Saturday, March 30, 2024

To state the obvious, there is a LOT to see in Japan. When you ask someone about the country they will likely talk about Tokyo with its futuristic reputation. Thinking further they may mention Kyoto, Yokohama or even Osaka. One city that everyone always remembers is Hiroshima known for being the city that was destroyed by the first atomic bomb at the end of the Second World War in 1945. Not many, however, will have visited to see how the city that can never shake off its horrific past has been reborn. It is a place that many visitors to Japan feel they must visit in a pilgrimage to understand and learn from this tragic event. Early in our planning for this trip Mel had made it clear she wished to visit so today was the day.

Our train from Kyoto station to Hiroshima left at 8:29 so we had to get up quite early. In Kyoto station Mel queued for a coffee Starbucks, having been generally quite disappointed with coffee in Japan she knew what to expect for Starbucks. Unfortunately, it seemed that many travellers in the busy station felt the same way so she had to wait quite some time to order. While she was doing that I was opposite looking at the food options from a large shop selling bento boxes. I picked up some sandwiches for Mel and a fried chicken (with egg and rice) bento box for myself to eat on the train.

It was a pleasant day with sun and only a few clouds, though still cool. The two hour trip on the Shinkansen passed uneventfully as we enjoyed the passing scenery including views of the incredible Himeji Castle.

Arriving at Hiroshima train station we made our way to the streetcar terminal where it took a few minutes for a large crowd to board a busy streetcar where the conductor kept requesting that we move further in. Payment here was by touching our SUICA cards on a pad as we boarded but also when we got out.

The ride to “Genbaku Dome-Mae Station” across from the “Peace Memorial Park” passed through the clean, quiet, and modest city streets of Hiroshima passing over the Enko and Kyobashi rivers.

One of the most iconic images of Hiroshima is that of the “Atomic Bomb Dome” which is what remains of the “Industrial Promotions Hall” building that somehow survived the bomb despite being only a few meters away from where it detonated. This is now preserved as a UNESCO world heritage site and is the first thing that most visitors to the “Peace Memorial Park” see as they arrive. The dome is just beside the streetcar platform so we crossed the road to have a look.

Continuing along the street we crossed a bridge over the wide Motoyasu River. This bridge, in fact, was used by the allied forces when they dropped the atomic bomb as the main bridge has a smaller bridge branching south forming a “T” when viewed from the air - A perfect target. As might be expected, there are memorials everywhere here including on the paths running on either side of the river. There were a number of people out on these paths enjoying the sunny weather on this Saturday morning.

The “Peace Memorial Park” lies on a piece of land between two branches of the river. It is filled with memorials to those that lost their lives. As we entered the park from the north we passed the futuristic looking “Clock Tower of Peace” with its twisted white girders looking somewhat like a twisted strand of DNA with a sphere at the top with a clock face on its surface.

Continuing south towards the museum we stopped at the “Bell of Peace” - A classic Asian temple bell inside a modern concrete enclosure set in the middle of a small circular pond. Of course, Mel had to give it a ring. The sombre sound of the bell is very appropriate in this quiet and very respectful park.

Further along we came across the modern “Children’s Peace Monument” sculpture which is a tall, three-legged rounded tripod plinth topped with the figures of children spreading their hands in supplication. Most interesting is a semi-circle of clear plexiglass enclosures containing millions of multi-coloured origami paper cranes. The cranes are a symbol of peace and hope inspired by the story of a young girl who developed leukaemia as a result of the atomic bomb. She started folding paper cranes with the hope of making 1,000 as an ancient Japanese tradition says that anyone that does this will be granted a wish. Sadly, she never reached her goal but the story has inspired people to fold cranes in her memory and leave them here. In fact, there are even instructions on how to do this taped to the sides of the enclosures.

When we arrived at the dome I had sent a picture to my mother. As we sat near the crane enclosures we had a short call with her to talk about our trip and where we were. When she and I visited Japan for the first time years ago Hiroshima was one place she insisted on visiting so she has an emotional attachment.

Just north of the museum courtyard complex is the perpetual “Flame of Peace” burning from a modern, simple, concrete structure in the middle of a rectangular water pool. The flame can be viewed through the short concrete arch of the “Hiroshima Victims Memorial Cenotaph” on the edge of the courtyard with the “Atomic Bomb Dome” visible beyond on the other side of the river.

The two story museum is in a brutalist concrete and glass structure on the east side of the courtyard with a second story arm extending above the courtyard across to the similarly shaped “International Conference Center” in the west. There was a queue extending outside of the museum to enter with signs that tickets could be ordered online. Most, like ourselves, were not bothered with doing that so waited their turn in the line to buy tickets (200 yen each). It was only about 10 minutes anyway before we were inside and directed up an escalator to begin our visit.

The first room we visited showed a diorama of what the city looked like before the bomb - A small, thriving city with streetcars, people walking peacefully along the sidewalks, and old wooden buildings.

