Now initially I didn't plan to visit Hiroshima so soon. Especially since it would result in some really last minute planning on my part. But after testing the waters of my friend group and hearing of their disinterest in going I decided to sue my free weekend to go by myself. I also knew that the UC students (University of California students who are technically in a different program and get to take different classes and do other programs) were going to be in Hiroshima for more than the weekend so even if I couldn't join their program I could still have someone in the city in case anything happened or to hang out with in the evening. Now I will admit I was extremely jealous of the UC students mainly due to the fact that during their trip they got to go to seminars, visit with a survivor, visit a local school, and visit other really cool islands. Which if you know me well is my ideal trip. Sadly it was too late to join so I was on my own to plan. So early Friday afternoon I jumped on a shinkansen and made my way to Hiroshima. The train ride there was really crowded which surprised me until I figured out that for some people the shinkansen was a regular commute since they worked in different cites, so by the time I arrived the train was almost empty. Hiroshima Station on the other hand was bustling. I later learned that the wildly popular baseball team based in Hiroshima (The Hiroshima Carps) were playing a game today so everyone was in town. After navigating the crowds I made my way to my bus where I meet a young man from Denmark. He was spending a gap year traveling the world (what a dream) and was in Hiroshima for the weekend like me before he left for the next country. After a bit of conversation I found out we were staying in the same hostel so we struck up a steady conversation for a while until I eventually got lost in thought staring outside the window. Now I had been in many big cities in Japan so far (I am even technically living in one) so I knew despite Japan's long history they were new and shiny for the most part. So looking outside the bus I shouldn't have been so shaken by the act that everything was new, but it was different to me somehow. I had started having this feeling on the train and now on the us it started to get more intense. The feeling that knowing why exactly everything was so new, that seventy years ago a tragedy occurred that destroyed almost all the old buildings that had been here before. It was chilling and I never did entirely shake this feeling during my stay in Hiroshima. After a while we made it to our bus stop which was right in the middle of the Peace Park. Now for those who don't know after the devastation caused by the atomic bomb the city of Hiroshima during its rebuilding process wanted to become a symbol for peace and a call for nuclear weapons to never be used again. So the area closest the the hypocenter was converted to a park which the city had hoped to reforest. Sadly they soon realized they lacked the funds to do so and asked the world to donate trees for the peace park. Massive support came from around the world and soon the area that had been completely destroyed became and beautiful forest in the middle of a bustling city. I admired them on our way to the hostel where I eventually split ways with the boy from Denmark. As I was checking in to my hostel I started to get nervous. After all I had never stayed in a proper hostel just a capsule hotel. However after being fully checked in I could see it was very similar maybe just little less space. Despite that my bed was still very cozy and I still got my own little private bunk with a curtain and everything. After exploring my hostel for a little to find out where everything was and how it worked I decided to utilize my evening seeing the city. So I decided to contact some of my UC friends to see if they wanted to eat Hiroshima's famous oysters with me. Only my friend Kevin said yes so after some brief planning we made our way to the cheapest oyster restaurant I could find. Walking to the restaurant I talked with Kevin about how the trip was going so far and he even showed e some important landmarks that his tour guide had showed him on the way there. Once we arrived at the restaurant I was beyond ready to eat some food, since I had only had a light lunch on the train. At the restaurant I tried to practice my Japanese but I found the staff would just speak english to me anyway so I just accepted my fate and ordered their oyster special. The special included (if you are hungry and reading this don't continue this sentence) an appetizer of local vegetables, grilled oyster, fresh seasonal sashimi (local fish), friend oysters, oysters served in miso soup, and udon noddles to go in the soup once you finished the oysters. For a tiny girl like me it was a lot to eat and even though it was all delicious I found myself struggling to finish in the end. Kevin and I tried to finish strong with team work but in the end we had to leave some things behind. After our big dinner we decided to walk around a local shopping district in search