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aideSo, Justin and I decided to go to Hiroshima randomly for three days from the 2nd to 4th of January. Not really the smartest idea since everything was jacked up for the new year but we have money and time so we thought, why the hell not. So we went. It was a great trip. :D I won't go into too much detail even though I have pamphlets and info about everything. This post is image-heavy, you are warned. Click for bigger! For more pictures, check Photobucket. Justin took twice as many pictures as I did so take a look at his too.
We took the Shinkansen from Tokyo station on Friday morning with no problems. I was a little concerned because there was a lot of snow and trouble with the trains a few days before and thousands of people were waylaid on their trips to and from home. Luckily, that all passed and we didn't have any issues. We got as close to Mt Fuji as I've ever been (since I don't remember it when we went to Osaka) and passed through a snow storm in Kansai.
We arrived at 1:05pm on schedule and found the information desk and raided the maps and pamphlets. Our hotel was right across the street from the station but a bit of a pain to get to because there aren't any overground crossings at the station. But once we managed to cross the busy road it was no problem. We checked in and dumped our stuff and then consulted our maps. We decided to walk and see the city, to the A-bomb Dome and Peace Memorial Park.
Tram stop near our hotel, Inari-Machi, because there is an Inari Shrine tucked beside a building.
Inou Shrine (稲生神社)
Hiroshima is pretty small, as far as I could tell. The city centre is serviced by street cars and buses. The street cars were pretty awesome: smooth ride and cheap! Anywhere in the city area was only 150yen. A trip to Miyajima ferry terminal was only 270yen. When we went to Miyajima the next day, we bought a day pass that covered the ferry ride and unlimited street car rides for 1 day for only 840yen!
Hiroshima is built up on a river delta so there are lost of bridges everywhere. The Inari Bridge was a street car bridge exclusively before the bombing but it was only of the only bridges left standing afterwards, even though it was severely warped and damaged.
Most of the wooded pedestrian bridges were completely destroyed.
This is Hiroshima Municipal Baseball Stadiaum, the home of the Hiroshima Carps. Apparently they are a pretty crap team, but the city loves them. The city is building a new stadium east of Hiroshima Station that will be opened sometime this year. It will supposedly "feature an airy atmosphere, good ventilation, and a feeling of unity with the city, the new stadium's wall on the north end--to the direction of JR Hiroshima Station--is to be kept very low. Passengers on JR bullet trains or other trains can see inside the stadium from the windows and feel the lively atmosphere of the stadium," says the Hiroshima Sightseeing Guide Map.
It took us about 30 minutes to walk from our hotel to the Genbaku (Atomic Bome) Dome. I knew about this place before and it was on my list of (two) things to see in Hiroshima but I didn't really know what I would expect to feel. It's hallowed ground in Hiroshima. There are signs and plaques everywhere telling the story of this building. It was the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall and a landmark of the city with it's green dome.
People offering prayers to the memorial in front of the Dome.
The Hall was at the corner of Aioi Dori before Aioi Bridge. The bridge was perhaps the target of the bombing and completely destroyed. Because the hypocentre (the place in the air where the bomb detonated) was almost directly above the Hall, it somehow remained standing, unlike most other buildings.
Justin reads the plaque beside the bridge. It's hard to see but there is an etching of the scene just after the bombing.
After the bombing, buildings left standing were taken down and the rubble cleared to make emergency housing for the citizens of Hiroshima. There was a lot of debate about the A-bomb Dome: to keep it would be a reminder to the world of the results of atomic bombing but it would also be a painful reminder to those who lived through it. In the end it was kept and the city works hard to maintain the building to look exactly like it did just after the bombing.
Justin reads the (rather disappointing) plaque beneath the hypocentre. If one of the security guards at one of the parkades hadn't pointed us in the right direction, we would have missed it entirely.
The Dome stands across the Ota River from the Peace Memorial Park.
The Children's Peace Monument. I read the story of Sasaki Sadako when I was a child even though I didn't know about Hiroshima or the atom bomb. But I remember the story of a little girl who got sick and folded paper cranes. But I never thought I would get to come here and see this. This monument was build in her honor after the outcries from her classmates. Around the monument are little huts erected containing folded cranes donated from across the country and the world.