Next we were shown another diorama of what the landscape looked like after the bomb was dropped with nothing but devastation - The stripped trunks of trees poking up from the brick ruins of the buildings. Oddly, a few structures remained largely intact including, of course, the dome.

Here there was also a circular 3-D map on the floor showing similar before and after pictures so visitors can understand the scale of the devastation that flattened the city. It destroyed 13 square kilometres with almost 63% of the buildings destroyed. The estimates for the total number of people killed vary from between 100,000 and 180,000 out of a population of 350,000 with many thousands killed instantly and the rest dying in the painful days, months and years that followed.

The next room features pictures of the horrors that followed the dropping of the bomb including voice recordings of the survivors telling of their experience, horrific pictures and artefacts such as blood stained clothing, a heat-twisted bicycle, “black rain” stained wall panels (a radioactive mixture of fallout particles that fell after the blast, contaminating huge areas of land), a cluster of melted medical bottles, and a concrete door lintel showing the shadow of a person instantly vaporised by the blast. All of these artefacts were shown in the context of the immediate human tragedy with names and faces attached.

The museum was crowded but oddly quiet and respectful as people absorbed the horror of the material being presented walking slowly past the exhibits. In the upper floor lobby there was a display about the technical details of the bombs and the specific damage it caused to its victims.

Returning the ground level was a temporary display featuring stories about the way the bomb specifically affected children and their families including school uniforms and the art they drew depicting their experience. Unfortunately we had missed a talk in English from the family of one of the survivors.

I wandered through the small shop filled with books about the bombing and Hiroshima souvenirs. I purchased a hardcover book “Barefoot Gen” which is a manga (Japanese comic book/graphic novel) telling the story of a child survivor of the bombing. Not exactly a fun read but very passionate, sensitive and compelling.

Leaving the museum we walked along the eastern edge of the park alongside the river where there were a number of Japanese people somewhat optimistically practising “hanami” or the custom of enjoying the cherry blossoms. There were a number of cherry blossom trees but, unsurprisingly (for us), not that many cherry blossoms in bloom. That did not stop people from laying large tarpaulins on the ground and laying out a picnic for friends and family. It was lovely to see despite the lack of flowers. At one of the picnics an older man was holding a dog that attracted Mel, as a dog groomer, to go over and pat. She attempted to talk in her basic Japanese to the man who appeared to enjoy their brief encounter and Mel’s obvious love for the animal.

We were making our way to a restaurant serving a local speciality: Okonomiyaki. Yes, we have had this already on our visit but Hiroshima is well known as producing some amazing okonomiyaki, or Japanese savoury pancakes, so we were on our way to a restaurant an online search had suggested was the best in town: “Nagataya” (http://nagataya-okonomi.com/en/). The black-metal railings of the bridge across the river to the east bank was quite wide and busy with walkers. Along the banks were many people either enjoying hanami or simply enjoying the gardens in the sunshine.

The small restaurant had basic wooden benches outside where we sat waiting for a table, reading their multi-paged English menu with full colour photographs. There were many okonomiyaki options available. The “usual menu” page told us that the pancakes on this page all include cabbage, onion, bean sprouts, fish, seaweed, sesame, and tempura crisps (containing a small amount of squid). Each were piled with a wide assortment of ingredients. The “original” (1,450 yen, “Nagataya Yaki”), for example, featured pork, raw egg, shrimp, squid chips, green onion and soba or udon noodles, while “deluxe” (1,300 yen) featured pork, egg, cheese, rice cake, corn and, again, soba or udon noodles. You could also customise your toppings if you wished. Other menu pages showed “no pork meat” and “vegetarian” options as well. Helpfully, the last page showed how to eat the pancakes – Use the provided metal “hera” or spatula to cut the pancake into square pieces then pick up each piece on the blade, blowing on it to cool it off, then eat off the blade itself.

We placed our orders while seated outside, moving from one side of the door to the other as we made our way through the line waiting to eat. Taking a look inside I got excited and knew we had picked an interesting place to eat - On the far left beside the payment area is a large metal griddle on which a number of chefs prepare the pancakes with a small number of diners sitting opposite the grill facing them. At one point we saw what must have been 20 or more 8 to 10 inch pancakes being prepared at the same time by four or five cooks. The rest of the crowded restaurant consists of separated booths, allowing 4 diners to share a table that has its own metal griddle embedded into the middle of the table. As their pancakes are prepared they are brought to the table on what looks like a large metal shovel and placed on the griddle in front of the diner.

Eventually we were shown to our own booth (A4, on the far right of the restaurant against the wall) which in addition to the central grill also had a number of bottled condiments including okonomiyaki sauces, mayonnaise and hot pepper seasoning. There was also, nicely, a jug of water waiting at the table as well which is fairly rare here. We were given our drinks (cola for Mel and “Setouchi Lemon Soda” for me, both 350 yen) then waited about 20 minutes for our food to arrive but it was well worth the wait.

I had the “original” (complete with raw egg, 1,450 yen) which was quite delicious topped with a huge amount of chopped green onions. There are a lot of flavours here, making it hard to make out any specific ingredient, and it was very hot to eat. The sauce really brings it all together with a sour/sweet note to it. Very satisfying.

