Hiroshima

Kobe –> Hiroshima.

As an Iranian-American, born and raised in the United States, I felt it essential that I visit Hiroshima while in Japan. I needed to see the city that my country demolished…where for the first time in human history a nuclear bomb was dropped. I arrived in the evening and went straight to the A-bomb Dome, remnants of the Hiroshima Prefectural Commercial Exhibition Hall. It was one of the only building frames that stayed standing after the explosion.

Alone in the dark, I circled the site in silence. It’s hard to find words to describe my feeling, but shame is one. The history curriculum in the United States doesn’t reflect enough on the dark pieces of our past. I believe during and after any conflict, it is essential to discuss the wrongs we have committed (on both sides), and it see the impact of our actions so we that we will not repeat them. And in this scary time, where it feels the world is divided and confused, we must communicate to create a peaceful and positive future.

The next day I visited the Peace Memorial Park and Museum. I cried. There were a lot of moving stories and artifacts from the bomb aftermath. The video of survivors retelling their experience that day shook me. They said the city turned into hell…there’s a lot of juxtaposition I babe following photos. Flowers and symbols of peace in a place that was at one point covered in fire and ash and melting people. But I think that juxtaposition is important to show we must still have hope for the future.

The mood lightened with lunch. I met up with a girl, Sophie, who I had met in the morning in the hostel kitchen. We ate Okonomiyaki (a Hiroshima specialty) at a local place I randomly picked off of google maps. We sat at the bar and chatted with the cooks. They asked if Sophie and I were friends. We answered with something like, “yeah, kind of, we met this morning and are splitting up after lunch.” I hear that question so often and typically I have to give the same response, and the surprised look that often follows always makes me smile. Because for myself, and the other backpackers I meet, quick introductions and goodbyes become normal. But in most societies, it’s not very common to meet strangers, develop a closeness within a few hours, and depart the same day…because when we live in one place for a while we often have established a close social circle and there’s no need to reach out. When traveling, we depend on the backpacking community and locals to fulfill our human need for companionship, communication, and shared experience. So, this dynamic is something I experience daily.

After lunch I took a ferry to the Itsukushima Shrine and a 5-storied pagoda. I had intended to go during high-tide so it would appear as if the shrine was floating, but I was fashionably late (as I often seem to be) and the shrine was fully exposed, barnacles ‘n all. Not as photogenic but still a beaut. I sat on a bench and drank beer with the deer (and it was a delicious locally brewed IPA which is rare in Asia and much appreciated!!!). Later, I ended up sampling pretty much all of their flavors while waiting for my phone to charge. Appropriately buzzed, I took the train to my last stop in Japan, Fukuoka.