The park is really quite large, with many statues and monuments dedicated to the people who died in the bombing. In the centre is the Flame of Peace, the Pond of Peace, and the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims. There is a small monument in Ueno Park that has a flame lit from this Flame of Peace too.
Flame of Peace with Dome in the background.
The Cenotaph. People come and pray here as well and every August 6th, on the anniversary of the bombing, there is a large ceremony attended by thousands of people. People who have been identified as victims in the last year are added to the Cenotaph.
We went to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum as well which I highly recommend to everyone. It's cheap (which is a bonus) at 50 yen entrance fee and they have audio guides in over a dozen languages for rent. I thought it was rather impartial given the subject matter but so powerful. I cried more than a few times reading the displays. There were letters that the mayor of Hiroshima writes to countries' leaders every time nuclear testing is carried out -- something the mayor has been doing ever since the late 1940's. There were models and displays of personal belongings left by the victims, photos, among other things. We went in around 3:30 and they closed at 5 so we had to rush near the end. I wish that we had been able to spend more time there. Justin took pictures of the inside becuase his camera doesn't suck.
On our second day, we went to Miyajima. Formerly known as Itsukuushima, Miyajima is home to one of the three great views of Japan and Itsukushima Shrine. It's also a World Heritage site.
It is also home to many wild deer.
Monument talking about Itsukushima as a World Heritage site, and the O-torii in the back.
Since we went on the first weekend of the new year, it was freaking busy. There were food stalls set up everywhere and tons and tons of people. The weather was a bit of a bummer, but at least it wasn't rainy.
The main reason for coming to Miyajima: the iconic Great Torii. The vermillion gate, nor the big shrine, isn't actually anchored to the seabed so it effectively floats in the water. Or looks like it does anyway.
The line up for the shrine was crazy so we skipped it and went to see some of the other things on the island first. Justin was all excited for the aquarium but it's been closed for renovations until 2012. :(
Daiganji Temple, dedicated to Benzaiten.
Ringing the bell at Daishoin Temple, one of the most presitigious Shingon (Buddhism) temples in western Japan. In the 12th century, Emperor Toba founded his prayer hall in the temple. The temple had close links to the imperial family until the 19th century.
Most Buddhist temples have a sign board telling you about your fortune for the coming year, based on your birthdate. There are varying degrees of luck: excellent luck (大吉, dai kichi), medium/half luck (半吉, han kichi?), little luck (末吉, matsu kichi?) and terrible luck (大凶, dai kyou). I'm born in 1985 (Showa 60) so according to the monks (or whoever came up with this) at Daishoin, I'm going to have a year of terrible luck. :( But then, so is Andrew. Haha.
Daishoin was really cool. Hundreds of Buddhas everywhere for everything under the sun. There were tons of people too. I even saw a lady with a bag full of 1 yen and 5 yen coins, giving one to each Buddha. I guess if you need good luck...
The specialty food of Hiroshima is called Momiji Manju. Momiji is the name of the Japanese maple tree and manju is a small cake with (usually) red bean filling. The momiji manju made on Miyajima is supposed to be the very best.
After wandering around some more and eating lunch, we went to the shrine.
About 200 metres in front of the main shrine and standing in the sea is the vermillion coloured O-Torii (Grand Gate) which is the most noted symbol of Miyajima.
First built in the latter half of the 6th century, Itsukushima Shrine was remodeled into the present beautiful structure by Taira no Kiyomori in 1168. Standing in the sea, it is widely known for its grand and unique construction, the sublime and gorgeous appearance displays the artistic beauty of the Shinden style of architecture.
Itsukushima Shrine was officially designated in December 1996 as a World Heritage site. There is a Noh stage at the shrine where Kiyomori enjoyed Noh plays back in the day. They still perform plays there on occasion.
The O-Torii at sunset.
We left Miyajima and got back to our hotel around 7pm and after a short rest, went out for some local fare, okonomiyaki. I don't know if the way the place we went is the way everyone makes okonomiyaki but it was interesting to say the least. Hiroshima and Kansai have different styles. The basic difference is that in Hiroshima they put noodles in but the place we went was really different. They made it all for you instead of you making it yourself: first they made a thin pancake of batter on the grill and put the filling on top (cabbage or onion base and your ingredients like cheese, shrimp, or squid) and seasonings. Then the flipped it over and let the raw things cook. Meanwhile, they fried some noodles and cracked an egg and fried that, layering everything. Lastly, they put the sauce and the toppings on it and cut it up for you and served it on a hot plate. It was quite yummy, but I prefer Kansai style.
