Observations of an American Dropped Into Japan (Part 8)

After a good night's sleep Adam and I started out for our day at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Museum. We finished packing the backpack and small bag and checked out of our hotel. A nice older japanese lady got into the elevator and initially didn't see us as we prepared to enter the car. Adam's arm interrupted the door's closing, and they slid open. The woman looked slightly embarrassed that she hadn't noticed us, and gave us a respectful bow.

Downstairs we approached the desk and checked out. Our visit to Hiroshima was almost over. We were pleased that we travelled to Miyajima the day before, as we had plenty of time to take in the shrines, temples and five layered pagoda. We had a small breakfast and made our way to the trolley station a few blocks away. Adam bought our tickets, and we boarded the trolley headed for the Atom Bomb Dome. The Dome was originally called the Hiroshima Prefecture Industrial Promotion Hall, but is now referred to as the A-Bomb Dome. It was originally scheduled to be destroyed with the rest of the rubble of the city during reconstruction, but since the building was pretty much intact, the city rebuilt around it. It was named a  UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996, and will be preserved as a memorial to those killed in the attack which was the first use of an atomic bomb in war. Over 70,000 people were killed and 70,000 injured.

The trolley reached the stop in front of the Dome. We exited the car, and approached the Dome. It is an eerie feeling to stand in front of this legendary image of conflict and destruction. We slowly began to take pictures of the Dome and its surroundings including the T Bridge which was the actual target of the bomb. As we stood there we were approached by an older Japanese lady that spoke a little english. She was carrying a large three ring binder and explained apologetically that she was just learning english and wanted to know if she could have about ten minutes of our time. At this point I assumed that she was going to try to sell us something, but we told her that she most certainly could share with us. We sat on a cement bench at the edge of the river, and she stood and opening her binder displayed black and white pictures that were taken before the bombing, and began to explain the history of Hiroshima and the Dome. The Dome originally had a roof covering made of copper, which liquified from the intense heat from the blast. The copper melted and came crashing down within the building blowing out all of the windows. The pictures became very graphic with the destruction and injuries of the citizens of Hiroshima. It was interesting to hear the Japanese side of the bombing. She said that prior to the attack, Japan was on the verge of capitulation, that the monitoring devices that came down with the bomb were from a Japanese design, and that the United States picked Hiroshima as the site for the first Nuclear Bomb attack as an experiment to see what it would do. Neither one of us fully agreed with these sincere assertions, but we merely nodded and thanked her for her time when she was finished with her talk. We noticed that since she began speaking with us, quite a large crowd had come to listen to her presentation. Curiously, Adam and I found that whenever we did anything a large crowd would appear to observe whatever we were looking at. The woman was asked how the Japanese felt about the Americans following the attack. She said that they were frightened of the Americans, but then they saw the soldiers giving water, gum and candy to the children, and they discovered that they weren't predatory monsters, but caring young men.

Adam and I toured the Peace Memorial Museum, and was greated by a young man with Down Syndrome that was the ticket taker for the Museum. We scanned the exhibits in the museum, which included a full sized replica of the A-Bomb Dome, and a section of wall that had a man's shadow burned into it by the blast. Near the exit on the second floor was the guest book, which Adam and I signed along with our impressions of the museum, and which country we were from. It was a very impressive experience.

Once outside, we toured the Peace Memorial Park, and took more pictures. A nice Japanese fellow took a picture of me with my son Adam with the A-Bomb Dome in the distance across the river. A beautiful park, and a wonderful time liesurely hanging out with my son. We sat for a while on a bench near the front of the Dome as we were preparing to catch the trolley back to the train station, and stopped to read a sign that spoke about the history of the area. No one was around or paying the slightest attention...until they saw us reading the sign. Then we had a large group of people around us doing the same thing.

The trolley arrived, and we road about thirty minutes back to the train station. Had dinner at a small restaurant inside the station, and caught the Shinkansen Bullet Train back to Tokyo. We transferred over to the regular JR train in Tokyo which returned us to Fussa Station. We were met by Megan and taken back to their home. It was an incredible three days. Thank you Megan for making the arrangements, we had a wonderful, meaningful time.

