Nonstop Hiroshima

Whew! I badly needed these last two days of rest and I'm looking forward to one last day tomorrow before school starts. I know, I know. Woe is me, but trust me. Read this post and then you can tell me if I'm just being a divo.

Shinkansen

Tuesday we embarked on our field trip to Hiroshima via the shinkansen, also known as the bullet train. For those of you who may be a little rusty on your history like I really am, during World War II, an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6 at 8:15 am. I was honestly a little worried about going to Hiroshima, knowing that my nation was responsible for the destruction of their city. Upon our arrival, I was pleasantly surprised by the people of Hiroshima's spirit of peace. The Peace Memorial Museum and Park was a serene location that strongly advocates the abolition of nuclear warfare from the world. They recognize that the real enemy amongst all of this is war and that world peace cannot simultaneously exist with nuclear warfare. We also listened to the testimony from an a-bomb survivor. Her story was very moving and I admire her devotion to her ideals. I have mixed feelings about all of this, but my journey here definitely gave me a new outlook on the situation. I can probably go on and on about the ethical debate, but luckily I don't want to get too serious.

Peace Memorial

Atomic Bomb Dome

The next day we headed off to Miyajima-guchi to catch the ferry to Miyajima Island. On our way to the tram, however, I was bombarded by Japanese elementary school children in groups of 4. They handed me a sign that said, "Hi. We are learning about English and Hiroshima. We would like to ask you a question." First, they handed me a map of the world and I placed a sticker on where I was from. Then, they handed me a clipboard and I wrote down how I felt about Hiroshima. Even though our whole group is from America, I'm the only white person, so it's good to know that racial profiling is alive in Japan. Our UC director was getting angry with me for stopping so many times, but I couldn't say no to the children. I filled out a bunch of those things and ran to catch up with the group.

Filling out the questionnaires

 Miyajima Island is famous for the Miyajima Shrine and Daisho-in. It was erected a long time ago to appease the goddess of the island so the fisherman would be blessed with their catch. They also don't have any hospitals on the island because they don't want sickness, death, birth, or anything to contaminate the sacred place because it might anger the goddess. After visiting the shrine, we hiked up to the highest point on the island called Mt. Misen. 2.5 kilometers didn't seem to be that bad, but we soon learned that it was 2.5 km of steep stairs AND it was muggy so we all sweated like crazy. The view from the top was breathtaking as well as the trail up to the top. However, we wimped out and just took the ropes course down. It was kinda like the skybuckets at Disneyland.

Miyajima Shrine at sunset

On the way up Mt. Misen with the Daishoin in the background

View from the top of Mt. Misen

On Thursday, we took another ferry to Okunoshima, also known as poisonous gas island. I was a little worried by the name, but we were assured that it was safe. Apparently, it's home to a vacation resort or something like that. We ate lunch at the hotel and I was scared to drink the water. Anyways, the island is famous because it was the site of mass production of biological weapons, especially during World War II. Everything on the island was kept top secret and much of it was destroyed during America's occupation of Japan following World War II. A few buildings remained today as a reminder of the atrocities of war. Biological weapons have since been banned, but nuclear weapons have not. Our tour guide walked us around the whole island, pointing out old storage containers or barracks and gave us a very detailed history of the island. It kinda got boring at times, and I was thoroughly distracted by the cute and VERY friendly bunnies running everywhere. They used to test the poisonous gases on the bunnies (sorry Celene). For some reason, after the island was shut down, they brought over bunnies to occupy the island. We got to feed and play with the bunnies, which were not afraid of humans at all!

Okunoshima Island

Abandoned factory on Okunoshima

The friendly Okunoshima bunnies

The next day we headed off to Edajima, which is home to a naval academy. We got a quick tour of the campus and the war museum and traveled to Kure, which was and still is the site of a big ship port and manufacturing site. During World War II, the battleship Yamamoto was built here, so the city has a lot of naval base operations history. In Kure, we visited an abandoned underground factory where they manufactured parts and equipment during the war. Finally, we were done with our trip. By this time, everyone was pretty much a zombie. Luckily, we had a nice 4 hour nap on the shinkansen back to Tokyo, but we weren't looking forward to the 45 minute subway back to Totsuka or the 20 minute walk back home with our luggage. I think we got back home around 10 pm.

Now on to the food. I very much enjoyed trying out the food in each city. Hiroshima is known for its Okonomiyaki. It's basically like this Japanese pancake that is filled with amazingness, such as bacon, egg, and some other stuff that I'm not really sure, BUT it tasted absolutely amazing. The chef cooked it in front of us and then we simply ate it with a spatula on the grill. Miyajima-guchi is known for its anago, which is a special cooked eel that melted in my mouth. Again, I could go on and on about the food, but these two were my favorites on this trip. If any of you ever make it out to Japan, these two foods are a must!

Eating Okonomiyaki in Hiroshima

Anago from Miyajima-guchi

I can't say it enough. I am SO blessed by God on this trip. I know He is with me each and every day, guiding me in the right direction. Continue to pray that God will give me His eyes and the right attitude to learn. Classes begin this Friday so I'm excited for what lies ahead!!