On our last day, we stayed close to the station. We dropped our stuff off in a locker and bought our tickets home, first thing and then we went to Shukkeien gardens and Hiroshima Castle. On our way to the gardens, we passed Sadako's old junior high school that had a monument you could see from the street.
The gardens were gorgeous. I took so many pictures but I will only post a few. It is a wonderful place to go for a picnic.
After the gardens, it was a short walk to the castle. There is a large shrine there as well, with a huge line up of people visiting for hatsumode.
Hiroshima castle was gone before the bombing, many of the buildings replaced with temporary military headquarters. Now it's a reconstruction with a quaint museum inside, with the history of Hiroshima, like most castles in Japan.
We got back to the station at about 3:45pm and got our stuff to leave. We couldn't get reserved seats so we had to take non-reserved and I am never doing it again. We got to the platform and there are only 3 cars for non-reserved seating and there were people lining up everywhere. We jumped in one line not really knowing what it was for since the trains were coming on the opposite side of the platform but some lady explained nicely to me (after me asking a staff person and them not really answering me) that they were lining up for the train coming in an hour, and hopefully they could get seat, but if not they would at least get on. All of the trains we saw coming were already full of people but this one wasn't for some reason. Anyway, we made it on but had to stand. And we were stupid and got on the smoking car so that was kind of unpleasant. Justin scored a seat after stopping in Nagoya but I had to stand until Shin-Yokohama. 3.5 hours of stand is not cool!
All in all, a really great trip. :)
Now, I should do the dishes. Or something pseudo-productive.
We took the Shinkansen from Tokyo station on Friday morning with no problems. I was a little concerned because there was a lot of snow and trouble with the trains a few days before and thousands of people were waylaid on their trips to and from home. Luckily, that all passed and we didn't have any issues. We got as close to Mt Fuji as I've ever been (since I don't remember it when we went to Osaka) and passed through a snow storm in Kansai.
We arrived at 1:05pm on schedule and found the information desk and raided the maps and pamphlets. Our hotel was right across the street from the station but a bit of a pain to get to because there aren't any overground crossings at the station. But once we managed to cross the busy road it was no problem. We checked in and dumped our stuff and then consulted our maps. We decided to walk and see the city, to the A-bomb Dome and Peace Memorial Park.
Tram stop near our hotel, Inari-Machi, because there is an Inari Shrine tucked beside a building.
Inou Shrine (稲生神社)
Hiroshima is pretty small, as far as I could tell. The city centre is serviced by street cars and buses. The street cars were pretty awesome: smooth ride and cheap! Anywhere in the city area was only 150yen. A trip to Miyajima ferry terminal was only 270yen. When we went to Miyajima the next day, we bought a day pass that covered the ferry ride and unlimited street car rides for 1 day for only 840yen!
Hiroshima is built up on a river delta so there are lost of bridges everywhere. The Inari Bridge was a street car bridge exclusively before the bombing but it was only of the only bridges left standing afterwards, even though it was severely warped and damaged.
Most of the wooded pedestrian bridges were completely destroyed.
This is Hiroshima Municipal Baseball Stadiaum, the home of the Hiroshima Carps. Apparently they are a pretty crap team, but the city loves them. The city is building a new stadium east of Hiroshima Station that will be opened sometime this year. It will supposedly "feature an airy atmosphere, good ventilation, and a feeling of unity with the city, the new stadium's wall on the north end--to the direction of JR Hiroshima Station--is to be kept very low. Passengers on JR bullet trains or other trains can see inside the stadium from the windows and feel the lively atmosphere of the stadium," says the Hiroshima Sightseeing Guide Map.
It took us about 30 minutes to walk from our hotel to the Genbaku (Atomic Bome) Dome. I knew about this place before and it was on my list of (two) things to see in Hiroshima but I didn't really know what I would expect to feel. It's hallowed ground in Hiroshima. There are signs and plaques everywhere telling the story of this building. It was the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall and a landmark of the city with it's green dome.