Observations of an American Dropped Into Japan (Part 7)

Adam and I had been perusing the literature that we recieved when Megan made arrangements for our trip to Hiroshima. Included was a day long pass to ride the Trolley Car in town to get around. We picked up a light breakfast at the 7-11 near the Hotel and walked down to the front of the train station to have our breakfast and coffee. We sat on the cement bench near a reflective dual fountain and discussed our plans for the day. The trolley station was down on the corner, so we decided to ride it to the Atom Bomb Dome and Peace Memorial Park. Different trolley cars would come and go, but with the help of an attendant at the outdoor station we determined which car could take us to the Dome. Entering the car, you would insert your ticket into a machine and it would spit it out the other side, but fortunately there was an attendant there in case there were any problems. We were able to get seats, due to my Multiple Sclerosis, and having my cane with me. The trolley was a bit of a rough ride, but sure beats walking when you have a rough time walking to begin with. We rode for quite a few blocks, with some stops put in to pick up other riders. An older Japanese woman sat across the aisle from me. Up above the door was a sign about the A-Bomb Dome. I looked over at the woman again, estimating that she must be in her eighties, and the thought occurred to me that since the atom bomb was unleashed against Hiroshima sixty five years ago, that undoubtedly she was a young woman when this occurred, and wondered what her thoughts and experiences were.

We rode the trolley for about a half hour when we arrived at a stop. Looking out the window, we found ourselves staring at the Atom Bomb Dome! It was only about 100 feet from us! It was a little surreal. I had seen many pictures of it before, but there it was, looking very stark and haunting. Since the Dome was only about a thirty minute ride on the trolley, we decided to continue riding the car until we reached the ferry terminal. We had a full day in Hiroshima that day, and only until late afternoon the next, so we reasoned that going to Miyajima to visit the island shrine would make more sense today, and catch the A-Bomb Dome tomorrow.

We arrived at the ferry terminal a short while later, and the ferry was sitting there ready to load. We bought our tickets and got on the medium sized ferry, finding a bench outside to sit on. It was another hot day, and the salt air felt good as we sailed the ten minute ride to the island. When we were almost there, I spotted the O torii gate apparently rising out of the water a short distance from the island. I snapped a few pictures, zooming in to hopefully get a better look at the tall red gate when I arrived back at the Hotel.

The ferry docked and we departed to the island. There were so many gates and shrines and things unfamiliar to me that I just stared in wonder, not having the slightest clue what I was looking at. I was really ill prepared to fully appreciate what I was experiencing. Deer were everywhere. Apparently on the island they have no natural predators, so they had no fear of all of the sightseers that wandered among them. Adam and I walked for a while entering through various gate and observing shrines, when I looked out and saw the O torii gate that I spotted from the ferry. It IS in the water...or should I say would be in the water except for the fact that the tide was out! Cool! Let's walk down to it! Many other people had the same idea, so it was quite an experience and an excellent photo opportunity. The tide appeared to be coming in, so we snapped some pictures and proceeded back to the island.

We walked up to the entrance of the Itsukushima shrine, which is painted the same bright orange/red as the O torii  gate, and paid several hundred yen to enter the shrine. At the time that I was in Japan, the dollar to yen exchange rate had nosedived to a fifteen year low of 82 cents equaling 100 yen. It was a bit easier to figure when it was close to one dollar equaling 100 yen. We wandered around the buidings and walkways where the monks lived and worked, when it dawned on me that not only does the O torii gate end up surrounded by water, but so did the buildings and walkways that we were touring. At one point we saw these large white containers with writing on them. "What are those?" I asked Adam. "That's Sake the monks have made." "Oh", the Sake is the rice wine that is common in Japan. We wandered some more among the many buildings that were on the shrine island, and encountered some with the monks in the middle of their worship. We didn't take any photos because that just seemed wrong and we didn't want to disturb their worshipping. It was really hard to get the concept that some of these structures were over 1,400 years old. They have been meticulously maintained by the monks and were in extraordinary condition.

We traversed some wide cement stairs and approached an entrance gate which had two life sized scary statues on either side. They were apparently the guardians of the temples further up the hill. The Guardians were carved, but had very realistic eyes. It was a bit creepy. Beyond the guardians was a large bell with a pole hung by a rope next to it. I took Adam's picture as he stood next to it, and then it was my turn. I took the pole and let it swing into the bell several times, making a beautiful gong sound.

