5.30 am, December the 26th, 2011, and my ipod alarm, New Zealand cellphone alarm and Japanese cellphone alarm all go off. It is 9.30 am in New Zealand, and I doubt that half of my friends are awake yet. Why was I up at this ungodly hour on Boxing Day? Because, dear reader, I went on an adventure.
Going downstairs like any other morning, breakfast was more or less already waiting for me, sat down and ate that, went back upstairs, got changed, came back downstairs, and at 6.10 went to my home station, Shake, for the 6.15 train to Chigasaki. Wheeling my little red suticase through Chigasaki station, I boarded yet another train, this time a limited express to Odawara, which was the site of a massive siege in 1500 something and also where Toyotomi Hideyoshi built a castle in just one day, if you're interested.
In the train I met Fernanda, one of my AFSers, and we walked to the Shinkansen (bullet train) terminal, where we were met by the other AFSers in our chapter, plus two AFS vounteers, Saya and Foru. This was about 7 oclock in the morning, and we were soon to board the fastest train in Japan, bound for Kyoto, the ancient capital of Western Japan.
It was the first shinkansen experience for my fellow Shonan Chapter members, and it was my first one since arriving in Nagoya from Tokyo in 2009. Looking out the window as we hurtled across Japan at about 260km/h, we watched as the sprawling gray of the city turned into the drab green of the rural Kanto towns, and then as we passed through a few mountains, it suddenly became white. As we moved deeper into the Kinki region of Japan, the snow got thicker and thicker, much to the excitement of Calvin, our Indian, who had never seen, let alone touched, snow in his life.
From this
To this
To this
The snow in Nagoya was particularly heavy, and at every stop Calvin would beg Saya and Foru to go outside for a minute so he could touch the snow, but every time his pleas fell on deaf ears. (After 5 or 6 stops I kinda wanted him to be able to go outside, if only for a minute of quiet. Or to be left behind?)
Kyoto however, was possessed of a different climate to Nagoya. Very cold, no doubt, but no snow on the ground. There was however, snow falling, similar to what I experienced in Ebina on Christmas Eve, but heavier. Depositing our suitcases in the lockers at the station, we got into taxis and drove to The Kinkaku (Golden Pavilion) Temple, a World Heritage Site, famous for its exterior being coated in gold, and for being burnt down by a crazed monk in 1950. Fully rebuilt and restored now, it is one of, if not the most famous site in Kyoto. As we approached the Pavilion itself, the heavens decided to make the moment more significant, and it began to snow. For Calvin, this was the first time he touched snow, and despite it being little more than heavy sky dandruff, it seemed pretty special for him.
Let it snow!
The Temple Complex is not limited to just the Golden Pavilion, however, there are a multitude of shrines and such, not to mention the extensive gardens. We wandered through the complex, getting a fortune from one of the shrines (mine was relatively good luck), and generally having a look around.
There is a legend that a magic carp swam up this waterfall
Throwing a coin into the stone bowl will give the thrower good luck, and getting one into the little black bowl will give them massively good luck
Leaving the Kinkaku Temple Complex, we then headed to another one, the Kiyomizudera Temple Complex on the other side of the city. Kiyomizudera is a MASSIVE temple, lacking the aesthetics of Kinkaku, but easily dwarfing it. There was much of the same here, wandering the grounds, getting good (and sometimes not so) luck from the luck vendors, flicking the odd coin at a shrine, being complete tourists and photgraphing everything.
This building was built in 1633 by Tokugawa Ieyayasu, and not a single nail was used in the construction
A monk used this spring as a means of cleansing his body and soul when the temple was established in 778, it is said to have wish granting properties
In Spring this will all be pink as the famous Kyoto Sakura Cherry Blossoms come into bloom
Unfortunately we only had a day in Kyoto, so we boarded the inevitable bus to the station, and boarded one more Shinkansen, to the city of Hiroshima. We arrived relatively late at night, with only enough to time to dump our bags at the hotel, then go 10 minutes down the street to a restaurant for dinner, then back to the hotel for sleep. Oh, and see the Hiroshima Christmas Illumination.
