Spring Break Day One: Hiroshima
On Saturday, March 26th, Katie and I set off for Hiroshima, Kyoto, and our first ever Shinkansen ride! At 8:00 am, we got to main base, hopped on the free military bus and rode to Fukuoka, the nearest major city to Sasebo. After a two-hour bus ride, we took a short subway ride from the airport over to Hakata train station and bought tickets for the Shinkansen. The Shinkansen is the world-renowned Japanese bullet train that travels at such high speeds, that it is sometimes quicker to take the shin than to fly! Crazy, right?! We got our tickets around 10:45 am and ran to the train platform for the next train that left at 11:02 am! At exactly 11:02, the train arrived, and around 11:04, we were in our seats and off to Hiroshima.
Check out this video Katie made about our Shinkansen trip; it's full of fun facts about this awesome mode of transportation!
Around 12:15, we made it to Hiroshima, and guess what, it was raining! We fortunately were prepared for the weather and were already wearing our rain jackets; we weren't going to let a little (or a lot of) rain put a damper on our day.
Our first stop was at our hotel, which was only a 10-minute walk from the train station. Unfortunately, the hotel wasn't allowing check-ins until 3:00 pm, but they were kind enough to take our big duffle bag and hold onto it for us until we could check in later that evening. After dropping off our bags, we headed to the nearest bus station so we could visit the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Museum. We arrived at the museum around 1:45 pm and saw a sign that they were pausing ticket sales at 1:30 pm and closing the museum from 2:00-5:00 pm. What the heck?!? We were a little disappointed (ok very disappointed) that the museum was closed, but after some quick mental math, we realized if we came back at 5:00, we would have just enough time to get through the museum before they closed for the day.
When we were looking for things to do, Katie and I agreed that finding a spot to hang out and be dry was the best idea. I decided we should check out Molly Malones, an Irish pub that I had visited previously when I went to Hiroshima on a short port call back in November. I figured it would be a good idea to go there because I remembered they had cider on tap, and Katie and I have yet to find a cider on tap in Japan. Katie was down for a good, dry drink, so we ended up spending about 2 hours hanging out, drinking, eating, and enjoying our view from the fourth floor overlooking the street below!
At 4:00 pm the rain lessened to a slight drizzle, so we started to make our way back to the museum. Along the way, we took a short detour to visit the Atomic Bomb Dome. This building was originally the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall and was located just 100 meters from the hypocenter of the nuclear explosion back in 1945. It was one of the few buildings left standing within a thousand meters of the explosion. The city has left the building standing as a reminder of the devastation that hit the city.
As we made our way toward the museum we walked through the Hiroshima Peace Park and noticed a crowd of people in front of the statue of Sadako Sasaki (I'll talk about her later). We saw that the crowd was actually a team of reporters and camera crews, so we walked closer to see what was going on. Then Katie noticed the guy in the center of it all was speaking in English- so we got even closer. At this point, I pull out my phone and start googling. In the center, answering questions from Japanese reporters, was the US Ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel. How cool is it that we got to see the US Ambassador?!? Even cooler that we got to stand less than 5 feet from him as he gave a press conference!?! He even acknowledged us by making eye contact and raising his eyebrows! (I mean, we do stand out in a huddled mass of Japanese people.)
As we listened, we learned he was answering reporters' questions about his experience in the museum and remembering the tragedy from nearly 77 years ago. When the press crew and ambassador started to move towards the Atomic Bomb Dome, I decided to run up to (what I think was) one of his security guards and ask him what the significance of today was, to which the security guard responded, "Nothing significant about today, this date just worked for the Ambassador, the Mayor and the Prime Minister's schedules." What?!?!
After more googling, I realize the Japanese man standing to the left of the US Ambassador was the Mayor of Hiroshima, Kazumi Matsui. How the heck did we get this lucky?!?
My next thought: the Prime Minister of Japan is around, too?
We eventually made it to the museum and noticed a crowd hanging around the entrance. Katie was beginning to worry we weren't going to have enough time to get through the museum, based on the crazy line of people waiting to enter! Then I noticed multiple people in nice suits with earpieces, obviously some sort of security service. We decided to hang by the entrance with the rest of the crowd, to see what was going on. Clearly they knew something we didn't- plus Katie wasn't leaving without going in the museum!
After a few minutes of hanging in the rain, the Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, walked out the door and waved to the crowd. How cool is it that we got to see both the US Ambassador to Japan and the Prime Minister, and we didn't even know they were scheduled to be there? I guess this is why the museum was closed for three hours, so the "important" people could have a private tour.
Around 5:15 pm we had made it into the museum and were ready to explore. The museum is spread out across the second floor of two separate buildings connected by a bridge in between. The majority of the museum is very dark (literally and figuratively). Most of the museum was artifacts recovered from the explosion and pictures of people who died. This museum differed pretty substantially from the one in Nagasaki in the sense that Hiroshima's exhibits attempted to tell more stories about the individuals who suffered from the bombing whereas Nagasaki gave more facts and discussed more of the history behind the development of atomic bombs, the history of Nagasaki, and the history of the bombing itself.
Not only were there a lot of photographs and artifacts, but also quite a few graphic paintings depicting the horrors during and after the bombing. Most of this artwork was created by locals who survived the bombing and painted what they witnessed in the hours following the massacre.
There's also an entire section of the museum dedicated to children who suffered from the bombing; the focal point of this section is based on a young girl named Sadako Sasaki (she had a statue in the peace park where the ambassador had his press conference), whom Katie read a book about prior to our trip. Sadako Sasaki was 2-years-old when the bomb hit Hiroshima; she was exposed to severe amounts of radiation and ended up being diagnosed with leukemia years later. She passed away 10 years after the bombing in 1955. Prior to her death, she wanted to make 1,000 paper cranes; in Japanese culture, those who create 1,000 paper cranes will have their wishes come true. Unfortunately, she was not able to finish all of her paper cranes before passing away, so her family and school friends finished making all of her cranes so that hopefully her wishes would come true in her after-life. Sadako was buried with 1,000 of those paper cranes. A few cranes that she folded herself in her hospital bed are on display with her story. Sadako's story is one of thousands; the atomic bomb didn't just kill 80,000 people on August 6, 1945, it killed many thousand more who suffered years later from radiation burns, internal damage and cancer.
At the end of the museum, there was a rather small exhibit discussing the history and facts about the development of nuclear weapons and the events leading up to the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Katie and I noticed that at both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museums, the museums focus on the devastation, but end with the plea for global disarmament of atomic and nuclear weapons. After walking through both museums, we have to agree- there's really no need for mass weaponry.
Katie and I definitely agreed that the Hiroshima museum is much more somber and there was a more obvious focus on telling personal stories rather than sharing the history of this event. Following our trip through the museum, we visited the museum's store and found a couple of pins to add to our collection. Katie was also able to grab a great picture of the Peace Flame with the Atomic Bomb Dome lit up in the background; the Peace Flame has been lit since 1964 and will remain lit until all atomic bombs around the world are destroyed.
Katie and I made our way back to our hotel around 7:30 pm to check-in, unpack, and shower for the evening. We had a great first day in Hiroshima, and we hope you stick around to read more about our trip!
Yours,
Bryan
Comments