course 大元コース leading to the top of Mt. Misen 弥山. The path was paved and not too difficult, but it was steep and took a while to ascend. About an hour up, I came across a small cave called Iwaya-daishi 岩屋大師. The interior was very dark (not to mention low), but my camera illuminated the shrine inside quite nicely:

Just past Iwaya-daishi, I took a rest at the peak of Komagabayashi 駒ヶ林:

Q: Who's the sex machine that drives all the ladies wild?

A: It ain't me.

From Komagabayashi could be glimpsed Misen's peak:

Over hill and dale I trudged on (after donning my shirt again, to the relief of the other hikers), reaching the main hall of Misen-hondō 弥山本堂, one of many sites in this part of Japan connected in some way or another to the great Japanese Buddhist monk Kōbō-Daishi 弘法大師:

Across the way was an even more Daishi-related site, the Reika-dō 霊火堂:

The building itself isn't that old, but inside is a cauldron of water that is kept simmering by a fire lit by Kōbō-Daishi himself 1200 years ago! The story goes that the fire has never gone out, and you are free to help yourself to a taste of the water. Which I did. And being warmed over a 1200 year-old fire, it tasted pretty damned good!:

Finally, after nearly two hours, the top of Misen was reached. At the top were more cherry blossoms and deer...:

...and a small observation tower providing views of the mainland and the Inland Sea 瀬戸内海. When I first came here in August of 1990, the sky was clear and there was a spectacular view of some the islands surrounding Miyajima. This time the weather was hazy, and the views were nowhere near as good. Still, I felt a great sense of accomplishment in having hiked up (the first time I took the gondola - I was much lazier in my younger days!), and the sights were still pretty good:

The video I made provides a better representation of what could be seen:

Other than being better for your health, by not taking what the Japanese call a "ropeway" ロープウェイ, I was also able to avoid Miyajima's somewhat testy gang of monkeys that usually congregates between the peak and the gondola lift station. So I continued walking down, descending via the Momiji-dani Course 紅葉谷コース. Momiji refers to the colorful autumn leaves, and while I was hiking out of season, the flora was still pretty beautiful in places:

By this time, I was getting hungry, having only had a couple of Granola bars at the top of Komagabayashi. One of Miyajima's specialties is anago アナゴ, or conger eel, and this lunch set, which I ate outdoors under the trees, was my first real meal on this trip (donuts from Mister Donut ミスタードーナツ don't count):

After reaching the end of the hiking course, I sampled another of the island's delicacies, oysters カキ:

Although a blonde nearby thought they were disgusting, I found these grilled oysters to be quite tasty, but then when I had hair it was a dark brown color. Fortified, I walked over to check out the island's beautiful five-storied pagoda...:

...and Senjōkaku 千畳閣, the "Hall of a Thousand Tatami Mats". Construction was started in the late 16th century by the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi, but was left unfinished when he died, and thus has no ceilings or a front entrance:

The final place I visited before leaving Miyajima was the temple Daishō-in 大聖院. It's hard to describe what this temple was like - numerous structures were crammed on, and in some cases into, a hillside and, unusually for a Japanese Buddhist temple, had some sort of connection to Tibetan Buddhism (prayer wheels, pictures of the Dalai Lama). The best part, however, was that it was free to enter:

Finally, it was time to go, but not before picking up a can of the local craft beer at the ferry port (and consuming it later in my hotel room):

Upon returning to the mainland, I opted to take the more expensive but faster JR train back to Hiroshima, whereupon the clouds that had been threatening to rain all day finally opened up. Which was too bad, actually, because I was planning to go over to Mazda Zoom-Zoom Stadium to see the local team, the Hiroshima Carp 広島東洋カープ take on the Yokohama DeNA BayStars 横浜DeNAベイスターズ. In fact, I did walk over to the stadium...:

...to see if the game was on. The rain was falling steadily, and so was the temperature, but the teams ended up playing anyway. I love baseball, but the idea of getting wet and cold, and of possibly catching a cold and hampering my holiday, didn't sound very appealing. Instead, I retreated back to my hotel, opened up the can of the aforementioned 地ビール and enjoyed watching the Carp-BayStars game on TV in the comfort of my warm, dry room.