Day Five: Hiroshima and Miyajima

Hello there! You found the compass!

We had another long day today, and as usual it was eye-opening and very fun. We woke up early to get breakfast before heading off to Hiroshima where we would be seeing the Atomic Bomb Dome and going to the museum associated with it: The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.  We got on a bus to the Atomic Bomb Dome and when we exited, we were in the middle of the city. It was strange to turn and see the dome in the middle of it all. It was also overwhelming and we all felt a pang of guilt when we looked at it.

After passing the dome, we came to a Children’s Peace Monument that was erected in memory of a girl named Sadako Sasaki. She was exposed to radiation from the bomb at age two, but grew up healthily until age ten. She developed leukemia and had to be hospitalized. It was believed that if she could make 1,000 paper cranes she would have one wish granted. So, Sadako started folding paper and eventually made over 1,000 cranes and a wish to get better. Unfortunately, the leukemia ended her life. She died in the hospital beside her parents. Her classmates called for the construction of a monument for all of the children who died due to the atomic bomb, and the Children’s Peace Monument was constructed in 1958 from donations in nine countries and schools across Japan. The stone block under the monument reads: “This is our cry. This is our prayer. For building peace in the world.”

                Crossing the street, we headed to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. There we got to see pictures and artifacts from the bombing, as well as videos about the bomb. There were descriptions of the United States building the bomb, why we used it, and why we chose to drop it on Hiroshima. There wasn’t a hint of hatred or bias against Americans, though we all felt more guilt and slight discomfort reading those things beside the Japanese people.

                Perhaps the most unbelievable experience was seeing the to-scale models of the city of Hiroshima before and after the blast.

                Nobody had talked much since seeing the dome, so getting on the train to our next destination was a relief. We all relaxed, chatted, and dozed off as we waited to arrive at the ferry dock that would take us to the island of Miyajima. We could see one of our next destinations from the ferry.

                When walking to the shore, we discovered that Miyajima has a thing for deer.  By “a thing” I mean they were walking right up to us looking for food. We could pet them, feed them, and they would follow us around like pets.

Hello, my deer! BA-DUM-PISH!

Oh deer, it's eating my food!

                Many deer puns were made (“what an enDEERing moment” “that animal was very DEER to me”) and after having our fun with our pets we got to a different shrine than we were expecting. I do not remember the name, but it was a large, beautiful shrine that overlooked the town below. There were many deer pictures within it.

AFTER that, we did a little backtracking and got to Itsukushima Shrine.  It is apparently the most famous shrine in Japan.

                When the water rises, it goes to the up to the wooden boardwalk and the shrine looks like it is floating. We didn’t get to see it like that, but we could imagine.The views of the gate were awesome!

 

                Due to the low tide, we were able to walk out to get closer to the gate in the water. I was able to get a decent picture out of it!

                Our next stop was one that we had all been anticipating since leaving the United States: the traditional inn. Our rooms had futons and tatami mats, and we had a traditional banquet where I tried foods that I never thought I would (in some cases because I didn’t know what it was).  Those foods included squid, sashimi, sea snails, fried oysters, and a sip of Tess’ plum wine.  Also, we had to wear Yukatas, which are essentially less-formal kimonos.

They were expecting us...

Our traditional room!

Our banquet appetizers. (I thought it was the whole meal at first! We were stuffed!)

 

Banquet hall.

My yukata! Sort of. Mostly my face.

               
       The inn also had public baths that we could go to. Traditional public baths. For those who don't know: Bathing suits are not allowed. It was very relaxing and the water was extremely hot, so once we got over some inhibitions about seeing each other buck naked we were okay. We (Kristen, Tess, and I) came to the conclusion that our "friendship level" had increased exponentially sooner than expected. It was a funny night, though. When we first got to the baths our reactions to finally accepting that we had to get naked were everything from "Well it has to happen sometime. Off with the clothes!" to "Oh God, don't even look at me!" I won't say who had which reactions...

    In conclusion to that last paragraph: If you can go to a public bath, do it. The water is really hot and relaxing, and it's actually kind of nice to realize that you have the self-confidence to do it.

      That about wrapped up the night. Now I am off to have breakfast and leave for our next destination. We will stay there (I don’t know where “there” is) for one night, and then head to Tokyo for our last four nights in Japan.