Day 21:...AND, it STARES at Me!

Location: Kobe, Japan

A few years ago, after a devastating earthquake, ships stopped coming to Kobe for a little while because of the devastation. Apparently, the MV Explorer (the Semester at Sea's ship) was the first ship to return to Kobe after the quake. Grateful for the ship's return, the Japanese have a water show and a band performs for the SAS ship. We planned on getting up early to see the performance. When the alarm went off at 6am we could hardly move. We were so tired we decided to scrap the show. Later on we had heard that the water show and band did not occur. {How fortuitous of us!} The weather did not allow the show to occur.

We grabbed a few more donuts from Mister Donuts for breakfast, while Lauren grabbed some strawberries. We heard that the strawberries in Japan this time of the year are superb! 

Our plan was to make another attempt at getting on the gondola-like ride. (It's also referred to as a rope train). This time we made it to the train perfectly. No problems. In hindsight, our problem yesterday was something as simple as being on the wrong side of the train station and not knowing we were so close. 

Lauren & I on the rope train.

Once we got to the base, we took the rope train to the top. The view from the top was spectacular! It would have been even prettier if we had made it up there at night. We snapped a few pictures from the top and decided to head down. 

 The weather was overcast

The view from the top of the rope train.

We walked halfway down and then caught the rope train the remaining distance; we didn't have time to walk the entire way. And lucky us...on the way down we stumbled upon a foot bath. We stuck our legs in for a little bit to relax. After the amount of walking we have done in the past three days we were pooped. {Let's face it, I would love to know how many miles I'm putting on foot!} From the foot bath, we had an amazing view of the city.

 View of the city of Kobe, Japan

Kobe, Japan

Leaving the gondola area, we caught a train to then catch the port liner into the port terminal to find the ship. I ran on board the ship to grab a change of clothes and ran back to the port terminal. I had 15 minutes to spare before I would have to catch the bus to my field program. I used the last few minutes of free Internet I knew I would get. It was nice to FaceTime home to see my mom and Mady. Mady ran around the house showing me my dogs. {Grady-boy looks good, as does Gabby!} With that last remaining minutes, I Skype'd Mickey and caught a glimpse of Desmund Tutu in the port terminal...also on the Internet!!

SCORE! 

Me and Desmond Tutu. 

Grama, can you believe it?

Once I caught up with my field program group we made our way to the bullet train or Shinkansen to Hiroshima. I like to think I am becoming a pro at handling and maneuvering the Japanese public transportation...even though I now have a tour guide!

  

Bullet train (shinkansen)

Inside bullet train (shinkansen). 

Looks and feels just like an airplane.

From Hiroshima, we took a bus to the "T bridge." It's referred to as the T bridge because if you look at an aerial view of the area the bridge makes a T. 

The "t" bridge in the background.

The Peace Memorial Dome in the background.

Our tour guide said that T bridge was the site where the Americans had planned on dropping the Atomic bomb because it was easily recognizable from the air.

The "P" is where the area where the bomb dropped. 

Now it is a parking garage.

We walked along a sidewalk past the last remaining building from the first atomic bomb. The Atomic Bomb Dome, also known as Genbaku Domu, is part of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial and is the last remaining building.It was scheduled to be demolished, just like the other buildings in the area, but for some reason this building survived the bomb really well so they kept it. It was quite controversial at the time. Many locals wanted it torn down because it was a reminder of the terrible devastation. Others wanted it preserved as a memorial of the bombing and a symbol of peace.

Peace Memorial Dome (the last remaining building from the atomic bomb)

We walked to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum where we enjoyed a self-guided walking audio tour. Honestly, they has some pretty cool displays. They showed what the area looked like pre-atomic bomb drop and post-atomic bomb drop. They had a display that showed the letters that the mayor of Hiroshima sends to countries that are developing nuclear weapons. 

This is a bird's eye view of the Peace Memorial museum. 

This is of Hiroshima before the bomb dropped. 

(Note: T Bridge and Peace Memorial Dome).

This is a bird's eye view of the Peace Memorial museum of Hiroshima after the bomb dropped. 

(Note: T Bridge and Peace Memorial Dome).

This is a bird's eye view of the Peace Memorial museum of Hiroshima after the bomb dropped. 

(Note: T Bridge, Peace Memorial Dome, and red stick indicates where the bomb actually dropped).

In other parts of the museum they had hair, clothing, watches, and other personal effects worn or used by victims that day that were destroyed by the bomb. It was really rough to walk through there and see how destroyed the clothing was or the destroyed lunch in lunch boxes. They had the remaining steps from a building on display. Someone was sitting on the step when the bomb dropped. In place of where the person was sitting was completely black. {It was kind of awkward, ok...more than "kind of" awkward, it was really awkward walking through the museum seeing all of the destruction knowing that my country caused it. The Japanese didn't seem to feel awkward, nor did they seem to mind the Americans}. At the same time, I felt honored to be there. I don't sense that many Americans have the opportunity to see the museum first hand.

 Tricycle & Metal helmet remains from the atomic bomb 

My group was somber after the museum. We took a bus to a ferry that would take us to Miyajima. It was a cute little island about 30 minutes from Hiroshima. 

We planned to stay in a traditional Japanese style hotel on the island, called a ryokan. It's complete with communal bathing pools (heated) and futons on the floor. 

Futon

The common bathing areas were separated by gender. You rinsed off prior to getting in the heated pool, often times from hot springs. Not knowing how my skin would react to the bathing pool, I chose not to get in the pool; plus Dr. Szabo says to avoid hot water.

It's customary to dress in kimonos for dinner. {Yup, that's me! And just in case you wonder...the boys had to dress in kimonos, too.} 

We were served traditional Japanese cuisine with seasonal/regional food for dinner. Blah...Lord only knows what I ate! The fish head staring at me did a nice job on my appetite! I know that blowfish was available but we were informed by SAS not to eat blowfish because it is poisonous. I tried a little bit of everything, but who knows exactly what it was and I'm guessing it's best that I don't know! After dinner was a traditional Japanese drum show especially for our group.

Traditional Japanese dinner at the ryokan (Japanese style hotel)