That night wasn't the greatest night for sleeping, because my roomate Calvin, being the 'pretty boy' that he is, had to dry his hair. This wasn't a problem in itself, in fact it had become the running gag of the day, his host mother had told him there might not be a hairdryer in the hotel, so he should bring his own, advice he followed to the letter. Consequently, he lugged a massive-not-travelling-hairdryer all around Kyoto with him, something that caused us no end of mirth. What was the problem, however, is that I showered before him. This meant that as I went to sleep before him, with my ipod headphones in, oblivious to his blowdrying at 11 that night, all was well. However at 4 am the next morning, I woke thinking there was an airplane in the room. One of my headphones fell out, and I sat up to see Calvin fast asleep, his hairdryer on his suitcase beside his bed, on full noise. Not very happy Troy got up and unplugged the metallic pink bastard, and got back into bed, only to be woken at 4.30, 5.00, 5.30 and 6.00 by Calvin's four cellphone alarms. Who has four cellphone alarms at 30 minute intervals starting at half past four in the morning? Calvin Abishek from India does. Just past 6 oclock I was decidedly not asleep, but eyes staring at the ceiling, I tried my hardest. Then Calvin, deciding to check the time, got the switches wrong and instead of turning on the clock light, he turned ALL the lights on, full blast. My retinas are yet to recover. After some stern words involving strangulation using his hairdryer cord (or the hotel room one, because yes, there was one in the room for our use), the noise/light sleep deprivation method ceased. I promised him I'd get him back nonetheless, and that morning when he was drying his hair AGAIN (showers before and after bed, drying his hair for 30ish minutes both times), I took some clandestine photos of him doing what he does best, drying his hair. Promised they wouldn't go up on Facebook, but this is blogspot, so not breaking my promise (not saying that I won't some other time though)
The second day was the main point of the trip, which was called the "Heiwa tsua' (Peace Tour). We went to the A-Bomb Memorial Museum and Peace Park for a guided tour of it, which personally I thought was far too rushed and meant we missed half of the articles, but it was less of an issue for me as I had already been to Hiroshima two years prior, and so had read all the museum pieces before. Nonetheless, seeing the remnants of the city destroyed in an instant was a reminder of how terrible August 6, 1945 became for the citizens of Hiroshima, seeing the famous shadow', the form of a person who was sitting outside a bank when the bomb exploded, turning them to ash, leaving only a shadow behind, and some of Sadako's 1000 cranes, all poignant remainders and legacies of Hiroshima.
Going into the park itself presented me some opportunities to photograph what I had already photographed before, as well as photograph some new things that I did not have the opportunity to two years ago.
The Peace Park as seen from the Front Windows of the Peace Museum
2009
2011
The Genbaku (A-Bomb) Dome
2009
2011
Sadako's Shrine, for all the children who perished on August 6, 1945, and as a result of injuries or radiation following
2009
2011-The cranes in the centre are significant in that the 5 AFSers of the Shonan Chapter folded them, wheras I have no claim to the cranes in the picture two up.
We deposited our cranes in Sadakos Shrine, hanging them beside the thousands of other cranes that have been folded by Japanese and foreigners alike, in memory of the children of Hiroshima. For those who don't know, Sadako was 2 years old and living in Hiroshima when the bomb detonated. For 12 years she lived a normal life, when in 1954 she developed purple swellings on her legs and behind her ears. Diagnosed with leukemia as a result of radiation from the bomb, she was given a year to live. In Japan there is a story that if you fold 1000 paper cranes, you will be granted a wish from the Gods. Sadako began folding tsuru (cranes) in the hope of reaching 1000, so that she could wish to get better. Her friends would visit her in hospital after school and help her fold cranes, and they achieved 1000, going on to fold more. However, Sadako's wish was not realised, and she died on October 25, 1955, aged 12 years old. Sadako was buried with her paper cranes, and now cranes are a sybol of peace and children killed by war.
Our memorial visiting was not limited to Sadako's, however, we visited one which is dedicated to the Korean forced laborers who were in Hiroshima at the time of the bombing. Facing to the North-West, towards Korea, and shaped like a turtle, it represents the creature that in Korean myths takes the spirits of the dead to the afterlife.
We then visited the crypt of the unidentified dead, something that looks rather like Barrows in Europe, in which are buried approximately 17,000 bodies, none of whom could be identified.
Last of all was a remnant of what the Peace Park was before the bombing, which was another temple complex. The temple, completely destroyed, was rebuilt on a different site, but one testament of its existance remains. The stone grave of a Samurai, knocked over and scorched, is the only remainder of the temple on its original site, and it shows how much lower the Hiroshima of 1945 was than it is today.