of an arcade. It was at an arcade where I meet my old nemesis... crane machines. I get so addicted to them that I waste so much money trying to win the prize. This time it was a gag gift for my brother, a japanese mascot named Chiichan (if you don't know him look it up its really funny). As in the past I wasted so much money trying to win and had to be dragged away by Kevin for my own good. To cheer me up he payed for us to play some Japanese arcade games. One was a wacky drum hitting game (a bit like guitar hero?) which we were alright at and Mario Kart arcade edition. I think the universe felt bad for the cone machine because at the last minute I ended up winning Mario Kart! After that we wandered around a little until I was too tired to go on so we headed back to our respective hotels. In the morning I woke up early to go to the peace park and had a quick toast breakfast before I left. Now as mentioned above I am going to jump ahead from the Peace Park and talk about it in my next blog. So I will just jump right in to Hiroshima castle. Now Hiroshima Castle used to be a historical landmark in Hiroshima before it was destroyed in the a-bomb. It was famous for the reasons other castles in Japan are, and for the brief stay Emperor Meiji had during wartime on its grounds. Sadly all the history that was stored there was lost, so when the city decided to rebuild it they kept the historical looking facade of the outside and updated the inside to be a history of the castle and of castle towns in Japan including artifacts from other castles and cities on display. They ranged from priceless art, to old scrolls, to even a whole floor dedicated to the weapons of the samurai. Sadly you can't take pictures inside so I can't show you anything just know it was really cool. You could also visit some historically accurate watch towers and the castle's recreated shrine. The shrine itself is famous for the koi fish kept on the grounds of the castle so as I do with any iconic shrine I did my rituals, got my book signed, and enjoyed the ambiance of the shrine. After that I made my way to the castle where I ran into a very nice British couple who were visiting Japan for a couple of weeks. They were a refreshing change of pace from straining myself to practice Japanese all day. After that I got my first free entry to a museum (one of the pluses to being an international student) and made my way through the exhibits. One of the best things about the castle though is much like the original tower the top floor was used as an observatory so you see the city from above and its local mountains in spectacular fashion. After resting and enjoying the views at the top I made my way down to explore the grounds a bit. I then made my way to meet up with Kevin for another night of delicious food. This time trying Hiroshima's famous stacked Okonomiyaki. In Hiroshima they have a whole building of okonomiyaki restaurants ,called Okonomiura, to choose from and even though its catered to tourists (and not too traditional) we decided to eat here. After being beckoned by a restaurant owners we sat down at a completely empty restaurant where I attempted to order in Japanese (I was actually successful but I was very slow). Watching them make the okonomiyaki was very interesting and not quite was I expected. It took a long time which killed me a little since I was so hungry but by the time I took my first bite I knew it was worth it. As we ate some other tourists joined us and I as I have in the past I became slowly ashamed to also be a tourist. I know it's very rude to think that way but I just can't understand how people don't reproach things before they come to other countries. Or when trying a traditional Japanese food you leave all the traditional parts out and basically have a meat cabbage pancake? I don't know it just boggles my mind I am not sure I will ever get used to people acting like people... Anyway after the delicious meal Kevin and I went in search of dessert and settled on a rolled ice cream place. I had never really had rolled ice cream before so I was super excited to try it and it was so good! The flavor we got was inspired by the Hiroshima Carps and was covered in fruit and yummy things. Kevin made me finish it off though even though I was full too. After that we explored some more and eventually made our way back to the Peace Park to see the Flame of Peace at night. The story behind it is that the flame will be lit on its mantle (that looks like two hands reaching up) until there re no more nuclear weapons on earth. Which I honestly think is a beautiful hopeful thing to believe in. After that I went to bed early in my hostel because the next morning I got up at 5am to go visit one of the most iconic sites of Japan, Miyajima Island. Sadly this sight was about an hour away by train and ferry, and I had a train at 11:30 to catch so with my limited time I pushed myself through my sleepiness and busted my way through the early trains of Hiroshima. The train ride there was honestly beautiful though because the sun was just starting to rise and