We continued our trek and came to the foot of a long stone stairwell going up to lower Mount Misen. Adam looked over at me and asked if I was up to it, due to the extreme heat and my having MS. I looked at the stairs and was determined not to let them get the better of me, so I said "I'll be fine" and grabbed the stair rail and determinedly led the way to the top, only stopping to take a few pictures of the hundreds of little Buddha statues below the stairs on the left of us. The sun was so bright that I couldn't make out the large LCD viewfinder on the back of my camera, so I just guessed at where to aim and clicked the shutter. I have been asked why I didn't use the optical viewfinder, and here is the answer: Because there wasn't one. The camera only had the digital display on the back. I had considered bringing my large Nikon digital SLR on this trip, but opted not to due to the bulkiness of the camera body and lens, so I had decided to bring my smaller but still wonderful 10 megapixel Panasonic instead. I shrugged, took the picture and proceeded up the stairs. Reaching the top felt good and gave us a chance to look around at more little Buddha's with small red bibs tied to some of them. Also at the top was a "cave" filled with hanging lamps, and other stone markers. Of course in this darkened environment I stll couldn't see my viewfinder, and it wasn't until we entered the daylight again that I discovered the real reason I couldn't see my viewfinder. It no longer functioned. I had no idea if the camera itself was even functioning! With no other options I just decided to guess at what I was aiming at and how much to zoom. The extreme heat and direct sunlight must have been too much for the electronics. Hoping that the camera at least still functioned I blindly shot away and hoped for the best. I got pretty creative with camera angles as I figured that I had nothing to lose at this point. I finally determined that I had invented a new form of self-expression: Shooting pictures blindly having no idea what you would come up with.

We continued further up the hill to a temple where the Shinto monks were praying and chanting. We quietly passed by. Only later did I discover that the large bell that we stood at would call the monks to prayer when rung....OOPS. Hopefully nobody saw that.

I discovered later that there are monkeys on the mountain, but I never encountered any. I was getting pretty tired, so we decided to walk down another long set of stairs that had cylindrical wheels covered with writing that were suspended from a rail that was going down the length of the stairs. The spinning wheels of Sutra.
Finally we took a walk through a street lined with shops. It was a primitive, crowded street just like you would stereotypically see on a television program. We stopped and had dinner at a small restaurant and caught the ferry back to the mainland. After the trolley ride back towards the Hotel, we stopped at the McDonald's and then crashed for the night. The screen on the TV brought up the weather report, and while we didn't understand the speech, the screen distinctly displayed 40 C. That converts to 104 degrees fahrenheit. Tomorrow, The Atomic Bomb Dome.

For more information on Miyajima, take a look at this website:
http://www.miyajima-wch.jp/index_e.html

Observations of an American Dropped Into Japan (Part 6)

After a few days of rest, Adam and I packed a small bag and backpack in preparation of our scheduled three day visit to Hiroshima. It was less than a week since the sixty fifth anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, so we hoped that the crowds would be diminished, that all of the leaders of countries and their representatives would have headed back to their home countries, expecially since this was the first anniverary that the United States had taken part in, so there was intense interest and media coverage.

The morning that we were leaving, Megan and Abigail dropped us off at the JR train station in Fussa, as this was going to be a time for Father and Son to hang out and have quality time, which we hadn't been able to do for many years, as Adam was thirty one years old, and he has been in the Airforce for eleven years. Adam was extremely helpful the entire trip, handling the luggage when he thought that I might have a tough time with it, as I was bringing my cane with me to decrease the chance of my falling over (which obviously wasn't very effective in Tokyo the other evening). We caught the train to Tokyo and settled in for the moderately long trip.

Upon arriving in Tokyo, we started searching for the correct area at the train station to catch the Shinkansen Bullet Train to Hiroshima. After we wandered around a little bit, Adam asked a few JR workers where we should go, and if we were in the correct area to catch the Shinkansen, and discovered that we were. Once we were allowed to enter the loading area we discovered an air conditioned structure where passengers could wait, and gladly took advantage of it.

