My last working day at Nova was on June 5th!!� Woohoo!!!!!� I was happy to leave that job, but I was sad to leave a lot of the students. I met some really fantastic and intelligent people there. There quite a few people who I was always really excited to see on my schedule for the day. And of course there were some people that I cringed and tried to trade!� Ha hahahaaa..� Anyway. Nova is goofy. It’s not a difficult job but it’s terribly draining. You’re constantly “on” and performing in one way or another. It was a relief to finish. And I hope that the students who I enjoyed talking with will continue to be my friends now that I’m no longer their teacher.
Back to my bloggery……. I snuck in a quick trip to Hiroshima and nearby Miyajima island on June 9th through the 11th. Took the shinkansen down to Hiroshima late morning on the 9th – it takes about 2 hours and 20 minutes. After arriving I went in search of the hotel. After checking in, I hopped on the streetcar and went towards the Peace Park, A-Bomb museum area. Wow. It was depressing. Powerful. Moving. Gripping. Atrocious.
There were strings of origami paper cranes hanging all over the place. Thousands and thousands of them. Apparently it’s an old Japanese belief that if you can fold 1000 paper cranes you will be cured from any illness. I guess it’s a way of focusing your brain’s energy on your problem. There was a girl named Sadako Sasaki who was struggling with leukemia as a result of the A-bomb. She folded paper cranes so small they fit on a dime no problem, using needles to help make the creases. But after an 8 month struggle, she passed away. Now many people bring their cranes to Hiroshima in the same tradition, hoping to be cured or just as a symbol to abolish nuclear weapons.
The Peace Park is expansive, with many sculptures and plaques and benches to sit and contemplate the world we live in and our place in it. There is also a large museum with a lot of grotesque photos, mementos, maps, etc. It’s difficult to remember to breathe when you’re inside as it’s just so unbelievable to think that you are standing in the exact location where all of these horrific things happened. And that it did not happen long ago. And, worse yet, that it is your very own government which gave the OK for these things to occur. Really makes you think about how futile and ridiculous war is.
After that, it was definitely time for a little lightening up….time for a walk through the streets and some dinner!!
After a night of rest it was off for another day of adventure!! I went to the Hiroshima Prefectural Museum of Art which was interesting but not all that amazing or fantastic. They are supposed to have Dali’s “Dreams of Venus” but it was on loan to another museum when I was there.� :-(� And then went on to the Hiroshima Museum of Art which was pretty much all impressionist French art. Pretty good but not inspiring. I think I liked the architecture of the building more than the paintings. But there was a lot to see there. A big basement crammed full of Japanese impressionist paintings in addition to the Frenchies upstairs. Walked past the teeny-tiny Hiroshima Castle and didn’t bother to go in….
After that it was another streetcar ride down to the port to catch the ferry to Miyajima Island!! It was a really pretty ride with a nice view of the Seto Inland sea.� Miyajima is famous for Itsukushima Shrine which is built in the sea. There is a huge red tori (gate) that stands in the sea. When the tide goes out you can walk up to it, but when the tide is in it looks like it’s floating in the water. This is one of Japan’s three most scenic sights!! I took a million pictures but don’t worry, I’ll only post a few….
After a bit of basking in the beauty of Itsukushima Jinja (shrine) it was off to Daishoin Temple!! It’s built at the foot of Mt. Misen and seems to enjoy showing off how much money their followers have donated to them. There are a billion buddhas, lanterns, jizos, prayer wheels, and other Buddhist-i-don’t-know-whats. They also had some of the plumpest monks I’ve seen yet.
And then it was a little walk back towards the shrine to hang around and wait for sunset. It was kinda chilly and breezy though so I didn’t stick around too long….
In between the last two pictures I had some dinner. A bowl of udon with tempura stuff on top. A big shrimp and some anago (related to eel). It was tasty!!� And so was the beer of course…� Went to sleep and was attacked by mosquitoes so didn’t exactly feel well rested the next day but I didn’t let that stop me from climbing a mountain (a little one)!!!!
And then it was a ferry ride back to Hiroshima and a ride on the shinkansen back to Nagoya….. I went to a restaurant in Nagoya called Yamachan for dinner. They make a Nagoya area specialty – chicken wings!!!� I’ve never been a fan of chicken wings but these are absolutely delicious!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And thus concludes the Hiroshima/Miyajima post!!� Only 800 more posts to make and I’ll be all caught up and up to date!!