There just aren't enough words...

So today was the day that we left Tokyo to go to our host cities. We had to pack a bag to have sent to our host cities and leave it at the hotel to be transferred by express courier, and in the case of those of us who aren't going straight to their host cities, pack another bag to contain professional clothes to be worn on Monday. My backpack, which once weighted as much as a toddler, now weighs about the size of a middle schooler. That sucker is heavy! I had to eat at the same restaurant at yesterday because it was the only one open that early. Same food, the only difference being that instead of corn today we had carrots. Mmm!

We took a chartered bus to Haneda Airport. It is south of Tokyo and is one of Japan's major domestic airports. It was a fair walk to get to the gate. I tried searching in vain for an ATM, but couldn't find one. My money is holding out, but I would rather be safe than sorry, and I don't know what is going to await me in Sanyo-Onoda as far as getting money. I decided I would just keep looking once we made it to our destination.

Our flight took us to Yamaguchi-Ube airport. We're staying in Yamaguchi tonight because Sanyo Onoda apparently does not have a university, so we're doing the university here tomorrow. Kyoko-san, our guide, told us we would be able to see Fuji-san (that's Mt Fuji to you) from the plane, so I had my camera out, with my forehead leaning against the window. Remember from an earlier post how I wrote that I was exhausted? Here's proof...I fell asleep with my head up against the window. I had a red spot on my forehead and everything. I looked like a complete dork.

This airport was really small. We're out in the "real" Japan now, and the hustle and bustle of Tokyo seems light years ago. Kyoko-san is from Yamaguchi, so she told us about all the things we could do there. We're staying in the Yudo-Onsen area. An onsen is a hot spring, and there are hot spring baths all over the city. I am sure that there were plenty of things that I could have done in Yamaguchi today, but I decided to go on a little field trip instead...

I've kept this one under wraps, but I wasn't 100% certain that I would go. Our first day, Kyoko-san asked how many in my host city group would be interested in going to Hiroshima. None of us knew that was an option, so we were pretty dumbfounded. I didn't know how I could pass it up, but I wasn't sure about it. Well, I went. I got on the second bullet train in my life (the Shinkansen again...as with yesterday, this was the Nozumi, the fastest and most advanced of the Shinkansen) and made it to Hiroshima. To be perfectly honest with you, I am still in a bit of denial about the fact that I was there. It doesn't seem real. I've studied the history of the atomic bombing of the city so many times, but I am here to tell you, it means so much more when you can experience it. I'm not sure if you will all have the opportunity to come here. Most of you won't. But remember this: history is best learned when it is experienced, and I learned so much today. For the record, it doesn't have to be some huge historical place or event. Find something local...how many of you have been in the First State Capitol building downtown? You have to go in there and think of the fact that in that very building, on that floor, walked those men who first shaped our State. Seriously, you need to go check it out.

Anyway, back to Hiroshima. The first thing I saw when we got off the city line was the Atomic Dome. And that is when it hit. I was standing in a place that knew great destruction and tragedy, horrible things that I hope to never experience for myself or those anywhere. The day was beautiful, nice and sunny, and to see the contrast between the sunny day and the twisted frame of the dome was pretty remarkable. It was about 3:30, and the Peace Museum closed at 6, so I hurried through the park so that I could fully experience the museum. It was spectacular, horrifying, educational, insightful, heartbreaking...oh, you name it, you felt it. I would feel tears welling up from time to time. It was unbelievable what was housed in that museum. Clothing, lunch boxes, human skin (yes, that's right), rubble, fused glass...I could go on and on and on about it. Let me tell you the hardest part: being there. There isn't a doubt in my mind that the bomb is what ended the war. I think that our country made the best decision that it could. The loss to the Japanese was heart breaking, and the great loss of humanity can never be atoned for. But, it ended the war. So there is this conflict going on in your head, right? You don't know how to feel. As I posted earlier, had we not done it, it only would have been a matter of time before someone else did it. But standing there, tears in your eyes...I was floored. Again, I really felt no hostility. There was one gentleman who was there who would often get between me and the exhibits, and he stared at me, but he was the only one who made me feel uncomfotable. I am not sure if he was doing it deliberately. I like to think that he wasn't and I am just being hyper-sensitive to where I was. Seriously, there aren't enough words to describe Hiroshima and what it meant to be there. I have a lot more to post about today, but to talk about anything else right now would cheapen the experience, so I am going to post some pictures and let them do the talking...


The Atomic Dome


Memorial cenotaph and eternal flame, with the Dome in the background


Memorial to Sadako and the 1000 paper cranes


Close-up shot of some strings of cranes