Visiting Hiroshima: Where All Clocks Stopped

“There’s a self-imposed difficulty traveling as an American. Whether in the US or wandering abroad, it’s far too easy to stumble across the deep, pervasive scars the bastion of democracy has inflicted amongst the world. It can be walking amongst warped WWII battlefields, Civil War burial sites, Native American war grounds, unexploded ordinance fields of Myanmar, or seeing the last standing ruins of Hiroshima. Regardless, the echoes are loud enough to grind fledging nationalism into bitter dust.” – Old Sean

Impromptu Trips

During my last day staying in Osaka, I decided to put some serious miles on my JR pass by making the trip out to Hiroshima.

Hiroshima wasn’t on my list of locations to visit during my stay in Japan.  But it was only a two hour train ride and I wasn’t in a hurry anywhere else.  Besides, my hostel isn’t nice enough for relaxing and lounging, so going out and about has become my most active pastime.

I woke up around five and made my way to the train station, where I switched lines until I was on my way to the location of the first nuclear bomb strike.

I got off the train and had my usual infusion of coffee, still trying to ward off sleep.  Blinking a bit, I started walking around.

Impressions of Hiroshima

Hiroshima isn’t what I expected.  Not that I had strong preconceptions, but Hiroshima is a kind of sleepy city with a wide range of deltas snaking slowly throughout the area.  After getting my breakfast, I worked my way to Hiroshima Castle.  It’s a really pretty building tucked away in a surprisingly quiet corner of the city.

However, the majority of Hiroshima wasn’t quiet this particular day.  In the area I started my little hike, there were more police than I’ve ever seen in my life.

I’m assuming it was a training exercise.  There were about an eight to a dozen officers in various uniforms on virtually every street corner surrounding the central park area.  I stopped to ask a few (of the non-busy ones) what was going on.

But translation barriers stalled me, and I was mostly asked to keep moving on.  I’ve noticed that when Japanese people point or direct a person a certain direction, they don’t use a finger but their whole hands.  It creates a very polite, slightly martial effect when giving directions.

Anyway, none of the cops really inhibited or stopped me, although we gave one another a lot of side along glances.  All of the police were dressed in mostly SWAT attire in the Japanese style, which meant lots of black body armor with interlocking segments, slightly reminiscent of samurai layered plate.

Tangible Ghosts

I ended up dawdling around central park for a while, kicking water around with my boots and finding “The Police” on my ancient, bootleg iPod while I walked around.  Humming Roxanne, I continued south until I reached the A-Bomb Dome, at which point I respectfully unplugged.

This area of Hiroshima is devastatingly depressing in my opinion.  The monuments (and there are many) are very stark and harrowing, especially considering what happened on these very grounds.

That being said, the messages alongside most monuments are extraordinarily uplifting.  Each and every one, no matter the story tied to it or the deaths that are anchored to it, strongly advocates a peaceful, war-less future. 

It’s not a unilateral statement, nor an empty platitude aspiring to an ideal.  It holds a hint of desperation, of understanding the sheer, unpayable cost of the alternative.

So that was my solemn afternoon: Hiroshima Castle, Atomic Bomb Dome, Peace Memorial Park, the Children’s Peace Monument and the Monument of the Soldier.

Island Refresher

I ended up wandering for a while after that, doing nothing but following one of Hiroshima’s many ponderous rivers.  Eventually, however, I made my way back to the train station and took the JR loop to get to Miyajimaguchia.

Miyajima is a great little island sitting off the coast of Hiroshima, slightly south of the main city.  The island is most famous for a Floating Tori gate, which usually sits bold against the city skyline.  Unfortunately for me, the gate is currently undergoing restorations, and I wasn’t able to view it.

That being said, Miyajima has some other interesting aspects.  First, there is an old, wooden shopping town which is pretty enough to walk through.  Much like Nara, there are herds of tame deer that wander through the city, calmly picking their way past tourists.  Unlike Nara, however, in Miyajima, people are discouraged from feeding or petting the deer, making them way more chill and way less pushy.

Also found upon the island is the Five Story Pagoda at Santuario Toyokuni. Nearby, there are also a series of floating temples with stakes drilled into the mud-traced ground.  It was low-tide when I arrived, but normally the entire temple structure appears to skim over the top of softly churning waters.

My personal favorite aspect, however, came from hiking my way up the mountain.  There are a series of overlooks, hiking trails and small shrines dotting a very soft incline as a person continues to ascend.  At one point, a person can reach the cable car system climbing up the rest of the mountain, where many of the more famous features of the islands exist.  Getting up and back is about a 20 USD round trip.

Boomerang to Osaka

And that was about it.  Hiroshima isn’t an active or exciting city, at least not by the standards of the other places I’ve visited: but it is a lovely side trip and the mountains are fairly peaceful.

To be honest, all of Japan is a lot quieter than I was expecting.  It felt like one long journey for reflection. Not that there isn’t a lot going on in the city, but I’ve become so accustomed to Chinese urban chaos, I feel like I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

And since I’m going to Tokyo tomorrow, I’m sure I’ll have the chance to witness some havoc.

Until then,

Best regards and excellent trails,

Old Sean

Written January 24th, 2020

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