you could see the different mountains that surround the city. As my train pulled into the station however I took no time to rush to the port and jump on the ferry for the island. As I waited I could see Miyajima from a distance. As my research had told me the island is considered a divine place with many different shrines. The most famous being Itsukushima shrine for which the floating Tori gate resides. If you've seen famous pictures of Japan you have probably seen this Tori gate in it as it majestically floats above the water in front of a forested mountainous island. Staring at it from the dock I could feel the excitement rise up with the beauty of the island. Now for those who don't know me well I was raised on a lake which means I was raised on a boat. As a boat girl I was a little too excited to be on a boat again and to see the water splash by. I think have may have made some other passengers worry with how excited I was just to be on a ferry. As new got closer to he island I could see the Tori gate more clearly and was blown away how beautiful it looked on the water, and how tall it was (a lot taller than it looks in pictures). Once the ferry arrived at the island and people hurried towards the gate I as finally able to slow down and enjoy the island. The town that hosts the iconic site is small and cozy with many traditional shops and restaurants. There is also a beautiful little beach that follows the coastline of the town. All of this along with the beautiful mountains made me feel at peace foe the first time in Hiroshima. As I entered the shrine grounds (passing through a very impressive tori gate means you officially have entered a shrine and should refrain from eating a drinking) I could see the small crowds of people taking pictures of the tori gate. Now I hd picked the time to come to island based on my schedule, so what I forgot to factor in was the tide schedule. The whole time I was there the tide was out so the tori gate and its shrine didn't float as much as they do in pictures. But because of this I was able to get on the beach and get really close and admire the Tori gate for all its glory. After that I made my to the shrine where after paying admission (first time I had to do that for a shrine) I performed my shrine rituals, much to the surprise fo the shrine staff and locals, and got my book signed at the iconic floating shrine. After that I made my way to the famous Buddhist temple on the island with a five story pagoda. The temple was nestled on the hill above the floating shrine so the view from there was amazing along with the beautiful pagoda. I again paid admission to enter the temple (I guess they have to support themselves somehow) and was surprised. Unlike other temples this one was completely open to the air with no walls only a walkway around the base. There were also hundreds of ancient paintings and artifacts from the history of the temple hanging in the ceiling. On the ground were some giant rice paddles (forget the proper name for them) that I still have yet to find out what they were for. The temple was qual parts impressive and peaceful. The floor was almost completely empty but shown from just being clean. The intense colors of the trees and the skies reflected on it. The whole temple was just beautiful enhanced by the stunning nature around it. I was shocked that so few people were there and when they did they left so quickly not even going through the rituals. To try and make up for the lacking crowd I gave a slightly larger donation and even had my book signed even though had decided not to do anymore for Hiroshima. I was sad to leave such a peaceful place because once I climbed back down the hill I was confronted by a crowd tourists which was only growing. At this point I didn't have much time left so I made my way back to the town to do some shopping. The island of Miyajima is famous for the floating Tori gate, but it also famous for its maple leaf shaped treats with red bean past filling. I ended bu buying so many in different flavors and had a great time wandering around eying the local shops. Too soon I was forced to leave the island due to my approaching train. As I left on the ferry I felt a sad that I couldn't stay longer on the island. It had been such a peaceful experience at the end of an emotional trip, and I found myself thinking more positively about things on the way back. As I made my way to the station I was also confronted by another siege of Carps fans. After a short struggle through the station I was able to make my way to my shinkansen and finally return home to Totuska without issue. Wow this one was a lot longer than I thought it would be considering I left out a huge part of my visit. Even with that morbid part of my trip I still saw my trip to Hiroshima as a positive one. It was not just about learning about the past, but also looking towards the future to help improve and make it a better place so events like Hiroshima don't have it again. Stay tuned for the next blog where I talk about the Peace Park if you are interested if not see you next time!
