Waking up in Tokyo (28.10.2008)

Things are pretty surreal, and I can't for the life of me believe that we're in Japan. The best now would be getting out and around and see all the typical Japanese stuff that ones has heard and read about, buuuuut, we are scheduled to take a train for five hours instead. Japan surprises me by having a lot of hills, and we got to see the country from the inside quite a few times (tunnels.. ).

Julie's Lunch


Cola Zero is not Cola Zero in Japan, but Cola Nex

Everyone were enthusiastic and looking forward to our Japan adventure

Mt. Fujiyama

Few minutes later....

We had a short stop in Kobe to change trains and arrived in Hiroshima around 1 p.m. After stowing our luggage at the hotel, we walked to the Peace Memorial Museum where we had two hours to walk around the exhibitions. The museum incorporates every thing around the A-bomb attack, and intents to give the viewers and most sincere and detail description of what happened, without being scornful. Even though they remember the past, I am puzzled, but glad, that they try to keep their eyes to the future, and that they focus uttermost on peace, not revenge.

Black rain on the walls

After the museum, I went for fresh air, clear thoughts and a walk in the park that surrounds the museum. I met old men playing games in the grass, saw people sleeping in the sunny weather on park benches, kids running around with long strings of origami figures and also, wavy trees with green beards. I visited the Tourist Office, which conveniently is called Rest house, and I think to myself: so that is where you go when a rest room is not enough..

We met what seemed like hundreds of kids outside the Peace Memorial Museum and in and around the park. They asked us to write our Peace Message to the world

We all met again back at the museum to have a lecture by Ms. Miyoko Matsubara, a 74-year old Atomic bomb survivor. She was in hear early teens when the bomb dropped and still remembers a lot of what happened on that horrid day and the days after. She suffered burns on her hands and face, and as a result of being exposed to a massive amount of radiation she has deformed fingers, trouble walking and cancer. Because of lack of information about radiation at the time, many believed that the survivors were hazardous to come in contact with, and this has lead to a second sufferings for those surviving the first. Ms. Matsubara, like most of the other survivors, never married, never had kids and had problems through her whole life obtaining a job and a place to live.
She was truly a beautiful lady, in that her personality was so humble, honest and happy, and you just had to smile when looking at her, although her story left us with very little to smile for.

We left the museum to walk to a small restaurant for dinner. I still think it's a bit weird to walk around in a city that is so very old culturally and historically, but with most of the buildings hardly passing 60 years of age. The Hiroshimians have kept their culture nonetheless, and we were served traditional Hiroshimian Okonomiyaki. Okonomiyaki is some sorts of pancake/noodle/cabbage/meat/egg/Okonomiyaki sauce-thingy, which tasted good :)

Walking back to the hotel, we got our luggage, Internet cable and room key, and had our first night in separate rooms. No hard feelings, but I don't think we missed each other. Julie watched some telly and got to bed early and I stayed up late as usual.

"A dragonfly flitted in front of me
and stopped on a fence.
I stood up, took my cap in my hands,
and was about to catch the dragonfly
when......."

*Remember 08.15 a.m. August 6th 1945*