Hiroshima Castle

The castle was destroyed with the atomic blast, so this is a reconstructed castle. Completed in 1958, long after the advent of indoor plumbing, you'd think that they'd put toilets inside, but no. The facilities are outside.
After Iwakuni, we had time to come back to Hiroshima and see the castle before everything closes up. We took a taxi (time is money) to get there quickly.
There was no photography on the first 4 floors. This level showed scenes of castle life. There were people who kept the books. I don't know, but that might be a seat stool?
I loved the windows. They looked very Mediterranean to me.
William is usually first up all the steps in the castle. We have a hard time trying to look and read and enjoy things. Turns out, he LOVES looking through the pay-binoculars. He is free to get into the castle (until he's 6), so I figure a few bucks thrown into the viewfinders are cheap. Plus, Tim and I can enjoy a few minutes of quiet interjected with 'Hey, I can see this!' Technically, this picture was taken at Iwakuni. But, it shows what William likes to do.
This is the view back towards the epicenter of the blast. Everything has been re-built.
We went to the shrine on the castle grounds. We even paid to get our fortunes in English. Tim and Williams turned out to be the exact same one! They have excellent fortunes, BTW.
Our hotel had a French theme. I loved the armor here. Different than the samurai type, but you can see the similarities.
William's favorite part of the day was icecream at dinner. They brought his cone in a cone holder, and he refused to use his hands until the end. I'm sure we erred in etiquette that night, but it was pretty funny, and a nice end to a long (but really great) day.

Iwakuni

Brocade Bridge (five arches look like a brocade edge) is in Iwakuni in Yamaguchi prefecture, only 40 km from Hiroshima. We took a pleasant train ride, then taxi to it. For $10 we got tickets for the bridge, ropeway to the Castle, castle entrance and return.
It was easily crossed, as they'd slanted the boards to be more like steps on the steepest arches.
Every castle has items for viewing, but most won't allow pictures. Iwakuni had no signs, and others were photographing items, so viola! Samurai, when they became more soldier regimented versus an individual swordsman calling another out, had armor. This is classic.
For those guy geeks who have seen the PBS documentary on sword making, Tim got this shot for you!
The Japanese perfected sword making, and have many examples. Usually the sword and the hilt are shown separately, as the designs for the hilt were done by others, and intricate. The sword is its own craft.
My view of Iwakuni Castle. It was still a hike from the ropeway (gondola).
It is June, and Japanese love their iris.
Iwakuni has kept old houses for showing. The tatami rooms and layout are interesting to us.
We couldn't understand the docents, but they did give us a map in English! I found the park with fountains, old houses (some samurai), and gardens enchanting. And there was only one other American family we saw whilst there. It is more off the beaten path, but worth it. I had seen Kintaikyo (the kyo means bridge) on a video about Japan, and was determined to find out where they'd filmed it, and then go. I did!
This is a poster for UKAI, or Cormorant Fishing. This is where they use trained birds to catch fish, and then they pull the birds back in by the leash, and make them spit it out. Usually it is done at night so the burning wood's flames can attract the fish. But, I have a child who is tired at night. Thank heavens they also do an exhibition at noon during the summer months, so I can see it! The Japanese travel specialist I worked with was amazed when I told her about it. She didn't know there were add-ons to a Hiroshima trip like this! Yes, the internet is a wonder!

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!

Hammie the Hamster

Early Saturday morning, a little before 6, William was up and chomping at the bit. Tim and I were trying to sleep, and it only took me a few seconds to realize why William was so awake. It was the day Hammie was coming to stay with us. I told William it wouldn't happen until 10 a.m., and to let us sleep.
When our friends said they were looking for a place for Hammie while they were gone to Hawaii, I thought what a great experience for William this would be. A 'rental rodent' that we could give back when done.
Now, I had my reservations. We all know how this works. Mom gets to clean up the messes. However, I still agreed. William is loving it, and only a little bit miffed that Hammie doesn't want to come out and play more often. He's learning the word 'nocturnal.'

William is always concerned about Hammie. What is he doing, is he okay? What vegetable can I give him now mom? Is there water in the vegetable? Why does Hammie like to sleep during the day?

William has to be quiet when he's playing piano. We have earphones to help with this. William decided he'd play piano to calm Hammie. Now, Hammie hasn't peered out of his little box house all morning, except to enjoy his carrot stick. I'm sure he went back in for a nap. But, this is what I found. Apparently, William decided Hammie needed 'stimulation' and put him by our ever-changing digital photo frame.
He also put the digital piano's headphones on the cage, so Hammie could hear him playing. Poor Hammie, I can only imagine what he has to say.
I, HAMMIE
DAY ONE: Today, I was transported to a new safe house. This one has even a smaller person in charge of me. He seems like a nice enough kid, although his big face outside my house is a little freaky at times.
DAY TWO: I have done reconnaissance in my ball, and there is a drop off the front step and a closed door to the outside. I don't think escape will be easy.
DAY THREE: They have changed the litter in my cage. My new box house is a bit more roomier, but the familiar smells of the last safe house are gone. I miss Erin.
DAY FOUR: I have flashing lights and loud music being played at me most of the time. I have heard of this technique being used in hostage situations to get people to come out of the house. I will stay inside. They cannot make me crumble.
DAY FIVE: I jogged in my wheel last night, as I must keep my strength up to find Erin. Don't worry, Erin, I WILL FIND YOU!!!