The Shinkansen pulled in a while later, ever looking appropriately like an elongated bullet. It had clean attractive lines. We watched as the passengers disembarked, and then the doors closed. We stood for a while looking at the immobile train. It finally occurred to us that they were busy cleaning the interior of the train. We followed a small crowd of middle-eastern men to a different door of the train and waited there. Information about the train would flash on a small lighted display on the outside of the train written in Japanese, so I have no idea what it said. Finally the doors opened and we were permitted to enter the train. We had reserved seats, so we made our way down the aisle, and into the next car before finding our assigned seats. What struck me was how airplane-like the train was. Similar seats to a jumbo jet, and aircraft windows. When the train left the station I was impressed at the quiet smoothness of the ride. the "Bullet Train" didn't seem very fast...but then you could hear a slight whine as the engine gradually picked up speed. As I continued to look out the window at the sights, fence posts and the like gradually became a blur, even though scenery in the distance didn't seem to go that fast. I attempted to take a picture through the window of the blur that was going by as we sat there, but later when I was able to view the pictures I had taken, they were totally focused and still. The automatic setting on the camera made it appear that we had been sitting still. After we had been on the rail for a bit, a flight attendant...okay...not a flight attendant, but if we had been on a plane she would have been the flight attendant came by with a cart of packaged dinners and drinks, just like you would be served on a plane. Every time the attendants would enter or leave the car, they would smile and bow to everyone. I kind of liked that. It was very pleasant and polite. The train made a few stops before Hiroshima, finally arriving four hours after we had left. Keep in mind that this train goes nearly two hundred miles per hour. Before arriving in Japan, I would look at a map of the world andf figure that I could probably visit all of Japan in a weekend. Boy was I wrong! Japan is huge, and very diverse!

We arrived in Hiroshima in the late afternoon. We had been on trains approximately five and a half hours, so it was nice to finally be at Hiroshima Station. We walked around and found the exit, and emerged into the bright sunlight. Tall, modern buildings and a facinating reflective dual domed fountain were before us. We knew that our Hotel was supposed to be nearby, but we weren't quite sure as to where. Looking skyward, we finally saw it as we strolled around the city. The Hotel New Hiroden. It was a tall building fortunately with the name written on the outside. We went to check in, and Adam gave them our paperwork displaying our reservation. Apparently the man at the counter had a different type of reservation about the whole thing, as he stared at it. It seemed as if he was denying us our room, so Adam kept trying to explain to the man, that we indeed had reservations and the room paid for. The man didn't speak english. It didn't appear that anyone in Hiroshima spoke english. Even the European looking folks that we would see later didn't speak english. The man finally got the attention of a woman desk clerk that apparently could read the english well enough to give us a key to the room.

The room was the tiniest hotel room I believe that I have ever been in. Two single beds about two feet apart, a small TV on the counter as you come in, and a tiny bathroom with only half of a shower curtain. Fortunately it did have a toilet rather that the hole in the floor that is fairly typical for the country, it even was fitted with a bidet. They also had slippers for us to wear, as the japanese don't wear their shoes in their living spaces. All TV programming was in japanese, and the Hiroshima Carps were their baseball team. The Carps wore the uniforms and hats of the Cincinnati Reds, which is convenient since it has a large "C" on the front, which could be interpreted to be for their name. The television picture was extremely sharp, as Japan has had high definition television for many years. Watching the sports, weather and news, I had absolutely no idea what they were talking about, but was mildly tickled at the fact that the news personalities would bow to the camera before and after their newscasts.

