hiroshima

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i don't want to talk too much about what happened in hiroshima in the past. we all know that the first A-bomb was dropped there, destroying over 140,000 people. the question that has always lingered in my mind about the dropping of those bombs was: why weren't they dropped on a forest? it wasn't the death toll that prompted japan's surrender, but this new display of unprecedented force. surely the same display could have been made in an uninhabited/less densely populated area, prompting a similar surrender? i'm not sure - what do you think?

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the peace park - in stark contrast to the abomination in nagasaki - was clean, respectful and appropriate, providing a water and monument lined axis from the A-bomb dome to the A-bomb museum (informative in a non-judgmental way). i know that everyone must say the same thing after visiting the peace park and museum, but there's something about it that allows you to glimpse through a crack in time and history to the nuclear holocaust and come away feeling awestruck, horrified, empty. perhaps we see in ourselves the capacity (even propensity) to do great harm to others, and we fear our own hearts of darkness.

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hiroshima itself was a modern, vibrant, fun city. during the day we visited some world-class art galleries and beatiful gardens, in the evening we listened to a gorgeous japanese chanteuse singing french love songs on the banks of the ota river (i swear she was looking directly at me the whole night), chowed down on shredded horse-meat at a funky cafe, then bought up strong at a local patisserie for a late night high-GI binge from the comfort of our futons.

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there was of course the obligatory day trip down to miyajima to take photos of what is surely one of the most photographed sites on the entire planet -the floating tori! we took about 5 million photos!

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and then it was time to get back to osaka for another weekend of tekken tag tournament with pottsie and kanami. we were frightfully early for our train, and just as well: exploring the lanes around the station we stumbled upon a traditional japanese vegetable pancake restaurant where you sit in front of a massive frying surface while the chef cooks up your feast, before handing you what looked like an industrial spatula to slice and dice up your pancake before shoving it home. another one of our top 5 japanese eating experiences: YUM!

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