29th March, Day 3: A Solemn Trip to Hiroshima

 

The Bullet Train departs sharp at 6:33 am

               Myself & Suman were up and ready at the crack of dawn the next day – double checked for the following - respective phones for the soft copy of the tickets, basic food, a few extra empty covers (to carry our trash – When in Rome, do as Romans do !!!)  and other travel essentials and of course the weather forecast at Hiroshima for the day.  Oh boy, I almost forgot to mention about the Danish bread that had been so eulogized by Arun even before we had started the trip !!! So it was dutifully packed when we had been to the supermarket the day before and was savored at every available meal break with loads of creamy butter and pickle !!!

 RVS and Raju accompanied us to the Shinkansen drop at the station  – since it was a new 'station' and we had to discover the right platform etc. So four heads better than two is what we thought.  We spotted the right platform, double checked with the staff and promptly entered the right gate. After the customary goodbyes and ‘stay safe’ exchanges, all ready to board our Shinkansen.

    It was thrilling to watch the bullet train make its grand entry into the station. Having made ourselves familiar with the train structure, we were in the area meant for unreserved coaches. Of course, we had to stand in the queue but it did not appear very crowded. Soon the doors opened and we gladly stepped into the train. We were quite taken in by the plush interiors in what is an economy carriage. Since this is a high-end transportation, it comes with a price of its own but worth every penny. But for this service, we would have surely skipped Hiroshima. The train departed sharp at 6:33 am, not a minute before or later (now we have reached a stage where precision does not surprise us at all !!!!) .

    We then settled comfortably into our seats. Hmm….all ready for a nice relaxed catch-up with each other, scanning the fast moving landscape and absorbing their characteristic features and general observation. We could see the outskirts of industrialized cities, rural areas with neatly laid fields – prosperity stretched in all the directions.

Hiroshima: Exploration & A prayer for World Peace

Exploring Hiroshima: the 'hop-on' 'hop-off' Bus

    We duly arrived at Hiroshima and were soon near the exit gates and were looking around for some staff with whom we could enquire and plan the rest of the day accordingly. Seeing our searching looks and glances, a lady staff approached us. She had rightly guessed that we were tourists and needed some guidance. We explained our requirements to her – A self-exploration of Hiroshima. She promptly guided us to the information desk which gave us a brochure and explained to us about a hop-on, hop-off bus every 10 minutes on three different routes (Orange, Green and Lemon routes).

    These buses cover the Hiroshima town with stops at the key tourist centers  - they take different orders changing the order of coverage of these centers. The tourists can buy a day pass and based on their requirement, get off at the desired tourist destination and get back to the same bus-stop having finished with that particular spot. The buses run only in one direction – they start at the railway station and terminate there. These are colored differently from the normal public buses that the residents use. That way, it is easier to identify these for a tourist who’s in in the city only for a day or two. There is a rule to board these buses – always board from the front gate and get down from the gate at the center of the bus (obviously enables the driver to check the validity of a ticket). A display video gives information about the subsequent stops with a brief history about that place.

    Looking at the Brochure and the routes, we decided to visit the following : The Shukkein Garden,  The Hiroshima Castle and the Hiroshima Atomic bomb peace memorial Area (which has all the buildings/monuments very close to each other marking this tragedy). There are a lot of other kinds of attractions – museums, zoological parks,  a few modern shopping areas etc.  We decided that we could visit any of these, time permitting.

The Shukkeien Garden

    This was built as a private garden for one of their feudal lords – a common practice of those times. It is a sprawling well manicured garden around a central pond and is circular in shape. It is a very well landscaped and everything is just picture perfect. There is a fair sprinkling of natural trees mixed with landscaping consisting of a central pond, a place of prayer, a few picturesque miniature bridges. We just tried to drink in the scenic beauty as much as possible and left the rest to our phone cameras. If one is a nature lover, one just does not know where to stop.

    Unfortunately, no place in Hiroshima can be disassociated from the tragedy. This was also destroyed during the bombing and many people took shelter in this garden after the bombing but died before medical care arrived. 

The Hiroshima Castle

  As with any castle, this has a history, in this case dating back to the 14^th century and occupancies by various dynasties. There is an entire section dedicated to weapons and armor exhibits. This too was destroyed during the bombing. The current tower was reconstructed in 1958. There was a shrine as well. The original foundation of the shrine has been left as it is. The castle is now a place of historical importance and houses historic artifacts. This place greatly covers the Samurai traditions.

The Atomic Bomb Dome & The related sites

     We went back to the tour bus-stop and got onto the next bus and ready to explore the area associated with the bombings 😧. We covered the Atomic Bomb Dome, the peace memorial park area that houses various memorials and buildings like the children peace monument, the flame of peace, Atomic bomb memorial mound, the Cenotaph, Hiroshima National Peace memorial hall for the Atomic bomb victims and the Hiroshima peace memorial museum.

 The Atomic bomb dome

    This was the building closest to the epicenter of where the bomb was dropped. The remains of the building post the bombing has been left as it is. It is a grim reminder to the horrors of the atomic bomb and hopefully to steer the world to a saner mindset to eschew violence. This also stands as a contrast to the beautiful city that has been rebuilt since then. The area is lined up with a lot of plaques detailing each of the buildings/structures.

