Hiroshima is a very flat city built on a bay; and like most cities in Japan, the public transportation is fantastic. There is a cable car system that will take passengers to all corners of the city, making the city easy to navigate.
Being drained from the humidity and traveling, I splet like a log at the Aster Plaza. It is a listed as a hostel, but the rooms are better than many business hotels I've been to at twice the price. After dragging myself out of bed and going down stairs to talk with the friendly staff about getting around town, I walked down to a cafe to drink some joe and plan the rest of my day. My 3 points of interest were the museum, castle, and Miyajima shrine out on an island.
1. The Museum: I wasn't impressed with the museum. It was nothing compared to Nagasaki's museum, although it used similar displays. To me, the layout was poorly designed, lighted, and ineffective. The most impressive element of the museum were two round models of Hiroshima before and after the bomb had exploded. It is beyond belief how much force the bomb had. To think now that we have bombs with exponential force and destructive power is frightening.
The most disturbing thing about the location of the explosion was where it happened. The explosion took place next to a university and elementary school at 8:15 in the morning right as students were starting class. By nothing more than chance and miracle, some people survived the blast and lived to retell their stories.
One man's account is still vivid in my mind who was at the neighboring elmentary school in a class of 40. Just as class started, all the students ran to the window to look at the plane they heard flying over head. He was working on something and remained in his seat. Within moments there was a large flash and the sound of thunder, after which he went blind for a short while. When he came to his senses all he could see were a handful his school mates left in the room among some scattered desks. He and a couple of children, who couldn't move, began to sing the school song in hope that somebody would hear them and come to help, but he doesn't recall anyone ever coming into the building. He had to build up enough energy to leave the building and his friends behind.
2. Hiroshima-jo: This was an impressive castle for me. I've seen about 3 others in Japan, but this is the first I've seen with a full moat. The most enjoyable aspect was the park inside the castle walls. It was an obscenely humid day, so I didn't spend much time walking around. I snapped a couple photo and tried to imagine how soldiers would go about attacking such a monument. I skipped going inside since I'll be seeing a few castles toward the Osaka and Kyoto.
3. Miyajima: I had to take a train 30 minutes north of the city and hop on a ferry to get over to the Miyajima. I decided to go in the evening so I could escape the heat. This is an island just off the coast of Hiroshima. The main attraction is a free standing shrine built in the shallow bay, looking as though it is floating on top of the water when the tide is in. Also on the island are a slew of Japanese Inns and gift shops, all in walking distance.
Exiting the ferry building, to my surprise, I was greeted by some very furry friends. The island is cohabited with extremely tame deer who follow tourists and whine, begging like dogs for handouts. In fact, most deer wait for unsuspecting tourists to put down their snacks so they can run off with them. I watched one male deer eat an island map out of a Japanese guy's hand as he was reading it. Since I didn't feel Styrofoam or plastic straws were good for deer, I decided I'd better pick up as much trash as possible while I walked to Miyajima.
Because of bad timing, the tide was at a very, making the shrine loose much of its awe. The most enjoyable moment was watching a group of American military soldiers. They were playing a game to see who was brave enough to get close to the deer. As the large men threw their peanuts toward the animals, Japanese kids would run over, pick up the nuts that fell short, and hand feed it the lip smacking deer. At one point, a large male walked up to the group and gave a big whine and a stamped it's foot. They looked like a group of elementary school kids running from boogie monster.
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