People offering prayers to the memorial in front of the Dome.
The Hall was at the corner of Aioi Dori before Aioi Bridge. The bridge was perhaps the target of the bombing and completely destroyed. Because the hypocentre (the place in the air where the bomb detonated) was almost directly above the Hall, it somehow remained standing, unlike most other buildings.
Justin reads the plaque beside the bridge. It's hard to see but there is an etching of the scene just after the bombing.
After the bombing, buildings left standing were taken down and the rubble cleared to make emergency housing for the citizens of Hiroshima. There was a lot of debate about the A-bomb Dome: to keep it would be a reminder to the world of the results of atomic bombing but it would also be a painful reminder to those who lived through it. In the end it was kept and the city works hard to maintain the building to look exactly like it did just after the bombing.
Justin reads the (rather disappointing) plaque beneath the hypocentre. If one of the security guards at one of the parkades hadn't pointed us in the right direction, we would have missed it entirely.
The Dome stands across the Ota River from the Peace Memorial Park.
The Children's Peace Monument. I read the story of Sasaki Sadako when I was a child even though I didn't know about Hiroshima or the atom bomb. But I remember the story of a little girl who got sick and folded paper cranes. But I never thought I would get to come here and see this. This monument was build in her honor after the outcries from her classmates. Around the monument are little huts erected containing folded cranes donated from across the country and the world.
The park is really quite large, with many statues and monuments dedicated to the people who died in the bombing. In the centre is the Flame of Peace, the Pond of Peace, and the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims. There is a small monument in Ueno Park that has a flame lit from this Flame of Peace too.
Flame of Peace with Dome in the background.
The Cenotaph. People come and pray here as well and every August 6th, on the anniversary of the bombing, there is a large ceremony attended by thousands of people. People who have been identified as victims in the last year are added to the Cenotaph.
We went to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum as well which I highly recommend to everyone. It's cheap (which is a bonus) at 50 yen entrance fee and they have audio guides in over a dozen languages for rent. I thought it was rather impartial given the subject matter but so powerful. I cried more than a few times reading the displays. There were letters that the mayor of Hiroshima writes to countries' leaders every time nuclear testing is carried out -- something the mayor has been doing ever since the late 1940's. There were models and displays of personal belongings left by the victims, photos, among other things. We went in around 3:30 and they closed at 5 so we had to rush near the end. I wish that we had been able to spend more time there. Justin took pictures of the inside becuase his camera doesn't suck.
On our second day, we went to Miyajima. Formerly known as Itsukuushima, Miyajima is home to one of the three great views of Japan and Itsukushima Shrine. It's also a World Heritage site.
It is also home to many wild deer.
Monument talking about Itsukushima as a World Heritage site, and the O-torii in the back.
Since we went on the first weekend of the new year, it was freaking busy. There were food stalls set up everywhere and tons and tons of people. The weather was a bit of a bummer, but at least it wasn't rainy.
The main reason for coming to Miyajima: the iconic Great Torii. The vermillion gate, nor the big shrine, isn't actually anchored to the seabed so it effectively floats in the water. Or looks like it does anyway.
The line up for the shrine was crazy so we skipped it and went to see some of the other things on the island first. Justin was all excited for the aquarium but it's been closed for renovations until 2012. :(
Daiganji Temple, dedicated to Benzaiten.
Ringing the bell at Daishoin Temple, one of the most presitigious Shingon (Buddhism) temples in western Japan. In the 12th century, Emperor Toba founded his prayer hall in the temple. The temple had close links to the imperial family until the 19th century.
Most Buddhist temples have a sign board telling you about your fortune for the coming year, based on your birthdate. There are varying degrees of luck: excellent luck (大吉, dai kichi), medium/half luck (半吉, han kichi?), little luck (末吉, matsu kichi?) and terrible luck (大凶, dai kyou). I'm born in 1985 (Showa 60) so according to the monks (or whoever came up with this) at Daishoin, I'm going to have a year of terrible luck. :( But then, so is Andrew. Haha.
