Hiroshima

The most important thing to say about Hiroshima (from the tourist PoV) is that it's a bustling, modern city and none of it is fire-blackened anymore.

Apparently, the type of radiation produced by the bomb had a very short half-life, so the radiation was down to a millionth of its original level after just one week. Plants even within a couple of hundred metres of (what the museum calls) the hypocentre survived - I've seen some of them - and green re-emerged within months. Nature is a lot more robust than we sometimes think, and will come out on top in the end (in some form or other).

The main symbol of the bombing is probably the wrecked building now known as The A-bomb Dome. This is brick-built rather than reinforced concrete. It isn't blackened, and it now sits in the middle of a lush lawn surrounded by beautiful azalea bushes (plus a steel fence and alarm system).

In 1945 the city was mainly comprised of wooden buildings, which were flattened and burned, leaving the few concrete buildings standing as isolated shells. Part of the destroyed area is on an island between rivers (the city was founded on a river delta) and the north end of this island is now a Peace Memorial Park, green with grass and trees.

I shall note without further comment that this includes:
Peace Cairn, Peace Bell, Peace Fountain, Peace Tower, Peace Clock Tower, Peace Memorial Mailbox, Stone Lantern of Peace, Gates of Peace, Statue of Peace, Flame of Peace and Pond of Peace.

On the first day we went in to the underground Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims. Near the entry we listened in silence to recordings of survivors' awful stories of dead and dying parents, siblings or children.

We walked down a spiral slope to the circular main room. I noted some phrasing from the plaques on this slope: "Japan walked the path of war" and "mistaken national policy".

Such phrasing annoyed me, and made me concerned about how Japan now sees itself at that time, bearing in mind Japan's role as aggressor and committer of war crimes (not least the "Rape of Nanjing", so fresh in my memory after our recent visit).

However, the following day I visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, nearby in the Peace Memorial Park, where the signage was unflinching in giving a historically accurate account.

In the light of this, I moderated my view of the Memorial Hall wording. I suppose it needs to also allow grieving for the lost by people who don't regret any Japanese actions and still think they were in the right but simply lost the war.

The main thrust in Hiroshima, apart from pro-peace, is anti-nuclear. Apart from global annihilation, the principles underlying the use of individual nuclear bombs in war seem a bit muddy to me. Any Japanese argument against bombing of civilian populations seems to have been lost through their actions in China in 1938. Any argument based on scale should note that the second deadliest bombing of the war was not Nagasaki, but at Tokyo on 9-10 March 1945.

So, that's the "Elephant in the room" dealt with, now back to our normal narrative-based approach...

Several people we've spoken to (including the lady in the Hiroshima Tourist office) were surprised that we were staying in Hiroshima as many as four nights. Admittedly the last of those was just because it's Golden Week here, with three national holidays in the space of one week, and we couldn't find a hotel room anywhere else.

On May 1st we arrived on the Shinkansen around lunchtime and in the afternoon walked to the Peace Memorial Park, taking a rest at a riverside coffee shop mid-way. We caught a tram back.

Routes 2 and 6 run between Hiroshima station and the A-bomb Dome, with a flat fare of 150Y. Enter at the rear and pay the driver at the front when you exit, much like Kyoto city buses.

On the 2nd I went to the Peace Memorial Museum while Clare stayed in and rested.

The next day we headed for Miyajima Island, set in the inland sea. We caught the train, walked to the ferry and were on the island well within an hour of setting out.

I think anyone would have to be advised to ensure they visit Miyajima at high tide. We got there dead at low tide. The Torii (like a huge wooden arch) is built on the beach so that it appears to be floating when the tide is in. For us, not only was it not floating, but it was completely hidden in scaffolding.

We strolled across the sand, picking our way across wet patches, and spent a long time sitting on the far sea wall, chatting.

We planned to stroll back through the Itsukushima shrine, mainly a series of open-sided corridors, painted a tasteful bright orange, that would span out over the sea when it's in. Unfortunately, there was a sign saying "entry at other end only", so we decided to pass on the walkways-above-the-dry-beach, particularly when we got to the other end and saw the length of the queue.

We visited the "Hall of a Thousand Mats" instead. A tatami mat is around 0.9m x 1.9m (with regional variations) and room size can be expressed by the number of mats that would fit on the floor. Not particularly impressive, and undersized (I suppose the more accurate "Hall of 857 Mats" would sell less well) but built in 1587 so worth a nod.

May 4th was another public holiday, and also the second day of the Hiroshima Flower Festival, which apparently attracts 1.6 million visitors each year. We caught the tram to the A-bomb Dome amid sizeable crowds and queues. Nevertheless, the service was rapid and efficient.

We strolled through the Peace Memorial Park to see what the Flower Festival was all about. We weren't impressed. The flowers were still in their pots and just sitting on frames on the ground. There were about thirty oversized (2-3 metre) origami cranes next to them and some majorettes performing at the side. We've seen far better events and couldn't understand what the fuss was about.

We walked back up to the Central Park, featuring a large flat sandy area and failed attempt at an artificial stream feature. Then on to Hiroshima Castle, which follows the national style of moats and stone-faced banks. I paid to climb up the castle tower, rebuilt in 1958, only to find once inside that it was all made out of concrete with mocked-up exterior.

Ultimately, I suppose it'd be easy to see everything that's distinctive about Hiroshima in one day, with another day or half at Miyajima (at high tide). We took it easy, frequenting a certain coffee and cake shop just between station and hotel every day. Hey, we're on holiday!