Adam and I decided that we should stroll around town and try to find somewhere to eat as it had been many hours since we had been able to do so. We wandered aound never exactly finding whatever it was that we thought that we were looking for, when I followed Adam into a tall building that had a poster of some food inside the foyer. We got into the elevator and guessed at a floor to go to. After it travelled up inside the builing for a short while it stopped and the doors popped open. Hey! Looks like we might have guessed right! It appeared to be a decent restaurant. We entered, and the man at the front counter obviously questioned how many people we had. Adam communicated that there were two of us, and we were led to a booth with an obvious burner in the center if the table. The man went away and after a short while an attractive young server approached our booth. We were handed two text menus, which we stared at blankly, as we couldn't read the japanese writing. Adam requested any menus with perhaps english writing as some restaurants in Japan do. She realized that we were having some difficulties, so she went and got us menus with pictures. Adam asked me what I wanted, and I just shrugged as I didn't really know what we were looking at. He identified what appeared to be beef, pork, etc, so I said "how about the beef?" as I wasn't sure what we were actually going to get. We pointed out to the server what we thought we wanted, and she nodded and disappeared to give our request to the chef. The server returned with a divided metal bowl full of two different broths and placed it on the burner in the center of the table. Next she returned with a tray of vegetables and sprouts. We just stared at it. I was thinking "this doesn't look like beef...what did we order"? The server returned, this time with a large tray of thinly sliced raw meat. We stared some more. We looked at the server and tried to get her to understand that we had no idea what we were supposed to do. She just stared back, Finally she got it. She motioned that we were supposed to put everything into the broths and then when we felt that they were boiled to our liking to remove them and dip them into several small bowls of dressing that she had left. Okay. Got it. The server went away, and we snapped the wooden chopstick apart and fed the raw food into the broth with the metal tongs that were left at the table by our server. The meat cooked rapidly in the boiling broth, and we would remove each slice as it was done and dip it into the dressings. It was fabulous. I must say that this was one of my favorite meals the entire time I was in Japan. I discovered later that what we were eating was Sukiyaki.

There was an awful lot of meat on that tray. Finally we got near the end, which, as we were getting full was a good thing. We placed the last several slices into the broth, and the server took away the tray. We were finishing up, and she brought another full tray! Oh my goodness! "Perhaps we have to finish it in five minutes and it will be free" I said jokingly to Adam. After a couple of minutes of smelling something burning we realized that the wicker plate that our server had brought the vegetables out on was touching the edge of the burner and the edge was burned black. Oops! I quickly moved it away, hoping that noone would notice. We slowly made our way through the dinner and mercifully the only thing the server brought us was the bill. We thanked her, paid the man at the front counter and hit the street. Interesting factoid: you don't leave a tip for your servers in Japan.

We passed several coffee shops, so we decided to stop for a cup. Actually, I had a Kola which is Coke and Adam ordered a Kohi, which is Coffee...it seems that the coffee shops in Japan could never understand that he wanted hot coffee, because anytime he would order it, they would think that he wanted iced coffee...granted it was about a hundred degrees fahrenheight outside, but still...

We made it back to the hotel and turned in for the night...tomorrow probably a visit to the Industrial Promotion Hall which is now known as the Atom Bomb Dome and the Peace Memorial Museum.

Observations of an American Dropped Into Japan (Part 5)

On the day that we spent resting up from the Ueno Zoo, we discussed what we might do next. I had travelled a long way from the United States and they wanted to make sure that I had the opportunty to see and do anything that might strike my fancy. Megan (the best daughter-in-law in the world...and remember I'm not biased) had arranged for Adam and I to take the Shinkansen Bullet Train to Hiroshima in a few days, but what should we do next? Baseball! How about seeing the Yomiuri Giants play in the Tokyo Dome? Great idea! Megan contacted the ticket agent on base and was told that it was no problem. Just show up at the Dome and purchase the tickets there...they always have tickets available. Super! So the next day we hopped the JR train at the Fussa Station and road an hour and a half to Tokyo. We got off of the train along with the rest of Tokyo it seemed, and walked several blocks towards the Tokyo Dome. We walked through a tunnel, and was greeted by a large poster of the "Power Rangers". I had forgotten all about them until I walked straight into this. I wasn't aware that they were still a big deal, but apparently they are in Japan. We passed large man-made ponds and fountains, shops and rides. Hmmm. I wonder if that Ferris Wheel over there was one of the lighted Ferris Wheels that we kept passing during my first evening in Tokyo? Finally we found the ticket area and waited in a fairly long line. Finally it was Adam's turn. Four tickets? No. No tickets. Sold out. Okay. time to huddle for a discussion. We travelled an hour and a half, and no ball game tickets. What to do...buy tickets for the next available game when we wouldn't be in Hiroshima and just sightsee. We still couldn't get four tickets! We could get three tickets several weeks down the road, and that was the best we could do. So that was what we did. Abigail would probably be with a sitter and it would just be Adam, Megan and I.