The base has been tilted, forming gaps between the layers, and with the top stones, completely sheared off.
Following that was the Genbaku dome, formerly a hall displaying first luxury goods for sale produced by the Prefecture, and then come World War II, luxury goods for sale looted from the East Asian territories under Japanese control, now the most famous aspect of Hiroshima.
The Hall before the Atomic Bombing
Stopping briefy in a European themed restaruant for lunch-I had fried oysters, a Hiroshima specialty, we then went to the Hypocentre, the spot on the ground directly below the point where the bomb detonated. A simple plaque beside the road, you can't help but look up and think that at 8.15 on the morning of August 6, 1945, the air 600 metres up turned into a second sun, turning Hiroshima into ash.
Fried oysters, very delicious
The Plaque marking the Hypocentre
Last on the tour for the day was a primary school, across the river from the Genbaku Dome, it was one of the few buildings to have 'survived' the blast. The school has been rebuilt, and is now a private school for 5 to 11 year olds, but one building has been left as a lasting monument to the students and staff who perished there.
The outside of the building
The school is the L shaped building on the far side of the river, the Genbaku Dome is on the left side of the road going from top to bottom. The hypocentre is in the bottom left of the photo.
Shards of glass embedded in the concrete from the windows being blasted in
'Let all the souls here rest in peace; For we shall not repeat the evil'
We then returned to the Museum for a lecture by a survivor of the Atomic Bombing, now a representative for the Atomic Bomb survivors. Fluent in English, she gave us her firsthand experience of being in Hiroshima at the time of the bombing, and her panic in finding her brothers and family who were in various locations around the city. Miraculously, none of her family were killed, and thus far, any radiation they have absorbed has not manifested itself in anything malignant. Following her talk was another one by Mr Akiba, former Mayor of Hiroshima, a member of the Mayors for Peace Organisation, a group of thousands of cities worldwide fighting for nuclear abolishment, and as of April this year, head of AFS Japan. We were privileged enough to hear him talk about the anti nuclear movement in Japan, and the 20/20 pledge for total nuclear disarmament by the year 2020. Following this, he took us to Okonomiyaki Republic, an area of Hiroshima dedicated to its other culinary speciality, Okonomiyaki, savoury pancakes.
We were sat at a bar with a huge cook top in front of us, we would order something and it would be prepared right in front of us, then fired towards us. I've had okonomiyaki in bento (prepacked lunchboxes) from convenience stores, and made my own in a restaurant in Tokyo, but this was definitely the best Okonomiyaki experience I've had.
During this time I was seated next to Akiba, and discussed with him various aspects of what he was telling us at the Peace Museum. I think him something of an idealist, wanting total nuclear disarmament by 2020, which I believe to be a noble but somewhat far fetched aim with the US-Russia rivalry, plus security issues in the Middle East, and mavericks like Iran and North Korea. However as he pointed out, noone would have said the Berlin Wall would have fallen when it did, so I guess that it is possible. Discussed things like nuclear power, and then moved onto whether the world is getting more or less peaceful. (Him and I are at odds there, him believing it is getting far more peaceful than it has ever been, I thinking the opposite). This then moved onto New Zealand's perspective on nuclear issues, which is obviously staunchly anti-nuclear, but when I said that in my high school years the idea that Hiroshima and Nagasaki were necessary is often put up for discussion, he very nearly burst into tears. Hastily trying to recover, I explained that it was not an opinion or fact, but merely a point of discussion from which alternative ideas can be produced. Sadly he did not seem to understand this and I can say I have reduced a former Mayor of Hiroshima and the Head of AFS Japan to tears. Woops.
Following the delicious food/heavy conversation combo, we parted ways, heading back to our hotel, playing card games late into the night, getting various phone calls complaining about the noise when there was a baby a few doors down that was crying when we arrived the day before and was still crying when we left the next day.
The next morning I woke up at the designated time of 7 am, though as we had to be down for breakfast at 8, meant that while Calvin was furiously doing his hair, I was still in bed watching youtube videos on my ipod. Calvin, you're such a girl, you know that?
After breakfast we brought our bags down and boarded the tram to Miyajima. Miyajima is an island about an hour away from Hiroshima, I visited there two years ago, but didn't explore as much as I would have liked to. So it was good to be able to board the Miyajima Ferry once more, nostalgia guiding my way.
