Hiroshima... words can hardly describe...

        So Akiko sent Totoro and I on our way. I was hoping to make friends on the shinkansen, but I knew this might be difficult because the Japanese aren't usually the most social people, especially on the trains. Nonetheless, I thought I would try. After setting my things down, I walked up and down the train asking people “Tomodachi nate?” which means “Want to be my friend?”. Everyone was either sleeping, pretending to sleep, reading or playing video games and they either pretended not to hear me or looked at me like I was crazy. Oh well... Totoro will be my tomodachi... So I just sat and listened to music and wrote in my journal for a while. It was only about 3 hours to Kobe by shinkansen. They're very fast! So fast that my ears had trouble equilibrating! They can go around 186mi/hr and are very punctual! Usually arriving within 6seconds of the scheduled time!
        I got to Shin-Kobe at around 8:30pm, which made me nervous because the hostel I booked for the night stopped checking people in at 9. So I was stressing a bit and rushing to get there in time. Because of this, I hoped on the right tram, but going the wrong direction, of course! But I just got off at the next stop and turned around, although I lost a good 10 minutes or so in the process. When I got to the stop for the hostel, I realized it was in a remote location outside of the city center and there wasn't anyone around to help me find the place. It was 8:50 and the directions said it was a 10 minute walk, but the directions were slightly wrong (or I didn't follow them right) and I got a little lost. Luckily, I found a couple walking and asked them where the Tojo Supermarket was and they pointed me in the right direction. From there I was able to find the Kobe Dears Backpackers House and I got there just in time. I arrived at 9:05 and the woman at the counter was just about to mark me as a no show. I'm sure that even if I was later, something would have worked out though.
        The hostel was cute, small, kinda like someone's house. Pretty much the exact description posted on hostel world. But it was very warm! Quite a relief from the cold raining weather outside. I put my stuff down in the girls dormitory and noticed a Semester at Sea tee-shirt so I knew there must be another student staying there. No one was around at the time though so I walked to the 7-11 to get a something to eat and a beer.
        When I came back to the hostel, who did I find in the kitchen but my friend Nils! It was such a great surprise! He and this girl, whose name I have forgotten, had arrived that afternoon after an evening in Koyosan with some other friends. Koyosan is a mountain village where there are several Buddhist monasteries, some of which you can stay in and witness their lifestyle. We spent the night exchanging stories and pictures from our adventures. I think this is one of the coolest things about Semester at Sea, we all do different things and have different adventures, and then we get to share stories and live vicariously through one another and experience that much more!
        The fact that they were at the same hostel worked out so well because we all had the same FDP in the morning and they already figured out how to get back to the boat (I had no idea, I just figured someone in the hostel would be able to help me when I got there). So we woke up at around 5:30, got out of there around 6 and got the the port by about 7:15. We didn't have enough time to re-board the ship for breakfast, so we just ate some sweet bread that a friend of his had and had coffee out of the vending machines. The vending machines in Japan are so amazing! They dispense HOT coffee in a can! And its delicious! :)
        Then we got on the buses for a five hour bus ride down to Hiroshima. I hardly even noticed how long the ride was. Nils and I were having such interesting conversations and the guide was provided some interesting info, so the time just flew by. One thing that the guide said that struck me was that people from the Tokyo region and people from Hanshin prefecture, in general, hate each other. People in the Tokyo area are very obsessed with high fashion and are proud of how much money they spend. Whereas people in Hanshin are proud of spending less. Thrift stores are common and the people are generally much friendlier and willing to strike up conversation. I definitely noticed this in my travels.
        She also told us that the Hanshin accent is more tonal than the Tokyo accent but Tokyo Japanese is considered standard Japanese. The two cities are also big rivals in baseball (Yes, the Japanese love baseball, too. See, I told you our cultures are very much the same). The Tokyo Giants are a very wealthy team and they tend to buy all the best players, so people in Hanshin dislike them. In Kobe, they support the Hanshin Tigers. She also told us what our Chinese animals mean. I was born in the year of the dragon which means I am supposed to be “healthy, energetic, excitable, and short-tempered.” I'd say that's a pretty accurate description of me...
        We learned how to fold paper cranes on the bus and I folded four of them and wrote wishes for peace in the lives of various people I know. One for a friend who was once on the path to succeeding in being the man he wants to be, but who is currently about as far from that path as can be. One for the girls I used to live with and party with in IV, wishing that they may find some peace in their lives. One for my father's friend, Mark, who passed away a week before from a heart attack (this was the bad news I had received before meeting with Akiko, I had put the thought in the back of my mind up until now to ensure I still enjoyed Japan). One for my father, wishing that he will be able to cope with the loss and turn the tragedy into something positive.
        Thinking of all these things was putting me in a very somber mood, but I suppose that is appropriate at Hiroshima. The first thing we saw when getting off the bus was the one building that is still left standing after all these years, the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall. Much of it was destroyed in the blast, but some of the reinforced concrete walls and the copper dome still remain. I could not help myself from crying as I walked through the park. I cried for loss of life during WWII, for the fact that our world possesses even more destructive weapons today and I cried for things in my personal life.
        Most of the students around me did not understand, and that only made the feelings worse. Two girls asked me to move out of the way as they said to their friend “Ooo Ooo! Take a picture of my in front of the bomb sight!” * smile *
        They were giggling and laughing. I couldn't help but think “This is not the place for that.” I just clutched my totoro doll and buried my face in his soft fur. Some other students kept coming up to me and asking where I got my doll and my shoes and blah blah blah blah. I think I may have snapped at them a little when I replied “Kamakura”, but I had no interest in talking about such things at the time. They should have noticed that. But I guess I can't expect others to be so empathetic...
