Hiroshima

We just got back from a 3-day trip to Hiroshima. It was a fascinating trip.

The first day was spent getting there via trains and the Shinkansen (Bullet Train). It was my first ride on a Shinkansen at all and it was all of our first time on a Nozomi (Super Express) which goes the fastest and makes the fewest stops. I think we only made 5 or 6 stops all the way from Yokohama to Hiroshima (some 415 miles as the crow flies) and it took about 4 hours. If we understood correctly, the train did 274km/hr which is about 170mph. It didn't seem inside that you were going that fast since it was so smooth. You did get a sense, though, when you looked out the window, or felt yourself press into your seat going around a long banked curve, or feeling your weight get lighter as the train crested a slight hill. It all seemed about quiet power.

The Shinkansen tickets were a bit more expensive than taking a plane there, but the train was a bit faster for door to door since it arrived in the middle of Hiroshima rather than the outskirts where the airport is, and you can arrive 5 minutes before the train takes off instead of 2 hours.

As we exited the train station, we saw this somewhat ironic fountain in front that was shaped like a mushroom. Did they mean that?

After getting off the train, we headed to the A-Bomb dome, Peace Park, and Peace Museum, all centered around ground zero. The A-Bomb dome used to be the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall before the bomb detonated 600 meters above and a 100 meters to the side of it. Nearly everything around it was obliterated, but since this building was stoutly built and the blast was nearly right on top of the walls and pushed them down instead of pushing them over, a large part of the building actually was left standing, though nobody inside survived. They've preserved it as it looked after the blast as a reminder. It works well.

We walked through the Peace Park and rang the Peace Bell before heading to the museum. We rented the audio tour machine for the three of us and headed through. It is a very good museum and details out the history of Hiroshima, why it was selected as a target, and of course, the devastation caused by the bomb. We steered William away from the "Hall of Horrors" detailing the injuries, but he dutifully looked at personal artifacts and listened to all of the stories of individuals, mostly young teenagers, that were sent into the city to work clearing fire breaks and were caught in the blast. How they were severely burned, but survived the initial blast, only to wander amongst the devastation for days before making it back to the suburbs where the family did their best to care for them until they passed away several days later. William summed it up with the statement "This is really sad." Later, at dinner we talked about why we dropped the bomb and all the political issues surrounding it. He decided that it, "wasn't the best idea." Since Caroline's father fought in the Pacific in WWII and would have been in the invading force for Japan, dropping the bomb probably ensured that Caroline exists at all, so we are torn a bit. One great thing about the museum and parks is that they describe what happened without stressing the politics and whether it was right or not. So, you can learn about it and form your own opinion.

We had a wonderful dinner at a river side, open air Italian restaurant pretty much at ground zero. Very pleasant. Though, everywhere you go in Hiroshima, you can't help thinking, "What would it have been like from right here..."

Below is a short clip on the Shinkansen. I'm amazed at how long they are. There are 16 cars and this video only shows getting to number 11. I also didn't realize how wide they are. They can sit five across as apposed to four on a normal train. The tracks are obviously wider than the other tracks, so the Shinkansens operate on their own rail system and don't share tracks with the normal trains. Quite an investment by the Japanese, but it provides a very good method for getting around Japan.

Tomorrow (or soon, anyway) Iwakuni!