Miyajima and Hiroshima

Yesterday was a full day for us. We caught the 7:20am train to Hiroshima to meet local guide Kato. Kato was one year old when the A-Bomb was dropped, but he and his family were not in Hiroshima City and were safe. He currently serves as a volunteer guide. We learned about Kato through Stephanie, one of our guides through Germany on our 2011 Fund For Teachers fellowship. It's amazing how that fellowship from three years ago continues to enhance our experiences today. Thanks, Stephanie, for Kato's contact information!

We started with a ferry ride to Miyajima Island. The ferry took us by the floating Torii gate. For Disney World fans, this is the gate that is represented in EPCOT's Japan pavilion. When the tide is out, it appears to float in the water, but at low tide we could've walked out to the Torii. Helen Keller visited this place and stood at one of the lanterns along the path...now called the Helen Keller lantern.  On the island, deer roam freely. They liked to be petted and tried to sneak any snack they could get -  paper, purses, Johnnie's clothes... Don't worry, she didn't lose her shirt!  We also visited the Itsukushima Shrine and saw a bride and groom who had just gotten married.

Back in Hiroshima, Kato took us to a okonomiyaki restaurant for lunch. Okonomiyaki (Hiroshima style) consists of a thin crepe covered with cabbage, meat (ours had pork), noodles, bean sprouts, and leeks all topped with a fried egg and sauce. Okonomiyaki means "as you like it" and the dish is very popular.

After lunch, we moved on to more somber touring. It was a heavy afternoon for us as we went to Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Museum. We started off at the hypocenter of the a-bomb. As we walked away from the hypocenter we came upon a grave yard that showed the damage from the bomb. When the bomb went off it produced a fireball that went straight down. The tops of the graves are scorched while the sides remain smooth and polished. We then moved on to the peace dome, a structure that remained standing due to its cylinder design. We visited the children's memorial garden. The paper cranes we saw there were made in memory of Sadako. We can't even begin to express our thankfulness to Fund for Teachers for this amazing opportunity. We learned so much from yesterday and now understand more of the impact of war on both sides.

After the museum, we were running out of time, so we didn't get to go inside Hiroshima Castle, but Kato drove us up to it so we could see the outside. Before being known for military events, Hiroshima was a town built up around a castle. There were even three moats. The original castle was destroyed due to the a-bomb, so this was a reconstruction. The replica houses a museum focused on Hiroshima's history prior to WWII.