The Sound of Silence

I had woken up in the middle of the night, and after a quick trip to the bathroom, settled back down in my bed. As I was laying there, warming up, sauntering off to slumber, a high pitched whine caught my ear. As it neared my head I flailed around, hoping to scare off my predator.

Sure enough, the mosquito went into stealth mode, and I didn't hear it returning until about 10 minutes later, just as I was about to nod off... darn! Quickly, I jump up, turn on the lights and see if I can find the varmint. No avail. The tiger mosquitoes are more wily than the ones back home. They tend to go to ground to hide, not fly up.

We have dark flooring, and there is no hope. I am being hunted, and the bloodletting will begin soon. I am doomed.

But, I have a plan. The mosquito can get my blood, but there's no place to spawn larvae in my house. If I don't open any doors or windows for many days, the mosquito will die, and its purloined blood will be for naught. Heh heh heh.

However, it's not really a good plan, as I would be holed up in my house with a 5 year-old, and that is enough 'blood letting' in and of itself.

So, moving on to Plan B.


Tim saw a 'Mosquito Magnet' and had to buy one. It basically works by burning propane to make CO2 (like our breath), and it also has a scent for mosquitoes that make them think a living animal is around. They can get in, but not out, and eventually they die, without being able to propagate.

It sits along our fence line at the 'four corners.' Our Japanese neighbors probably wonder what it is, now that they have time to not be swatting at mosquitoes all the time they are out of doors. BTW, the green lawn is our nearest American neighbors, Ann and Dan. The people directly behind us do a respectably sized vegetable garden each year, and the Abes (top left) have the most amazing array of flowers at their place, but mostly in the front.

Yes, I've heard of chemical warfare. That is Plan C.

Mickey Bistro Set

William and I have been busy today. Among other things, we assembled a Mickey Bistro table and chair set that we found at the local Japanese Hardware store, Home's. The Japanese love Disney stuff and you see it everywhere. I'm not sure you could find one of these in the states. Caroline had spotted it and told me about it. I went out to buy it and it was one of those cultural experiences. I found it, but didn't see the boxes anywhere for it, so I had to ask in my very limited Japanese. It took some time and several people, but we eventually understood that it was out of stock and that they could order it. I filled out some paperwork and gave them my phone number and I hoped all would work out.

I got a call a few days later from a man who spoke no English, I had my question all worked out in Japanese "Taberu to Isu asoko des ne?" which I think is asking if the table and chairs are there. I was hoping for a "Hai" but what I got instead was a long string of Japanese and I could only imagine what he was saying, "Yes, it is here and can you please pick it up", "No, it is not here and it will take three months to get it here," "Yes it is here, but it's made out of lead with PCB paint..." He kept saying "eto" though, so after we finally agreed to hang up without understanding each other, I looked up the word "eto" on line hoping it meant "Come pick up your order" or "Next week" or something very telling. It apparently is the word that Japanese use where we might say, "uhmm". Seems we were saying the same thing on both ends of the line... Anyway, I stopped off and showed the order form and a gentlemen came out with the box! Success! Assembling the whole thing with the Japanese instructions was a cinch in comparison!

e mail W (balls)

by William:

hi we got there too late so NO TICKETS!!!!!!!!!! too bad but we had fun SO FUN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WELL BYE

(Dad's note: We had originally planned to go to the Miraikan National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation since they have a planetarium. William is fascinated with space at the moment and they had one show with English audio at 2:00 PM that we thought would blow his mind. We thought we got a reasonably early start up to Tokyo...

It was OK getting to Shimbashi, but we needed to switch to the New Transit YURIKAMOME line. As we exited the JR turnstiles looking for the sign to this next train circuit, we didn't see it right away and we had a dumbstruck look for three seconds. That is about how long you can look confused in a train station before a Japanese person that speaks good English comes up and asks if he/she can help. Right on cue, a very nice gentlemen asked if he could help. Not three seconds later, William starts pointing and jumping up and down saying he found the sign we were looking for. We didn't want to insult our Japanese saviour, so we let him finish finding the stop we were heading for on the map, figure out which line we needed, and then eventually point at the same sign that William was practically yelling about at this point.

We got to the museum at 1:00PM only to find out that the planetarium show had sold out about an hour previous. It was a real bummer. We decided to buck up and see what else the Museum had to offer. It had quite a bit. We spent some time in their "Terminator" exhibit which had all kinds of terminator props and information. We also looked through their life science area where we looked at rat brains through microscopes and sequenced wood block "DNA". But the exhibit that fascinated both William and me the most was the "Mechanical Model of the Internet." You assembled a message with a binary address and character out of black and white balls that represented the 1's and 0's and they were sent through interconnected mechanical "servers" that would read the address balls and send the sequence of balls to other servers to finally deliver the message to the correct terminal. It was quite a machine and a show! Here is a video showing William sending a "W" through the machine...)