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Before leaving
Matsuyama, we returned to the room where we had the banquet
for breakfast. Yukatas were optional this time, and half
our group indeed opted for traditional Japanese dress. The
meal was traditional, too: baby eels (they were, in fact,
delicious), rice, pickles, miso soup, etc. Narumi-san demonstrated
how to roll your own rice sushi in a leaf of dried seaweed
using only chopsticks - what amazing dexterity!
At 08:50 we caught the coach to the ferry
station. The ryokan hostess boarded with us and made a farewell
speech. Then she and her staff all stayed and waved us off
until we were out of view. How charming! |
| The harbour gave great views of the Inland Sea
and its many islands. |
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We caught the fast catamaran ferry to Hiroshima, where
we were met by a coach to take us to the Rhiga
Royal Hotel.
Our room had spectacular views over the
city, with the old moated castle and the modern art gallery.
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Having settled in to our room,
we were soon off for a walking tour of the city. Despite
its unfortunate past, it is a vibrant place. The epicentre
of the atomic bomb explosion was marked with a memorial,
but surprisingly, the area otherwise has no other
mark of its significance. |
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| More significant memorials are the
A-Bomb Dome building, all that remains of the old city... |
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| ...and the Peace Park. |
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Above Left: The
Education Memorial, for those who had to work during the
war and missed their education; Middle: The Peace Bell which
visitors can ring; Right: The Cenotaph with the inscription
"Rest in Peace. We shall never repeat the error".
Below: The Children's Peace Monument with
its crane depicting longevity and happiness. It refers to
a young girl victim of the bomb who believed that if she
made 1,000 paper cranes she would recover from her radiation
sickness. In fact, she died, but children from all over
the world, touched by her story, still contribute cranes
in her memory. |
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We found the Peace Park and the Museum,
which describes the events leading up to the bomb and its
horrific consequences, profoundly moving, and yet hopeful. |
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That evening, Chris proposed
we went to an Okonomiyaki (pancake) restaurant for
dinner, where we saw our meals being prepared in front
of us by very friendly staff. Again, the "all
you can drink" option made the evening go with
a swing. |
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