We next traveled to the nearby city of Hiroshima, with a current population of 1.2 million. As we rolled up to the visually stunning Atomic Bomb Dome, I noticed an obvious change in the tone of the rest of the group. We exited the bus, and I could almost here the screams of those that died here nearly 60 years ago. The Atomic Bomb Dome was originally called the Hiroshima Industrial Promotion Hall, but its name was aptly changed since it was the only thing left standing after the Enola Gay dropped the a-bomb, having an equivalent amount of power as 15,000 tons of TNT, on August 6, 1945. I tried to imagine what the city must have looked like after a bombing of such magnitude, but it was unfathomable.
As I traveled into the adjacent and very beautiful Heiwa Kinen Koen, or Peace Memorial Park, I noticed several Japanese people staring at me and giving me dirty looks. I assumed this was because I was a gaijin or foreigner. This was my first experience of anti-Americanism here in Japan, and I hope it will be my only experience.
Dirty looks aside, I took in the moment and was deeply moved when I saw the thousands of colored paper cranes that children from around the world had sent there as a symbol of peace. The park also had a Kennedy-esque eternal flame that was to serve as a reminder of the horrors of atomic warfare.
After that we traveled into the Hiroshima Peace Museum, and it was here for the first time that I saw true depictions of what really happened. I likened my experience here to a past trip to the Holocaust Museum in DC, only this case seemed to hit closer to home. Being both Japanese and American I was somewhat at a loss as to what I should be feeling; on one hand I could not overlook the atrocities that the Japanese people suffered as a result of the bombing, but at the same time I'm an American, and many of my fellow Americans fought courageously, and died at the hands of the Japanese soldiers.
Knowing that such scenes would take a lot out of us emotionally, our tour guide wisely gave us the night off and we were free to do whatever we wished. Some friends had told me that I needed to try the okonomiyaki in Hiroshima, and I decided to take their advice. So of course you're wondering what okonomiyaki is, and the answer is that it's a hodgepodge of vegetables, seafood, meat, egg, and noodles. It's often translated into English as the “as you like it pancake.” We walked to a nearby restaurant and I ordered the meal and drinks in Japanese of course. Our table had a built-in grille and the chef came and prepared our okonomiyaki right in front of us. It was very exciting. Everyone enjoyed the food, and my mom and grandmother were glad not only to
see my Japanese skills in action, but they were also relieved that I was there since neither of them can speak or read Japanese.
After dining it was time for me to head back to Yamaguchi since I had school the next day. I said my goodbyes and headed off to the train station.
This brings up the topic of my train rides that occurred this weekend as part of my excursion. I left early Saturday morning to meet my family in Beppu as previously mentioned, and the first leg of my train journey reminded me of a scene
from Forrest Gump, only a little different. Instead of hearing “Seat’s taken, can’t sit here,” like Forrest did; it was I who had a seat and everyone else who chose not to sit next to me. It blew my mind that people chose to stand for a 25-minute train ride, rather than to sit in one of the two open seats next to me, the gaijin. Anyway, the second leg of my trip was different, as I was aboard the much faster shinkansen, or bullet train that has top speeds of about 120 mph. This experience reminded me of the airplane, as every seat was labeled aisle or window, and the chairs were complete with fold-down tray tables for dining. If there had been flight
attendants, I would have sworn I was racking up frequent flier miles.