Daishoin was really cool. Hundreds of Buddhas everywhere for everything under the sun. There were tons of people too. I even saw a lady with a bag full of 1 yen and 5 yen coins, giving one to each Buddha. I guess if you need good luck...
The specialty food of Hiroshima is called Momiji Manju. Momiji is the name of the Japanese maple tree and manju is a small cake with (usually) red bean filling. The momiji manju made on Miyajima is supposed to be the very best.
After wandering around some more and eating lunch, we went to the shrine.
About 200 metres in front of the main shrine and standing in the sea is the vermillion coloured O-Torii (Grand Gate) which is the most noted symbol of Miyajima.
First built in the latter half of the 6th century, Itsukushima Shrine was remodeled into the present beautiful structure by Taira no Kiyomori in 1168. Standing in the sea, it is widely known for its grand and unique construction, the sublime and gorgeous appearance displays the artistic beauty of the Shinden style of architecture.
Itsukushima Shrine was officially designated in December 1996 as a World Heritage site. There is a Noh stage at the shrine where Kiyomori enjoyed Noh plays back in the day. They still perform plays there on occasion.
The O-Torii at sunset.
We left Miyajima and got back to our hotel around 7pm and after a short rest, went out for some local fare, okonomiyaki. I don't know if the way the place we went is the way everyone makes okonomiyaki but it was interesting to say the least. Hiroshima and Kansai have different styles. The basic difference is that in Hiroshima they put noodles in but the place we went was really different. They made it all for you instead of you making it yourself: first they made a thin pancake of batter on the grill and put the filling on top (cabbage or onion base and your ingredients like cheese, shrimp, or squid) and seasonings. Then the flipped it over and let the raw things cook. Meanwhile, they fried some noodles and cracked an egg and fried that, layering everything. Lastly, they put the sauce and the toppings on it and cut it up for you and served it on a hot plate. It was quite yummy, but I prefer Kansai style.
On our last day, we stayed close to the station. We dropped our stuff off in a locker and bought our tickets home, first thing and then we went to Shukkeien gardens and Hiroshima Castle. On our way to the gardens, we passed Sadako's old junior high school that had a monument you could see from the street.
The gardens were gorgeous. I took so many pictures but I will only post a few. It is a wonderful place to go for a picnic.
After the gardens, it was a short walk to the castle. There is a large shrine there as well, with a huge line up of people visiting for hatsumode.
Hiroshima castle was gone before the bombing, many of the buildings replaced with temporary military headquarters. Now it's a reconstruction with a quaint museum inside, with the history of Hiroshima, like most castles in Japan.
We got back to the station at about 3:45pm and got our stuff to leave. We couldn't get reserved seats so we had to take non-reserved and I am never doing it again. We got to the platform and there are only 3 cars for non-reserved seating and there were people lining up everywhere. We jumped in one line not really knowing what it was for since the trains were coming on the opposite side of the platform but some lady explained nicely to me (after me asking a staff person and them not really answering me) that they were lining up for the train coming in an hour, and hopefully they could get seat, but if not they would at least get on. All of the trains we saw coming were already full of people but this one wasn't for some reason. Anyway, we made it on but had to stand. And we were stupid and got on the smoking car so that was kind of unpleasant. Justin scored a seat after stopping in Nagoya but I had to stand until Shin-Yokohama. 3.5 hours of stand is not cool!
All in all, a really great trip. :)
Now, I should do the dishes. Or something pseudo-productive.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-12 04:54 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-12 08:29 am (UTC)Now there's a smile that we all want to see more often!
I was born in 1987...Showa 62? What does it say about my year?
(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-12 08:39 am (UTC)Haha. I need some white strips. Maybe you can hook me up!
Showa 62 = 半吉 which I think means "half luck" or medium luck. Not as bad as me. D:
(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-12 08:51 am (UTC)XD Do you need them? My mom and I are also looking for the new white strips that supposedly work better than the last version they came out with.
AWESOME. I need all the good luck I can get this year.
Aaaand I just found someone who is translating Sho's article. http://say-it-again.livejournal.com/63403.html She's almost done
(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-12 10:08 am (UTC)PS I plotted out the rest of Eq. I want to cry! ;_; It's going to be over soon.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-12 11:48 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-13 02:28 am (UTC)