Hiroshima and Nagoya

Hiroshima was a much bigger city than I had imagined - modern, and bustling with life. Of course the first place we went was the ruins of the a-bomb dome, which contrasted heavily with the city around it. This building was the only one with any structure left standing after the bomb flattened the city in August 1945. The peace park nearby was somber in the gentle rain, and after going to the children's memorial I really started to feel sad for all the ordinary people who lost their lives.

Next was the museum, and that was where I really started to feel sick. It was pretty full on, showing scenes of total devastation, mutilated bodies, radiation-bleached stone with a human-shaped shadow, burns victims, and sufferers of radiation-sickness. It did have a lot of information as well, outlining the lead up to the war, the complete control the emperor and the military had over the population, Japan's brutal expansion, the desperation towards the end of the war, and so on. I knew the basics, but some things I didn't know was that foreign words and activities like music and ballet were completely banned. Enjoying yourself too much and playing was also banned. Absolutely everything was directed towards efficiency of the war-effort. School-children were made to work, as well as train to be soldiers. I also didn't know that when the US gave Japan an ultimatum, they didn't threaten to use the bomb. When they did use it, some of the reasons included a justification of the massive cost of development, and a show of power to Russia. I can't help but think that there must have been some better ways to demonstrate their power without killing so many civillians.

For lunch we met up with a friend Chihiro had met in Brisbane, and we explored more of the city. At night we walked through the entertainment district looking for a good place to eat the local version of okonomiyaki. We passed on the place that had this bizarre tanuki out the front, and found a local eatery serving cheap and delicious okonomiyaki skillfully prepared in front of us.

Strolling further through the entertainment district, we came across a place that reminded me of home... but we needed to send an email, so instead of going there we stopped at a large internet cafe. It was actually more like a library/restaurant/cafe. For a couple of dollars an hour, we could read books, comics, and magazines, use couches, pillows and blankets, get unlimited free soup, coffee, tea, soft-drinks, and ice-cream, order food and beer from the restaurant... oh, and use the internet. Some people actually pay for an all-night session (around $15) rather than going to a hotel!

Although my brother and Andrew couldn't stay for long, their rail passes were still valid for a few days so they generously gave them to us to save some money. I just had to pretend to be Andrew, and Chihiro pretended to be Rene. Luckily we looked like tourists and nobody checked up on us. Unfortunately, an approaching typhoon meant that we couldn't stay any longer in Hiroshima. They were closing down the railways as it approached, and we were lucky to leave when we did. On the way home though, we decided to stop by Nagoya to see a Van Gough exhibition. The Art Museum there was pretty spectacular in itself, with a glass and steel balcony structure that was covered in a layer of water. We also had dinner in Nagoya - mmmm my favourite!