Japan 1

It felt good to be able to travel when I felt like it, moreover it was to Japan and I must say that I was thankful to be blessed in such a way, though I'm not rich enough to make such an impulse trip to Europe or Hawaii. The trip was not without its drama, I landed with an impending typhoon and I suffered allergic reaction on my first night, so here is a short account of this getaway and a good time to reflect a little.

Day One: 

I landed and immediately made my way to Shinjuku, it was a smooth ride on the Narita Express (an express and direct train which I had never taken during my days as a student because it costs 3 times more than the not-so-direct kind but since I have the JR pass, why not). Killing my time on facebook, I realised that my phone battery was dying even before I reached Shibuya (this would be a recurring problem throughout the entire trip). Since my senior Fukusho could not arrive before 8pm, I had an 明太マヨ おにぎり while waiting and this proved to be my downfall.

Anyway, since Fukusho has got 輪講 the following Friday (ie. it's a busy period and he couldn't drink), we had a quick dinner at 吉野家, Shinjuku didn't feel too different and we quickly returned to his house after the meal.

I felt uncomfortable while walking that 1.2km from the station to his house and I initially attributed it to the rain. But as I reached his house, I saw that my eyes were swollen and with a bad running nose, it must have been food allergy. And well, it ought to be the 明太マヨ おにぎり, but thankfully, it subsided after 1+ hour and haiz... that was my Day 1 back in Japan.

Day 2:

I left the house early since the ride to Hiroshima would take 5 hours at least even by the bullet train, I left the house at 6am and after some poor 乗り換え in Osaka, I finally reached Hiroshima at 1+ pm. I quickly made my way to the Peace Memorial Park and yes, I will upload the pictures on Facebook soon, when I feel more diligent. 

Peace Memorial Park is in the centre of Hiroshima-shi, the exact area that was destroyed by the A-bomb some 65 years ago. Japan boasts to be the only country to have experienced the A-bomb (nothing to be proud of) and every monument was erected in the memory of a specific group. It somehow reminded me of OCS where there was a meaning for everything, like the OCS Tower, Ceremonial Hall, etc etc but it lacked the aura and significance of this Peace Memorial Park.

I visited the museum, and an old local lady tried to explain to me the devastating effect of the bomb and how only 3 survived among the 6600 who lived in the area. The displays in the museum talked about why Hiroshima was chosen (few POWs as one of the reasons), about why the A-bomb was used (wanting to test the effect and as a warning to Russia as some reasons), and about how the Hiroshima governors were always the strongest advocate against nuclear proliferation. She shared to me that the area was 'reclaimed' with 3m of earth being piled onto the devastated ground before the current Hiroshima-shi could be built, and that relatives and descendents of the deads would walk bare-footed as the ground was the tomb of their ancestors.

The lady who shared with me didn't show any vengeful emotions, and just spread the message of the pain in wars and that horrifying effect of the Mushroom cloud. I later asked my friend Katayama about it and he revealed that he had never been there, and that it wasn't the kind of place that people joyfully visit. I couldn't disagree but I also lost the chance to ask about the general feeling among the Japanese people. Ironically, it was announced on that day that President Obama had won the Novel Peace Prize.

I spent about 2 hours at the Park before making my way to Miyajima, to see the shrine that has the Torii constructed in the beach where it could be seen 'floating' during high tides. As I'm not a shrine person, I just did an Amazing Race there, ie taking the photos and left quickly, never the less, it was a tiring day. And I retired at a 漫喫 at 7pm and stayed that through the typhoon.

It's such a long post that I will continue with the other days at another time. Getting tired.