Blogs from Hiroshima, Japan, Asia - page 12

Wednesday, 22nd May 2013 Ohayou gozaimasu, Hiroshima. Using the city as my base, I took a 45-minute train ride along the eastern seaboard which would bring me straight to Kure City. Home to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (海上自衛隊, JMSDF), there were two museums worth exploring on the ground. The JMSDF Kure Museum and the Yamato Museum (separate admission charges applies) were located next to one another. Given the time constraints, I opted for the free JMSDF Museum which offered me great insights on the submarine operations in safeguarding the sovereignty of Japan's waters. Housed together with a de-commissioned submarine vessel, I was able to relate to the maritime jargons given the nature of industry I was working in. There were also exhibits depicting life-sized sleeping quarters and the various kinds... read more

Monday, 20th May 2013 This morning, I was up by 5.30am to take a final look of Nagasaki before moving on to Hiroshima. I proceeded to take pictures of the Dejima Harbour which commanded great views of the port and the surrounding mountains. The city flourished during the early days due to its trading activities with the rest of the world. My visit to the harbour would somehow bring a closure to my trip in Nagasaki. The next phase of my journey would see me through Hiroshima after a transfer of trains at Hakata (Fukuoka). I arrived at the city of Hiroshima at exactly 2.47pm on Monday afternoon after completing some 434 km on rail from Nagasaki. It's always a joy to ride on these modern machines as the trains always arrived on schedule - something ... read more

We always look forward to visiting Japan because this is where we met. To enter the country there are lots of immigrations procedures. Every passenger had to have a face-to-face meeting with officials, have our picture taken, then our temperature taken, then fingerprinted, our passport inspected and then our picture taken again. Another unusual thing was that every official had a white mask covering their mouth and nose. I was wondering if it was because of the fear of radiation from the tsunami disaster two years ago. But we were later told by our tour guide that everyone wears these masks because of the pollen and the pollution which is carried by the prevailing winds from China to Japan. The Japanese call this smog the "yellow dust" and they aren't too happy to have this unwanted ... read more

Il titolo di questo diario, che vuole indirettamente rendere il doveroso omaggio ad uno dei piu' grandi gruppi del rock italiano, si riferisce a tutto cio' che nel Giappone odierno ci riporta alle immagini a noi piu' familiari della sua lunga storia e grande cultura, e non c'e' luogo migliore per iniziare questo viaggio se non che alle pendici del monte Fuji, il riverito Fuji-San, simbolo spirituale della nazione e meta di pellegrinaggio fin dall'alba dei tempi. A sole tre ore di autobus da Tokyo, Kawaguchiko e' una piccola cittadina affacciata su di un placido lago dalla quale si puo' godere di una impareggiabile vista del grande vulcano, dalla maestosa forma perfettamente conica ormai gia' abbondantemente incappucciata di neve; e si', perche' l'inverno e' ormai alle porte ed il freddo e' gia' considerevole: sdraiato su di ... read more

Gisteren ben ik samen met de Tsjech naar Hiroshima getrokken. U allen wel bekend als de eerste stad in de geschiedenis die met een atoombom werd aangevallen. Die bom ontplofte om precies te zijn om 8.15 op 6 augustus 1945 en dat 580 meter boven de grond. De stad werd door de explosie van de bom kompleet verwoest en 78.000 mensen kwamen toen in een fractie van een seconde om. Er ontstond een enorme vuurbal van 300 meter in doorsnede en de temperatuur daaronder liep op de 4000 graden. Uiteindelijk liep het dodentol op tot ongeveer 145.000 tegen het einde van 1945. Vandaag tref je er een bloeiende stad met meer den 1,1 miljoen inwoners. Het contrast kan moeilijk groter en terwijl ik er rondliep had ik het moeilijk om mij de horror voor te stellen ... read more