Mel had the “deluxe” (1,300 yen) which did not have the mound of green onions and the raw egg…to her liking. It also had a lot of something you don’t see a lot of in Japanese cooking: corn. She found the addition of mayonnaise helped add a lot of flavour. We had both opted for the udon noodles as our starch.

Before leaving I made sure to purchase a t-shirt (2,500 yen) with their name on it. I will not forget this experience.

Directly across the road we briefly visited a 7-11 to add 1,000 yen to our SUICA cards as we were running a bit low. A few metres along the same road was the small “Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Hypocenter Monument” consisting of a small plaque mounted on the side of the road. You might miss it if you did not know it was there. 600 metres above the exact spot marked by the plaque was were on August 6, 1945 the atomic bomb “Little Boy” dropped by the US Army “Enola Gay” bomber detonated. Not many people realise that the bomb never hit the ground but was timed to explode above the surface to increase the devastation it caused.

Continuing north along the same road we came to the busy road where we had earlier ridden the streetcar. We crossed into Hiroshima Gate Park where a large number of people were coming from as a football game featuring the local club “Sanfrecce Hiroshima” at nearby “Hiroshima Green Arena” had just let out. Around the crowded park were a number of stalls selling street food.

We were on our way to somewhere a bit more distant so we made our way around the side past a small “skatepark” then around a sports complex (with the arena behind it), following an underground walkway towards our destination: “Hiroshima Castle”. Eventually we had to use an overhead walkway to cross a busy road to get to the entrance to the castle grounds.

The grounds of the 16th century feudal residence/castle, rebuilt after destruction in the atomic bomb blast, are surrounded by a roughly square moat, familiar to us as being used at other sites we have visited such as the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.

We crossed over a wooden bridge and through an ornate wooden gate into the grounds then turned left on our way to see the castle itself. Along the way we past several twisted trees that had survived the blast alongside a section of the moat with a large number of very big, colourful koi (fish) and a small, single turtle hoping to get in on some feeding action.

Further on we saw a small shito shrine (“Hiroshima Gokoku Shrine”) with a few small buildings beyond a large concrete tori (gate). Off to the side we saw the ubiquitous machines selling drinks and snacks.

Slowly the castle started to come into view: A multi-tiered building clad with dark wood set on top of a stone platform. The castle is accented with sweeping tiled roofs.

We climbed up to the entrance and purchased tickets. Inside there are steps leading up to each floor with exhibits on each floor telling the story of the castle and the era in which it was originally built. There is what we would consider classic samurai armour and swords here including one display that allows you to lift a sword to see how heavy it is.

Yes, the castle even has it’s own mascot - A large, white cat-like creature with a model of the castle perched on his head.

It is quite a climb to the fifth floor of the castle but here there is an narrow external walkway with a surrounding metal cage that provides great views of the surrounding city. To the west we were able to see the wings of the modern “Green Arena” and the plate-line roof of the neighbouring sports centre we had passed earlier. In the distance we could see the low mountains with the sun setting beyond. To the south and west it was all city beyond the park and moat surrounding the castle while the north was mostly residential. It was not possible to see anything of the peace park to the south as the many buildings block the view.

Our train was to leave at 18:53 so we left the castle to make our way back to the train station. Walking back through the park we noticed a lot of garbage left behind by people enjoying hanami. Taking a different route we passed by a large, modern shopping complex before arriving back on the road with the streetcars. We took one of these back to the station, arriving about 30 minutes ahead of departure, plenty of time to make our way to the Shinkansen platforms to wait for our train.

On the return journey I took some time to look around to see what facilities they had besides the (very clean) toilets. There was a small curtained off room near the toilets at the end of the carriage where people were encouraged to make phone calls. It is considered rude in Japanese culture to talk on a phone while seated in a train. It is often very, very quiet when travelling because of this. A refreshing change from what we are used to.

We had to transfer at Shin-Osaka station where we had 20 minutes before our train to Kyoto left which was enough time to grab a soft drink from a machine - A tiny half-sized bottle of grape Fanta! There was also a display selling “Taco Yaki Pie” which looked like cookies despite our knowing, of course, that “takoyaki” is a savoury deep-fried dumpling with a piece of octopus in the middle. There were pictures of octopus so I am assuming it is a savoury cookie…but was not quite brave enough to buy (though, now, I think we should have…).

Our train arrived in Kyoto just before 9 pm and we arrived back at the hotel from the subway about 20 minutes later. Interestingly, opposite the hotel was a small delivery truck pulled up on the road selling food from out of the back. This is the first we have seen such a thing and it strikes me as perhaps a bit more “authentic” than the nice looking stalls we have seen in the parks.

Tomorrow is our last full day in Japan. Where has the time gone? We are both quite exhausted and we have really been able to do and see a lot so are quite satisfied. Tomorrow I hope to show Mel one of my favourite parts of Japan, not only Kyoto.

 

>> Next: Day 16