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Published: March 28th 2006
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Hiroshima Peace Park
a view from the Hiroshima Peace Museum We chose a good day to travel on the bullet train, because it never stopped raining! From Kyoto we had to venture to Osaka to pick up everyone's train passes. We were a little late after breakfast and had to run up an enormous flight of stairs to catch our train on time. I flew up the stairs first with a suitcase, dropped it on the platform, and then ran back down to grab another....all the while flailing my arms at the conductor to wait for the five crazy foreigners! I'm sure it was an amusing sight for the locals! We did make it to Hiroshima in one piece though!
Day One After settling in, we visited the
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum....a fascinating place to spend a rainy afternoon. The building displays artifacts to illustrate the events and conditions in Hiroshima on and after August 6, 1945 with the dropping of the Atomic Bomb. It's an emotional and sobering experience to see the effects of nuclear radiation. There are unforgettable videos and photographs, as well as articles such as charred clothing, frozen watches, and melted dishes that show the horrendous aftermath of this event. It's not a flashy museum, but
an educational experience that everyone should take part in, in my opinion.
We dodged the rain drops for a quick walk through the
Hiroshima Peace Park, where we saw the A-Bomb Dome.
My friend Stacey joined us for a dinner of Hiroshima's famous
okonomiyaki. It's a MUST to eat when you're in Hiroshima.....a delicious dish of noodles, cabbage and meat with special sauce and fried like a crepe. Yummmmm.
Day Two A trip to Japan wouldn't be complete without a visit to ''my home town''
Innoshima, so we rented a car and headed south! My Dad decided that attempting to drive in Hiroshima City was potentially too dangerous (with the other side of the road and car factors), so we got on a train to Onomichi and rented a car from there. Actually renting the car was quite the mission. There were many phone calls and faxes to figure out what to do with an International Driver's License! Over an hour later, the ''Nippon Rent-a-Car'' people we happy to see us drive away! Another beautiful spring day allowed for a wonderful view of the
Seto Inland Sea from the hilltop park. I had to prepare everyone before we entered
the
grocery store. The store didn't know what hit it.....5 foreigners together!!! We attracted so many stares! My Gramma was approached by an older Japanese lady....this lady was so intrigued with my Gramma's face that she had to reach out and touch it herself! Gramma just smiled and patted the lady's shoulder. We had a picnic lunch at
my apartment, and Dad took a spin on my trusty bicycle! We had a brief stop at the
beach, and then went to the
100 Yen Store (=$1 store) to pick up souvenirs and meet Dana!
Katayama sensei, an English teacher that I work with, prepared us a Japanese feast to take back to the hotel with us. She invited us into her special guest room and explained everything that she had made. She must have been cooking for hours! Sushi, miso soup, stew vegetables, tempura.....it was delicious! We arrived at the
station in Onomichi just in time to catch the train. The station master waved us through quickly assuming we all had train passes...I just played along, and ran up the stairs! Aunt Sue got to the train first and telled to the train people to wait for us....everyone leaving the
train stopped in their tracks to watch us all run. ''Hilarious train-running scene made by the McLeans: Part 2''!!! Aunt Sue and I finished the night with beers at the
St. Patrick's Day party at Molly Malone's, the local Irish Pub in Hiroshima....complete with an Irish band. Happy St. Patty's Day!
Day Three Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! Our last day in Hiroshima was another rainy one, and perfect for relaxing and souvenir shopping. Gramma and Aunt Sue hit the department store, and Mom, Dad and I went to Miyajima and then shopped ourselves.
Miyajima is one of the most photographed tourist attractions in Japan, and is famous for the floating torii (Shinto shrine gate). We quickly saw the torii gate, Daisho-in Temple, and had the Hiroshima maple-shaped cake/cookies and green tea. We spent the afternoon shopping for souvenirs for the much missed 'Aimster', a.k.a. my sister Amy.
To wrap things up....I had a fantastic time traveling around Japan with my family. We saw a ton, traveled far and wide, made some friends, ate well, got some souvenirs, and only had to run for two trains....great memories!
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dad
non-member comment
great trip
hi heather, thankyou for all those great photos and info. we all had such a good time. japan is such an interesting place to visit and you are the perfect tour guide. can't wait for the next trip, when should we start packing? love, dad.