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Shrines and Memorials


Miyajima Island and Hiroshima today. I have really been looking forward to this trip, since Samara decided that she wanted to add Japan to her birthday trip. I knew that the Memorial Park was going to be very moving, but I was also looking foward to that iconic picture that you see in so many adverts for Japan, the Torii Gates in the water as you approach Miyajima Island and they didn't disappoint.

It was an early start to catch the 7.20 Shinkansen to Hiroshima as it is nearly 360kms south of Kyoto about 2hrs 40 on the train. It is mostly tunnels on the

way to Hiroshima, but the glimpses you see of the countryside when there is a break makes me think I am really missing something out there and will have to see what it was next time round.

We catch our bus and go past the main keep of Hiroshima Castle which reminds me of Osaka Castle, and makes me want to explore it more but (yeah here comes that mantra) we don't have the time as the ferry to Miyajima awaits.

The ferry was crowded, it's a public holiday today (National Foundation Day) and the weather was beautiful so plenty of Japanese families were enjoying a day off to sightsee, picnic and explore Miyajima like we were.

It is a spectacular boat trip, and the view of the Torii Gate from the sea as pretty as any postcard you might see, and I have another on those OMG moments that yes I really am here .

It's a lovely walk from the ferry stop to the Itsukushima Shrine, and of course plenty of time to have a pitstop to take a photo of the famed gate.

The shrine was built over water, and it was designed this way as the island was once considered sacred and commoners weren't allowed to set foot on the island, but as the shrine 'floats on the water' pilgrims were allowed to worship at the shrine because they were still considered to be over the sea and not the land.

After walking around the shrine we wandered around the town, there was no time to make it to the ropeway, (the gondola that takes you up Mt. Misen) unfortumately, (another next time thing) so we just made do with wandering around the area closest to the port. Lunch of deep fried oysters and oyster croquettes was delicious and easty to eat as we did more souvenir shopping before we headed back to Hiroshima and the Atomic Dome and Peace Park, which unfortunately is the main reason that Hiroshima is famous.That was an eye opener, I know about the destructive nature we humans have, but until you see the photos of the devastation that occurred you don't realise how bad it is. It made me think of my teenage years when I was protesting nuclear weapons and thinking I should be doing the same again.

It was devastating stuff to see. The Atomic Bomb Dome was one of the few things left standing when the rubble was cleared and the Japanese left it standing as a reminder of the destruction that the bomb caused. The Cenotaph is an arched memorial honoring those who died in the war. Our guide around the park, Akiko, was amazing and had lots of personal stories to tell which made the trip even more moving (her husband is a survivor of the bomb) and she told us what both their families went through during that time.

There are many memorials in the Peace Park, as you walk from the Dome to the Museum the first one you come across is the Memorial Tower to the Mobilized Students. Because of labour shortages in the war

students were mobilized to work in munitions factories, and do other jobs that soldiers could no longer do. Of the 8,400 students living and working in Hiroshima, only a little over 2000 survived the initial bombs and this tower was created to memoralize those lost in the war.

The next memorial is the Children's Peace Memorial

which is to commerate Sadako Sasaki and the thousands of children who died during and after the war. It resembles a crane and the pictures around are made of thousands of tiny cranes, to honor Sadako who died of radiation induced leukemia. To her, the over thousand origami cranes she folded were her symbol of peace, and it was something she desperately wanted, a world without nuclear war, and she hoped that by the time she finished those cranes the world would find peace. Every year, pictures made from tiny origami cranes are sent to the park from children wanting world peace and this is just one of them.

If only the politicians and the warmongersof the world could see through the eyes of a child, maybe we'd be a whole lot better off. From here we made our way to the Museum, wow, I challenge anyone not to be moved by some of the things there and the stories that they tell.

The tricycle belongs to Shin a 3 yr old boy who was riding when the bomb went off and he was buried under the rubble. He loved that tricycle so much that when he was buried his tricycle was buried with him. Years later the family moved their children's bodies to the cemetry and donated the tricycle to the museum. And yes, for anyone who knows me, I had many tears as I wandered around the museum and saw some of the things that were left after the rubble had been cleared.

It was very touching.

Akiko's was very philosophical about it, and she said many Japanese shared her view. It happened, it's done, and you can't feel hatred because of it. Because that is what caused the bombing in the beginning, hatred, (on both sides) so the only thing you can do is learn from it.

Trouble is have we learnt anything???

I had plenty of time to think about it as we made our way back to the hotel in Kyoto, and unfortunately I don't think we have.

As the train stopped in Osaka on the way back to Kyoto we decided to get off and have another trip up the observation tower by night (Kyoto sky tower is closed due to renovations unfortunately) and it didn't fail to impress.

In hindsight we should have taken a peek at Osaka-jo at night but by the time we got down from the tower, we were cold, tired, ready for food and bed. It's our last day in Kyoto tomorrow and we want to see a few more things before we head back to Tokyo in the afternoon.

I can't believe that we only have a few more days in Japan, and although I'm looking forward to seeing the US again (and for Samara's first time) I'm already missing Japan and we haven't even left yet.

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