        Some other girl was talking about how cool my cranes were. I said they were actually rather depressing, some people in my life really need peace and haven't found it. She said “That's still really cool * giggle *”. I wanted to slap her. But I didn't. I just clutched my Totoro. Some of these SASholes can be very inconsiderate. But I just went on with myself and my sorrow and my Totoro. Lots of the students were staring at me, but I wasn't about to pretend that I felt good or happy when I didn't.
        We placed a string of 1000 paper cranes into the Children's Peace Memorial which is dedicated to all the children who loss their lives or became ill as a result of the blast or radiation. The idea is that 1000 paper cranes should bring peace.
        Some girl said its just a cliché, all the paper cranes, they have no meaning. I told here they are just like anything else; they have just as much meaning as you put into it. If you want it to be a cliché, then its a cliché. If you put your heart and soul into it; it is meaningful. I don't think she liked my response though. She gave me a strange look. Clearly she doesn't understand. At least not yet.
        The same girl asked me if I was going to put my cranes in with everyone else. I replied, likely in a snappy tone, “No. Then it would be cliché, I need to have a moment with myself when I put them in. Only then is it meaningful.” She just walked away.
        The group put the paper cranes in. Everyone was smiling and throwing up peace signs. I suppose if I hadn't had all this personal stuff going on I could have smiled as well, since it is a memorial for peace. But with what I was going through, there was no way I could smile. All the photographers noticed the somber look on my face and seemed rather struck by it. I'm the only one in the photo not smiling.
        My friend Max was the one person who seemed to understand and respect my behavior. He chose to take pictures of me instead of the smiling students. He asked me if in English the color blue can also be used to describe an emotion. I said yes, but it just means to be sad. He told me that in Chinese, the emotion blue is one of being depressed, but also strong and capable of embracing the sorrow. He said this described me and wondered if there is a word in English for such a feeling. We couldn't think of one. I find that Eastern philosophies admire the diversity of feelings and think that one is strong if they can live in their sadness when it comes. In Western cultures, we are taught that strength comes from suppressing your sorrow and moving on without ever actually dealing with the issue.
        In the park, there was a peace bell. The message says, “We dedicated this bell as a symbol of Hiroshima Aspiration. Let all nuclear arms and war be gone, and the nations live in true peace! May it ring to all corners of the earth, to meet the ears of every man, for in it throb and plapatate the hearts of its peace-loving donors. So may you, too, friends step forward and ring this bell for peace!” -Dedicated September 20, 1964 by Hiroshima Higan-no-kai.
        There was a group of children eating lunch in front of the peace memorial. Apparently every schoolchild in Japan is required to make a trip to Hiroshima at some point in order to teach the next generation of the importance of peace.
         There is also a monument from Korea for the korean victims of WWII and the atomic bomb. The statues are covered with paper cranes and wishes for peace in our chaotic world. There is also a peace flame, which will only be put out when the last nuclear weapon is destroyed.
        After spending about an hour or so in the park, we entered the museum. This is where the most intense exhibits are presented. The world's first atomic bombing took place at 8:15 am on August 6th, 1945. The bomb was dropped by the Enola Gay; only two other planes accompanied it. The Japanese were used to dealing with huge fire bombing raids with 1,000s of planes, so they assumed this small number meant it was only a reconnaissance mission and they lifted the air-raid warning. The people had no idea what was coming. They had no idea what the US had developed. It is estimated that 350,000 people died as a result of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
        There was too much for me to describe it all.
        Here are some quotes from exhibits at the museum
         “I fought for 30 minutes before I could take the first picture. After the first, I grew strangely calm and wanted to get closer. I took about ten steps forward, but the scenes I saw were so gruesome that my viewfinder clouded with tears.”
        “With the stockpiling and proliferation of nuclear weapons still a major concern, can we still safely assume that humanity has the wisdom to survive the nuclear age?”
        “The atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima created enormous suffering at the time, of course, but it continues to cause suffering today among those who were exposed. The never-ending pain and anxiety they inflict are what make such weapons inhumane. But we must never forget that nuclear weapons are the fruits of war. Japan, too, with its colonization policies and resulting wars inflicted incalculable and irreversible harm on the peoples of many countries. A critical examination of not just the atomic bomb but also war and the causes of war is prerequisite to learning the lessons of history.”
        “When Hiroshima was scorched plain, it was said that no plants would grow again for 75 years. However, grass quickly began to sprout and flowers and leaves appeared on trees.
        Even phoenix trees that had been burnt black by the A-bomb started to put out buds. They were alive. The devastated hibukusha received great strength from the sight if the emerging green. The vitality of the phoenix trees surely energized the people of Hiroshima to work for world peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons.”
        The hardest parts to see were the articles or clothing from children who were found dead. The re-creations of people walking out of the rubble, their skin falling of their bones as they begged desperately for water, totally unsure of what had just happened to them. These are what made the experience real, the human connections. The victims are no longer faceless numbers, but real people with names and families.
        If you are ever in Japan, I highly recommend going to the museum. Yes, it is intense, but it is worth it. It doesn't only focus on the destruction, but also on the rebirth that occurred after and the potential for humanity to learn from this disaster and move forward to a more peaceful age.
        After exiting the museum, I check my name off the list for the bus so that I did not have to return with the bus. Brittany, Mike and I stayed in Hiroshima and made our way to Miyajima...