After a couple days of R&R, James and I hopped on the bullet train for a week of sightseeing in Southern Japan. It was a long and expensive trip from Misawa to Hiroshima (our first destination), but the experience was well worth it! The 8 hour train ride was very relaxing. The scenery was beautiful, we had plenty of time to read, we grabbed some real Starbucks treats to perk us up in Tokyo, and of course - the company can't be beat!
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| Beautiful view of Mt. Fuji on the way south |
While in Hiroshima, we stayed at the Hotel Granvia Hiroshima, which is attached to the train station. We got a great deal on our room reservations and so our home base for the first leg of the trip was pretty ritzy by Japanese standards. It was also a very convenient location since we could take local transportation from that central hub to all of the sights we toured.
That night we ate dinner at the "Western" buffet in the hotel, then hopped on a tram to Hondori Street. This massive downtown shopping district is full of interesting stores and restaurants. We didn't buy anything but enjoyed window shopping - especially since many of the stores had hilarious english names.
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| Hondori Street |
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| Silly name |
Hiroshima is a big, bustling city. As we walked its streets taking in the city lights and all of the people and activity, it was hard to believe that less than 70 years ago this entire city was completely distroyed by an atomic bomb. Incredible.
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| view from our hotel room |
The next morning, we made our way to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial and Park. It's a beautiful area full of all kinds of memorials and statues dedicated to the victims of the tragedy and encouraging future generations to prevent such an atrocity from happening again.
The most iconic landmark in the park is the Atomic Bomb Dome - what remains of the former Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall. When the bomb exploded over the city, it was one of the few buildings to remain standing. It was a very creepy sight.
Other memorials were dedicated to various groups affected by the blast - students, foreigners, etc. Hundreds of brightly colored peace cranes adorned the various monuments as an expression of peace.
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| birds-eye view of the park and its various memorials |
After walking through the park, we grabbed some lunch at a Mediterranean restaurant called Zucchini on Hondori St. Then we went through the Peace Museum. I would hardly say that the museum was peaceful, though... It was very well done and I feel like I learned a lot. But it was
so uncomfortable being in there as an American among throngs of Japanese school children learning about how we slaughtered their people with a single bomb.
After that, we needed a bit of a distraction. Something to lift our spirits. So we walked over to Hirosaki Castle and explored its grounds.
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| exhibit commemorating the annual chrysanthemum festival |
Soon, the sun began to set. So we made our way back to the hotel and enjoyed a fancy meal at the Chinese restaurant in the hotel. I enjoy going on dates with my husband!
