Witnessing the cruelties of the Atomic Bomb (Hiroshima, Western Honshu, Japan)

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(Day 184 on the road)Hiroshima greeted me with a slight but constant drizzle, which seemed somehow to be the perfect setting for this city with its tragic history. From Mt. Fuji, I had taken a bus to Tokyo, where I spent a night in one of the famous Japanese capsule hotels. I had wanted to do this for a long time, and it was quite an experience. The space inside my capsule was considerably smaller than in my tent, and I felt like being in a sarcophagus - definitely not for the claustrophobic! On the bright side, it had a TV and was much warmer, so I am not complaining. The next day, I took an overnight bus to Hiroshima, my last stop in Japan as it turned out.

Hiroshima (with the pronunciation on the second "i", not the "o" as I soon learnt) is, as expected, dominated by the atomic bomb that was dropped onto it on August 6 1945. I spent one and a half days wandering around the Peace Memorial Park with its various memorials, including the excellent Atomic Bomb museum. I was deeply moved by the whole experience, and after a visit here I felt the idiocy of war even stronger than I had previously. Especially the museum with its many original artifacts that had been destroyed or severely deformed by the bomb left a bitter aftertaste.

The next country I wanted to go to after Japan actually was Taiwan, but the ferry company that used to make the run between Okinawa in southern Japan and Taiwan went into liquidation in June, and flying to Taiwan turned out yo be prohibitively expensive. So instead, without thinking too much, I booked a ticket on an overnight ferry to Busan in South Korea for the next day. My time in Japan was coming to an end.

Next stop: Busan (South Korea).



To view my photos, have a look at pictures.beiske.com. And to read the full account of my journey, have a look at the complete book about my trip at Amazon (and most other online book shops).

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