The Peace Memorial Park

    Across the river (Motoyasu-gawa River 😊)  is the peace memorial park that houses all the buildings/structures commemorating the victims. The whole area has an air of solemnity and quietude. We were just forced to contemplate quietly while having a view of the area. The Hiroshima peace memorial ceremony is held in this park every year on the 6^th of August. The bombing having taken place on the 6^th of August, 1945.

       Would like to mention a few lines about the Hiroshima National Peace memorial hall and the Hiroshima Peace memorial museum

Hiroshima National Peace memorial Hall

    The peace memorial hall is a piece of art , a tribute - a circular room whose walls are covered with small rectangular tiles - 1,40,000 tiles representing the estimated victims as per official count . In the center of this hall is a piece of art representing time of 8:15 am when the bomb was dropped and is placed on a round cascade of a small waterfall – This is particularly heartrending as it represents the cries of victims to quench their thirst 😢. A panoramic view of the walls of the circular hall when viewed from the center depicts the bombed city scape. In addition, there is an adjacent hall that displays the names of the victims – essentially a reiteration of the magnitude of the loss. There is a database available to search for the victims.

    We did not capture any photograph of this place since it looked a very solemn piece of art and flash photography was prohibited - it’s just an experience.

    Am enclosing a picture from one of the pamphlets for the reader to just experience this as much as possible

 

Hiroshima Peace memorial Museum

    It is a modern structure. It has captured all the details of this grim event in great detail including the personal artifacts of the victims. We just took as much of a quick tour as possible since it is very distressing to view these in detail. One just has to steel one’s heart and mind when visiting this place. They also have a small video that is projected on the floor on a well like screen. The anti-climax of this video is a blast and truly it send quite a chill down your spine. I found myself shaking quite a bit once the video had ended.

    Outside, there is the Cenotaph, the peace fountain, the flame - and I noticed that all are perfectly aligned with the A-bomb dome that stands across the river. This looks like a deliberate design. Though the whole area is a memorial, it is also a scenic spot at the same time. If the weather gods are kind, this is a great place to enjoy the peace and also to reflect and pontificate, if one wishes to.

    My personal view is that nations create symbols of victory and loss (buildings, literature, cinema, paintings etc.) for a reason. While the symbols of victory are an ode to the spirit of focus and determination to achieve collective goals, the symbols of loss are created to serve probably as a catharsis for the collective pain that the nation has experienced and to heal and prevent a quid-pro-quo by future generations and to bring in a spirit of forgiveness. 

    I am aware of the innumerable movies that have been made on the two world wars, the memorials for the holocaust victims, the Jallianwala Bagh memorial in our own backyard and a museum in Amritsar on partition.   It was a Déjà vu moment as I remember that all of us had got very emotional when we had witnessed the small well at Jallianwala Bagh into which the victims had jumped to escape the incessant firing but which could not protect them (incidentally, it was again both our families that had visited Amritsar together a few years back !!!).  I have also read about the truth and reconciliation committee that was set up by the great Nelson Mandela to bring about the spirit of regret/remorse in the perpetrators of apartheid who could then ask for amnesty. 

Back To Tokyo

    After this, we just sat by the riverside and decided to share our experience via video calls with the runners who had to give this a miss due to the Run that was scheduled for the next day and with our families in India. Thanks to all the technology that helps us to enrich the bonds  (thus increasing our attachments in this world – quite the opposite of what our Sanatana Dharma prescribes !!!). 

    Today’s sojourn was aided by a very bright, sunny weather. On the whole Hiroshima is a bustling modern city and a very prosperous one - being dotted with modern buildings yet retaining its aesthetic sense and of course reminding the world of the horrors of a nuclear war.

        Then we headed right back to the tour bus stop but had to wander quite a bit to locate the right one as we had roamed around quite a lot in that area. We had to ask the directions from the local people and a two school children helped us to locate the right bus stop.

    As we were patiently waiting for the bus to arrive, we found the time table displaying the bus hours quite interesting – attaching a picture of the same. Quite intuitive but slightly challenging until you decipher it the right way.  

    Also, we found the tram system to be still active in Hiroshima – we could see the trams right across the road while waiting for the bus.

        Since we had an open ticket, we just had to find the next bullet train. We noted the same and after a quick calculation, grabbed a cup of hot coffee and arrived in time for the next train.

    We had to get back to the hotel on our own using the Tokyo subway once we were out of the bullet train. We reached Tokyo around 9:40 pm I guess. RVS had sent us the route given by Google map to locate the right metro station. This was quite a walk from the Shinkansen station. Once at the Metro station, we spent a few moments double checking on the route and the related platform. Hopped onto the right train (my, my, we were really becoming experts in Tokyo !!!). It was around 10:45 pm when we entered the hotel. Both of us were very careful to make a really really quiet entry into our respective rooms as the runners were not to be disturbed from their sleep as it was their D-day the next day and would be a long one.

     I was reminded of the song from the hindi movie 'Parichay' ('Musaafir Hoon Yaaron, na ghar hai na thikaana, magar chalte Jaana hain' – but in this case 'Musafir' has a purpose, 😊 ). Keep watching this space for the next blog on the Tokyo Marathon where our dear runners would compete in this event  - a competition truly with one’s own self  - a journey of perseverance 🙏.