Miyajima is an island divided into two parts, the lowlands, and the mountains. The lowlands are where the populace reside, and it is also populated/infested with deer. Like everywhere. These deer, despite the signs telling people not to feed them, have become quite tame from people doing just the opposite, and much like goats, find almost anything edible. It was quite funny to watch some of the people in our group being chased by deer, desperate to eat their maps. I was lucky/smart enough to have brought a backpack, for the open top, over the shoulder handbags made for easy pickings.
As we waded through the herd/swarm/mob of deer, we made our way to the first place on our tour list, Itsukushima Shrine. A very pretty shrine, I could imagine Ninja running down the various piers that make it up. Got another fortune from the luck vendor, this time I have neither good nor bad luck apparently, however my children will inherit good luck. So if I combine the two fortunes I got, I get good luck, plus my children. Not bad at all.
Going further up the island a bit more, we came to the Toyokuni Shrine, built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the 16th Century.
This Shrine, as well as the Itsukushima Shrine, are deemed to be so important to the purity of the island that noone has been born or died on Miyajima. It is forbidden to bury or cremate the dead on the island, and heavily pregnant women, as well as the terminally ill and very old, must leave the island and move to the mainland in order to maintain the purity of the island.
Lunch was more oysters, as well as Oyako Donburi, which means 'Parents and Children'. It is chicken meat (the parents) and eggs (the children) mixed together, and put on top of a bed of rice, very delicious.
Stomachs full, we left the lowlands and went to the mountains. Taking a 5 minute bus ride to the base of Mount Mise, Miyajima's highest point at 532 metres above sea level. Taking two cable cars to the summit, we had some spectacular views of the Inland Sea and of the Miyajima Lowlands.
Upon disembarking at Shishiiwa Station, we walked the rest of the way to the summit. It wasn't a massively technical track, we weren't all harnessed up or anything, but I did see several young Japanese women wearing heels, and thought to myself 'idiots'. The track to the summit sports some spectacular view, as well as what the speaker in the cable car called 'primordial forest', plus there are many many spiritual remnants of monk Kobo Daishi's mission for enlightenment over 1200 years ago.
Inside this shrine, called the Reikado Hall, is a fire that has been going for more than 1200 years. It was also the flame that lit the Eternal Flame in the Peace Park in Hiroshima, a flame that will be kept going until all total nuclear disarmament is achieved.
The Eternal Flame in the Hiroshima Peace Park
Sankido, the Guardian of the Mountain
Looking down from the summit we could see the Toyokuni Shrine where we had visited earlier, and boy was it far away. The views were truly spectacular, and wherever you looked there was some awesome rock formation or shrine/totem to the mountain spirits. Taking the cable car down, we indulged in a little bit of souvenir shopping, and then it was time to board the ferry again for the mainland.
The Miyajima Otorii (gate) at low tide
Arriving back at the mainland, it was an hour tram ride to Hiroshima station, where we had dinner (more donburi for me, some fillet-like stuff for the others), and then at 8.30 we boarded a night bus to Yokohama. The journey took 10 hours, with a stop at 10.30, 2.30 and then arriving at 6.30. Then it was about an hour and a half by the time I boarded my train to Chigasaki, changed trains for Shake, and got home, had breakfast and unpacked, went to a strawberry farm with Midori, then came home and slept all afternoon. Glorious.
Midori's friend owns a strawberry farm, we came to visit and sampled a few of her products. Very good, summer fruits grown year round in greenhouses, fantastic. Headed back there in January to harvest/consume some.
So from getting up at half past five on December 26 to arriving back home at 8.30 in the morning of December 29, we had a very busy, no time to linger, very timetabled Peace Tour. It was good to have gone to Kyoto, however short it was, and I saw some things in the Peace Park that I did not last time, however I felt that the tour in the museum was far too quick for the others on the tour, in typical Japanese style it was very rushed, everything is strictly timed. Miyajima was definitely the highlight of the trip, I had only done the lowlands when I went there two years ago, so to be able to go to the very top of Mount Mise was truly awesome. A great experience, and obviously thanks to the Shonan Chapter staff who organised the whole thing, plus all the fundraising they did, as well as the various sponsors of the chapter who made it happen. Was well worth it, a slightly late Christmas present as I see it!
New Years is fast approaching, we did some preparations for that today, will be in the next blog coming up in the next few days, check it out. Until then, sayonara from Under the Kanagawan Sun!
Toroi
