Hiroshima Dreamination

For Drew's last day off this week, we went to Hiroshima to see the light display.  Drew had been to Hiroshima with some coworkers a couple weeks ago, so he felt pretty confident navigating the train station.  I will admit to being somewhat less confident, but of course he pulled through!  We drove to the train station that's about 5 minutes away from the base, parked in a garage, and walked to the station.  Drew bought the tickets at an automated ticket booth (which was all in Japanese . . . I'm not sure how he did it) and we proceeded to the platform.  A nice Japanese lady named Miho came up and talked to me and Rafe for awhile in English (she could only say Lafe, which is fine with me--I like that name too!), and then we got on the train.  

The kids enjoyed the train.  Vivien loved that it was "bumpy, bumpy, bumpy" a little too much--her high little voice is very piercing when she's excited and attracted quite a few stares.  The houses are packed in right up to the tracks, so we kept seeing little snippets of what life is like here through the window.  Lots of washing hanging up to dry (Drew said driers are becoming more common here, but it's very expensive to run them),  a couple cemeteries (their graves are marked with stone monuments and are very close together, since cremation is a part of the traditional funeral service), and lots of little tiny gardens (we saw a lady carrying two HUGE lotus roots which are Iwakuni's principal agricultural product).  

It was funny to pull up to stations, because people waiting would see Rafe and Vivi through the window and get these big smiles on their faces.  We are starting to be able to read their lips because they all say "kawaii!" (cute).  An older gentleman sitting next to us on the train gave Vivien a rice spoon with a horse on it (she said it was a unicorn) and gave her the sweetest, crinkliest smile along with it.  We are getting to practice "arigatou gozaimasu" (thank you) A LOT.  

Once in Hiroshima, we walked about a mile to visit the Peace Memorial Park.  Lots of things were closed since it's New Year's Day, but don't worry, all six of the 7/11s we passed were open.  We ran into another couple at the park who came up to talk to us and practice their English.  They'd been to the US three times and were in Hiroshima for their annual New Year vacation (they said there's nothing to do where they're from, so they take a trip to a fun place every year).  

The museum was closed, but there are lots of things to see in the park.   It felt kind of weird to be an American walking around the city we flattened, but everyone was nice to us, and the feeling of the park isn't one of blame.  The statue above is the Memorial Cenotaph that contains a list of the names of all the people killed.  The epitaph is in Japanese, but the English translation is "Please rest in peace, for we/they shall not repeat the error."  The memorial lines up with the Peace flame (which has been lit since 1964) and the A-bomb dome, which is pretty amazing.  

The bomb exploded 600 m above the building, so it was damaged and everything inside was vaporized, but it's still standing.  There was some controversy about whether they should tear it down or not, but they decided to preserve it exactly as it was the day after the bombing as a memorial.  

The sun set while we were at the park, and then the lights came on!  Vivien loved it--there was this pirate ship, a castle, a dragon, a phoenix, a wedding cake, fruits and vegetables, a pipe organ, a carousel, etc.  Rafe liked it if we kept moving.  

The lights were set up all along one of the main streets that happened to take us on our way back to the train station, so we made our merry way along the displays and then hurried back to catch a train before the patience of our babies ran out.  

Drew bought some food at the train station (I had to take this picture while we waited to pay because all their treats are so cute) and we were off once again.  There's just enough English posted to figure out where you need to go.  

Here Rafe is sampling the chocolate filled koala cookies.  I guess Meme brought some back for Drew when he was little and he's always wanted to find them again, so he "eats them by the sleeve!" now that he knows where to get them.  

He also got this pastry that was filled with like a sweet bean paste.  If you didn't think about the fact that they were beans . . . it was really tasty.  All in all, another great day in Japan!  Now if we could get a solid night's sleep . . .