I knew visiting Hiroshima was going to make for some eye opening realizations and interesting discussions with the kids. I've never been much of a history buff but I at least remember the basics of WWII and the atomic bombing of Hiroshima from high school social studies class and various war movies my dad and husband have inflicted upon me. And I have recently voluntarily watched Oppenheimer. I did decide to do a bit of a refresher course in WWII before and then during the trip for myself but to also be more prepared to answer questions the kids might ask with a bit more confidence than relying on my memories from high school!
We only planned for one night in Hiroshima and mainly planned to see the Peace Memorial park and the Peace Museum. I had researched if there were things we should avoid that could be somewhat traumatizing for the kids and there were some online suggestions to skip some sections of the museum but after seeing at least a thousand Japanese students of similar ages visiting the museum on a school field trip while we were there, I decided that if the Japanese kids can be exposed to it, my American 9 and 15 year old certainly can too.
As we got off the train in Hiroshima, I felt an immediate self-inflicted sense of shame and embarrassment. Not because anyone had said or done anything to me, but because I knew that I was entering a town where my country had once obliterated its existence. We hopped on a local trolley to head to our hotel and there was an elderly man on board. I'm not sure if he was old enough to have been alive for the atomic bomb but it would have been close. My daughter sat down in a chair near him and he stood to give me his seat. I had to hold back the tears. I kindly declined his offer. Here is an example of where someone could have a very good reason to hold onto a grudge and judge me based on my race to be associated with people who likely killed his family. Now I know it's not clear that we are Americans or Canadians or Australians or Europeans, until we open our mouths and only if you can decipher accents, but his approach to peace and generational forgiveness was not lost on me. What a true demonstration of Christian principles and it's not even a Christian country.
Accommodations
Given our short stay in Hiroshima and that most of our activities were centered around the Peace Museum, I targeted only staying at hotels which were within walking distance Peace Memorial Park. In retrospect, doing a day trip from Kyoto would have been entirely possible, however, it's more practical if you can identify/book/get on a train that only takes an hour and a half to get there. The train trip ranges from 1.5 hours to 3.5 hours depending on the train. We were on a train that took 2.5 hours to get there - I got smarter on this and had a shorter train on the return route.
We opted to stay at the Grand Base Hiroshima Peace Park hotel. The interesting thing about this option is that it was hotel but without a front desk and everything was digital. The days leading up we were sent a code to get into the building, there was an iPad to do a self-check-in process (which did facetime an agent to verify your identity), digital codes to get into our room and digital checkout. It even had a special lock system to store our luggage before our check-in time. The accommodations were modern, clean, spacious, it had a small kitchen and a washing machine (with dryer fan in the bathroom). Total cost was 19,800 yen or about $125.
Transportation
When we first arrived in Hiroshima we opted to take a trolley to the hotel. We were able to use our Suica cards to pay which made that part easy. It was a rather slow ride with lots of stops and people needing to swipe/pay when they got on and off. There were a lot of people getting on and off which really slowed this method of transportation down. The ride was about $2 per person, but with four people, it made a $10-12 Uber/taxi ride not a bad alternative. Uber essentially hails a local cab for you, in Hiroshima they weren't the larger, standardized cabs that we saw in Kyoto and Tokyo but more normal, sometimes slightly beat up cars. The benefit of Uber over hailing a cab yourself is the fact that there is no need to communicate your destination to the driver. So it may cost a little more but if we don't go to the wrong place, I'll consider it a win.
We mostly got around by walking while we were in town as everything was near by. The streets are very walkable and there were several bike paths that we saw and bike rental kiosks but we only walked.
