Date: December 25, 2006
Location: Hiroshima
Who? Laura - travelling by herself for the first time!
Sights: The Peace Park
Some Facts: On August 6, 1945, a US Air Force Bomber dropped a uranium bomb on Hiroshima. It triggered an atomic explosion over the city center. The intense heat killed 80 000 people. The radiation killed another 60 000 in the following year. The death toll is currently estimated at 200 000. Something new I learned - Hiroshima was chosen over Kokura, Niigata and Nagasaki because it was the only city without an allied prisoner of war camp.
Centotaph for the A-Bomb Victims
[Interesting Fact: The names of Korean A-bomb victims are not included in the centotaph]Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
This is a fantastic museum but happy it is not. It details Hiroshima before, during and after the bombing and is quite graphic. Artifacts include melted metal, personal objects and even people's hair and nails that fell out from the radiation. The most chilling to me were the student uniforms that were found. You see, many students were working in the city centre, removing old buildings, etc when the bomb exploded. Entire classes were killed and there were stories of students dragging themselves into the river. Parents rushed to the schools to find their children but sometimes only found parts of uniforms, lunchboxes or sandals. Statue of the Mother and Child in the Storm
Children's Peace Monument
[These room-like containers hold the thousands of cranes that are sent to the monument]A-Bome Dome
As I expected, after walking through the Peace Park I didn't really feel perky and excited. I wandered through Hiroshima's shopping district but ended up sitting in Starbucks eating a donut and feeling sad about being alone on Christmas. I refused to go back to the hostel (I know what you're thinking Fil - 'you could meet some people, go out with them'. I know what you're thinking Steph - 'Hostel friends? Remember the crazy people we met in Europe??') and I had some time to kill...so I did something I have never done before...I went to a movie alone. On Christmas day. And damn, it was awesome and it made me feel so much better. Thank you Daniel Craig. You are the best Bond.
MIYA-JIMA
Date: December 26, 2006
Location: Miya-jima (about 30 minute train ride + ferry ride from Hiroshima)
Who? Laura, some random travellers and a whole bunch of deer
Mission: See the famous floating torii, avoid being chased or eaten by deer, eat momiji manju (maple-shaped waffle cookies) and find the world's biggest rice scoop.
View of the famous floating torii from the ferry...squint...can you see it?
First sighting of the vicious animals - don't make eye contact...
This sign was warning not to feed the deer...but I was wondering why the little girl was following behind the deer with a handful of what appears to be deer droppings. Silly girl...
The Floating Torii
Itsukushima Shrine
The Police Box (guarded by a herd of deer)(weird thing - all of the deer on the island took a nap at 11am...creepy)
The World's Largest Rice Scoop
- It, 'scoops up happiness and good fortune, while having a practical purpose'
Hiroshima Style Okonomiyaki with Oysters (Oysters are a Miya-jima specialty)
Momiji Manju!! (Remember these Christopher?!?)
2 comments:
No one ever expects deer to be vicious, but they totally are! Without getting into details, I was once in a deer park where you were allowed to feed them, and one bit me... in a place I'm not going to recount, but if it had been filmed I would imagine that it would show up on America's Funniest Home Videos.
I had never actually seen a James Bond movie, but my family and I saw Casino Royale over Christmas as well and I really liked it. I have nothing to compare it against, but as a stand-alone, it was fairly rockin'. Sorry you had to see it on your own, but I'm glad that it made you feel better.
(Its Chris(topher)),
Ohh man.. Do I ever (remember those cake things). We had a lot of them.. and there was never enough.
-Christopher (Elliott)
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