So we wandered around and looked at the Tokyo Dome Hotel, the rides at Tokyo Dome City and the pond. One of the rides at Tokyo Dome City, looked fairly old. You would get into a seat and it would slowly rotate clockwise around the pole. That was all well and good, but if you wanted to reach the top of the pole, you had to crank the wheel at the your seat to go up the cable to get to the top. Too much work for a 97 F degree day! There were roller coasters and the typical spinning rides, but I am not much for rides, so I just watched and took pictures. Adam rode some rides with Abigail, and then Megan and Abigail wandered over to an area with a spraying mist and fountains, which looked very inviting in the sweltering heat of Tokyo. Actually August is probably not the greatest time to go to Japan if you have an aversion to sweltering heat. I wasn't quite sure what sweltering heat was, or how to get any, but I am pretty sure we were in it. It didn't help that Japan broke all kinds of High Temperature records that month. After Megan and Abigail got drenched and cooled off, we wandered some more, and finally decided that we would stop at the Tokyo Dome Hotel Restaurant for dinner. The Hotel is very nice, and included a suspended loft, where a wedding was going to be performed, for all appearances floating above everyone down below. We found the restaurant on the ground floor, which turned out to be a high-end buffet. I sat with Abigail while Adam & Megan did the serving for us all. I did not recognize most of what came back, but I will say that the flavors of most of the meals that I had in Japan had a very subdued flavor, and were very good. The difference with cuisine in the states, is that everything is over seasoned, and tend to attack your taste buds. Even Asian food that is made in the states is like that for the most part. I only discovered this after I returned to the US after spending a month in Japan. I also noticed that in Japan you end up with so much food that it can be difficult to find room to finish it.

I worked with using chopsticks, as that is what is at your table for meals; the wooden variety that you must snap apart in order to use them. It actually was easier than I suspected. I learned that you need to hold them near the top, and it is not correct to jab at your food or leave them sticking out of your rice. I believe in some instances they are easier to use than a fork, as with a fork you poke or balance the food, with the chopsticks they are merely an extension of your fingers, and you just pick up the food as if you were eating with just your fingers as a young child might.

With the main course finished, it was time for dessert. They brought back a wide assortment of mildly flavored, delicious desserts. I was stuffed. I was tempted to spend an hour or two sitting at our table, but since the restaurant was fairly busy, thought better of that.

It was now Tokyo Dome City after dark, and the whole area was lit up with various colors of undulating, flashing lights. Absolutely beautiful. We also discovered a roller coaster that travels inside and outside of a shopping mall. It was fascinating, and I wished that I had spotted it earlier in the day so that I could get a better view of it.

We were beat, and decided that we should head to the train for the long ride back home. Many others appeared to have the same idea. We walked several blocks towards the Train Station, Adam and Abigail in the lead, followed by me, with Megan trailing behind me I presume to make sure that they didn't leave me behind. We crossed the darkened street, when Adam stopped abruptly. I looked in front of him and saw a young mother struggling with her baby carriage directly in front of him.  The next thing I saw was the pavement. I am now laying in the middle of the street pondering what in the world happened, and noticed a car to my left patiently waiting for us to get out of the street. I figured out that there was a curb in the middle of the street that I didn't see, and attempted to get up. I stress the word "attempted". For the life of me, I couldn't get up by myself. Once Adam and Megan figured out what had just happened, they reached down and helped me to my feet and off of the street. My knees stung like crazy, but I wasn't going to say anything, as I was embarrassed enough as it was. "You should have taken a picture of me face down in the middle of the street, and tell people that I couldn't hold my Sake!" I laughed, trying to mask my embarrassment. "Dad, they revere their parents, here in Japan, they would have thought what a terrible son if I was taking a picture of my Dad lying in the street!" The situation became really silly at that point...the embarrassment was gone.

As I sat on the train back to Fussa, I played over the events of the evening, in particular my visit with the asphalt. I rubbed my knees that still stung a bit and realized that I now had holes ripped in my jeans. Good thing I packed another pair...Hmmm...might require another trip to Mister Donut...