Food
I had heard Hiroshima was a bit of a foodie destination. Since we had one dinner in town, I had one dish on my list - Okonomiyaki. I found a tiny restaurant that listed Okonomiyaki as their 'type of food' and got rave reviews that was within walking distance. 鉄板だいどこ 櫻. It was a very small, intimate restaurant which actually had a sign on the outside that indicated no children were allowed. Our hearts sank a bit, well more our hungry stomachs and my children immediately started eyeing up the convenience store across the street and pondering the option of getting a cup of ramen noodles and going back to the hotel. Fortunately, one of the workers saw us and didn't seem to find a problem welcoming us in with our children in tow. Maybe we misinterpreted the sign, maybe they did, who knows. Welcome to the world of just not understanding and going with the flow. Most of these smaller restaurants have bar seating at a grill where you get to see them make your food right in front of you and many people converse with the cook - I had hoped to have that experience but it was full. There were a couple of tables and we were seated at one of those. As was typical many smaller restaurants, there was a tv on with game shows. Cliche but accurate in the love for game shows!
We ordered a number of dishes to share off the menu. The kids always had some sort of grilled steak or chicken option which made them happy. Hubby and I split an okonomiyaki. It was pretty good. I think some of the side dishes showed it up. It's essentially a thin pancake topped with cabbage, pork, egg, green onions, noodles and various sauces/spices in a big mound. There are variations to the toppings but we went with the Hiroshima classical approach. The food overall was delicious but this particular dish didn't blow us away.
Activities
As we stayed near the Memorial Peace Garden, we walked through here a few times, trying to take different paths each time. When we first arrived the park was full of school children. There were at least 15 buses and I'm not sure if this is typical or was a special occasion. The park was previously a bustling neighborhood of normal family homes. You can see maps of those neighborhoods and recreations and remains of what previously existed. Approximately 600 meter above this neighborhood, is where the Atomic bomb exploded, igniting a fireball of a 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit, immediately killing all of the families below and another 75,000 people instantly in the surrounding city. Another 100,000 people died in the months to follow from radiation poisoning and burns. One profound memorial in the park is a large mound which we eventually figured out was the mass grave of many of those killed by the bomb. Every morning at 8:15 am there are bells that ring to honor those who passed.
The Peace Museum is in the park and cost our family $3 for admission. Sharing about the atrocities that took place here and the long term impact of atomic warfare on humanity is clearly far more important than making a profit. As we walked through the museum a few things stuck out to me. First off, in nearly all of the displays when they make mention of the bomb dropping - they could have easily continued to identify the United States as the party which dropped the bomb, but they didn't. I think this was probably intentional as their focus really is on making sure this never happens again, rather than assigning blame for this occurrence. Second, there were artifacts and photos which could be considered disturbing but they were reality. We didn't hide our kids from them but we did move a little faster if we thought it was a little much for the littler one to process. Third, the last section of the museum is about the planning, construction and decision to use the atomic bomb by the United States. This was really the only part of the exhibit which made mention of the US. What I found most fascinating was the US military documents which had been de-classified related to the analysis and decision making to drop the bomb on Hiroshima.
In modern day US history, we are taught that the Japanese, and Hiroshima, were warned about the atomic bomb, at least through leaflets which were dropped. You can find online sources that tell this story which is likely completely false and has been made up to make Americans feel less bad about the bomb. In the de-classified documents you can read about the need for this bomb to be an absolutely secret that the Japanese do not see coming to have the maximum psychological impact on their society.
The reason for selection of Hiroshima was broadcast the US public as a military hub. In the de-classified documents, you can see that the selection was based on identifying a city with a maximum population within a 3km radius and which had the topography to maximize the impact (death toll) of the bomb on the civilian population. In addition, for research purposes of identifying how powerful the bomb was, they wanted a target which had not been firebombed so they could isolate the data accordingly.
As my son learns about WWII in history class, I am anxious to hear how the conversation actually goes and if they will teach what has been declassified, or the story which was released by the White House to the public following the bombing. These are two very different histories.
On a light hearted note, there are a lot of Cat Cafes in Hiroshima. We found a cute one and my daughter and I got a juice and a latte and enjoyed being surrounded by a dozen cats. This seemed like a good balance and almost therapy during a visit to such a heart breaking, yet inspiring location.
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