Hiroshima, Mt. Mizen, and the Midterms

I finished uploading my Hiroshima pictures.

I've been telling this story backwards, but a week ago I went to Hiroshima, Miyajima and Okayama. I spent most of the 30th in Osaka, waiting for the overnight bus to Hiroshima (a 7 hour trip). I got to Osaka by 1:30pm and... wait, did I already tell this story? Ok, I just checked. Nope. I tried to see a few things in Osaka but was a horrible failure. Tennoji park was closed for some reason and when I got to the Osaka Museum of History it only had an hour left to closing time. I passed on it and just wandered around getting drunk on Chuhi. The bus was scheduled to leave at 11:50pm and it was only 5pm when all of the touristy stuff closed. So I had about 7 hours to kill and no one to hang out with. I just sat down on the side of a flower box and waved at Japanese people. Most of the people who walked by me felt it necessary to stare (despite this being the busy downtown area of Japan's second largest city... don't they have foreigners here?) so I just smiled and waved at them until they got embarassed and hurried on their way. A big group of girls were checking me out and they giggled like crazy when I waved to them but I wasn't drunk enough to follow them around and bother them. Plus my Japanese really isn't that good and I wouldn't even know where to start.

I ate a whole bunch of weird Osaka food in an effort to kill time. I got some takoyaki (octopus balls), which most of the other teachers can't stand. I think its awesome but as I didn't let it cool it was a little too doughy. I went to the bus station in Nanba when everything else got boring. There's this group of entertainers in Japan called SMAP, which I would compare to the Backstreet Boys or N'Sync or something, and they all sing together and release albums and whatever, but they also have TV shows and a bunch of other projects. Probably a clothing line. So I was watching their cooking show (they break into two teams and they also host it) and falling asleep in my chair waiting on the bus. It finally showed up and it was just me, a few Japanese people, and a whole Indian family. I think they were Indian but only the youngest son spoke any English which confused me. I thought everyone in India spoke English...

I woke up probably once an hour when the bus took a turn or when I heard a horn or something, but was able to sleep for most of the trip. I got off the bus at Hiroshima station and got breakfast at Mastuya before sunrise. I checked my guide and found a park that I could walk around before everything else opened up. On my way I found a little Shinto shrine so I prayed and then hiked up the side of this big hill to the park. The Hiroshima Museum of Contemporary Art is housed in the park, but as it was still only 7am or something I had to settle with peaking in the windows.

I started towards the A-Bomb Dome and got there right before it opened at 8am. I checked out all of the museums and walked around the park that was created out of the rubble near ground zero. I took the same pictures that every tourist takes of the Dome and you can see them all on Flickr.

I hate traveling alone though. I don't get to be in any of these pictures unless I want to set my camera down on something and look like a complete idiot standing in front of it waiting for it to go off. I also don't like making stupid faces or taking weird pictures alone. It's only fun and spontaneous with someone else. Alone its just lame.

So I saw the museums and they're great. Lots of information, lots of media (videos, pictures, models of the city, blah blah blah), and its gripping. I would recommend to any and everyone to see the museum here because unfortunately I'm not going to do it justice with my poor writing and lack of visuals. Pictures of the city where people's shadows are burned into the concrete, a gigantic searchable database of all the surviors' stories (with great English translations), and an honest retelling of the causes behind World War II and the reasons for dropping the bomb.

Also, everytime a new bomb is tested somewhere in the world the mayor of Hiroshima writes a letter pleading for an end to atomic weapons and invites the politicans of whatever country to visit the museum and see what this is leading us all towards. Copies of all the letters that have been written since 1960 are on display. Attention USA, attention Soviet Union, attention France, attention India, etc;

After the museum I went to Miyajima. There's this famous red torii gate there which is the most photographed spot in Japan. I got my obligatory shots as well. I also took these videos climbing and descending the mountain there. Climbing up Mt. Mizen and taking the ropeway back down the mountain. I thought I would only use one of these and delete the other one, but wound up keeping them both. So I wished you all a Happy Halloween twice.

Trip was good. Shit I'm about to run out of time at this cafe. I don't even have time to go back and check my grammar... Hopefully that doesn't sound too dumb...