Day 4 - Off to Hiroshima

On this grey ol' day we got up early and hopped on to the Shinkansen (bullet train), heading to Hiroshima at 280+kph.  The Japanese bullet trains have been operating for fifty years without a fatal accident, and the newer models are very sleek.  

Cam and our bullet train to Hiroshima.

I was reading that there are plans to build a maglev train line from Tokyo to Osaka that will take just over 1hr to cover ~450km.  The trip to Hiroshima took us about 4 hours, during which time we covered roughly 800km, with many quick and perfectly on-schedule stops.  As we shot South we left the very, very grey skies of Tokyo behind.  The train was incredibly smooth, both the ride in general and the acceleration.  The effect, on this cloudy day, was similar to being on the descent in a plane and skimming over the tops of the clouds, only the overhead clouds were whipping past us.  Here are some shots through the window:

It was a dark and stormy day..

Pagoda sighting 

Passed some other Shinkansen trains (parked)

It was rice harvest time, so we saw lots of fields in different stages of the harvest.

More harvested rice fields

Clouds starting to lift..

Semi-rural Japan

Other crops...I think that is a patch of lotus on the right there.

By the time we got to Hiroshima it was a pretty sunny day with only the occasional passing cloud.  Hiroshima is a lovely town, much of it relatively new for obvious reasons, with many memorials, and the usual high density of parks, shrines and temples.  Part of it's charm comes from having been established on a kind of estuary where a large river splits into multiple tributaries before pouring into Hiroshima Bay.  There is water every where, with many bridges and riverside parks.  We headed directly to the memorial park commemorating the bombing, and found a large park with many memorial statues, plaques and so forth.  It was crawling with young, K-6, students in their school-coloured hats.  It begged the question: what is the narrative around Hiroshima within Japan?... but I expect it's something impossible to understand as an outsider.  However, the park is effective in capturing the thought we can all share: never again (well, one more time...but after Nagasaki, never again).  The most chilling part of the park was the Atomic Bomb Dome, the remains of an exposition building that was very close to directly below the detonated bomb, yet which largely withstood the concussion.  It has been maintained "as was", though they've obviously taken some steps to prevent further erosion and corrosion (eg. the dome strips seem to be coated, etc.).

Memorial at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park

The Atomic Bomb Dome

After visiting the memorial park we had lunch and I headed towards Hijiyama Park up a hill on the other side of town.  This was a nice greenspace with a few memorials, a contemporary art museum, and, disturbingly, a research centre on radiation effects.

One view from the park.

And, another.

Cats chillaxing near the viewpoint.

At the memorial in Hijiyama Park.

This was an alternate route up to the top of the hill.  It's billed (yes, actually billed) as "The Sky Walk".  I have to admit that it was one of the long, tallest escalators I'd ever been on, but still not sure it was worthy of it's own name.

 I saw cool bugs a-plenty up in that there park, too...

That's a bit much oh pied bug.

Bi-nasal grasshopper-like things.

Cicada husk.

A more common view of a Cicada than the one I got in Tokyo...hiding in a crack in a tree and cranking out the tunes.

Another husk.

After visiting the art museum, but skipping the Manga Archives (which I now regret...cos what is that?), I headed down the hill and stumbled upon another awesome-roofed temple:

After that, I strolled along the river to a Japanese Garden, Shukkeien.  This was one of the best ones I saw on the trip with a number of nice little sub-gardens with different floral themes, and offering a really tranquil environment...

Turtle, basking.

Oasis

Chillin' in da pond.

Bamboos 

It was giving me the crab eye.

Canopy

A short video of a crab not doing very much in particular.

I hit the streets again and stumbled upon this statue.  I have no idea what the story is, but it was nice with the origami offerings at the base.

Last stop was Hiroshima Castle.  It had been reconstructed, so the interior (where no photos were allowed..hmph!..were nothing special), but the exterior and grounds were quite nice...

In the evening we all met up for a Japanese dinner at one of those restaurants where you sit on tatami mats.  Oh, man is that uncomfortable for your older gentlemen.  But, the food was good, and I once again managed to avoid any allergens, so despite the hobbling leg pain, it was a 'win'.