広島

The Kanji reads: Wide Island, but the world knows it by it's Japanese name: Hiroshima. Yes, THAT Hiroshima. Note: pics will be up later.

The semester had just ended, I had to deal with heartbreak and stress because of bad news back home. I could have gone back home, but I had to do this to provide clarity from all the new stuff I was learning about the war. I actually remember breaking down one day because of the many attacks that America had done to this country that I have become attached to. Anyway, on with my experience.

I left at 5 o clock on the bullet train taking a 3 and a half hour long ride from Tokyo. I had saved up by not taking the train at all over the summer. I bought a bike. I tried looking for a cheaper way but the shink (bullet train) is relaxing. On the ride there, I tried learning new Japanese but the window is a HUGE distraction. The sight of Japan being blanketed with darkness is an awesome sight. To kill the time, I drank beer and ate ice cream.

When I arrived, I literally yelled, "Oh my God, the air is soooo fresh!" with a big smile on my face. Embarrassed, I apologized to everyone haha. Being boxed in in Tokyo really wore me down from all of the cramped city air. It was almost 9 at night and I was getting hungry so I went to look for Ramen, but no stores were open, so I just decided to walk around. I refused to eat crappy convieniece store food, so I just thought, I'll eat tomorrow. Hiroshima had a very different atmosphere from Tokyo, I walked down alleys with no fear, no working girls, hardly any pachinko parlors, and mildly different Japanese in terms of tone and stuff. I could smell the ocean perfectly too. I passed by 3 mcdonalds but I refused to eat there. I stayed the night at an internet cafe, watched some movies, took a shower, and slept. I could understand the clerk very well for some odd reason.
I woke at 6 in the morning, full of energy, and with my shoulder killing me from the bag I was carrying. I headed to the memorial park on foot, ready for heavy emotions to attack me. But first breakfast. Because nothing was open, I ate at a chain restaurant. Some locals were there, they smiled and bowed at me. That was cool. As the sun fully rose over Japan, I approached the atomic bomb dome. I took a picture to show I was there, but I couldn't smile at all. The feeling was extremely overwhelming. A lot of locals smiled at me, handed me some literature and spoke english with me. Surrounding the dome was many people saying "give peace a chance" "No more nukes" and monks chanting as well. The right wingers were there in low numbers saying America is scum. I ignored them. I proceeded down the river to the spot where the bomb dropped. There was what I had come for, a peace ceremony that I have heard much about. The cicadas were louder than ever, practically sonic. As I baked in the sun, I listened to those who had lost relatives due to the bomb and its aftereffects. At 8:15 in the morning, they asked us to remain silent in rememberance of the people who faced the bombs peril. I bowed my head and shed a few tears for those who died, military or not. After the ceremony, I went to the site of the bomb to place flowers by it. Behind the bomb site, there is an eternal flame that will not go out until the world rids itself of atomic weapons. The flowers were given to me by bubbly old women who just smiled and bowed at me as had a sad look on my face. I approached the memorial, school girls smiled at me and told me, "good morning"... that always cheers me up. I laid the flowers, prayed and took a break. Lots of people wanted to talk to me, it was so moving, I just couldnt stop smiling. I then proceded to the famous hiroshima museum. Before I went in, I was expecting to see a war museum like at Yasukuni Shrine. But this was a museum that told the dangers of nuclear weapons. As soon as I walked in, I felt very uncomfortable, but I had to be strong. This museum showed how Hiroshima was and how it became, there were left over scraps from the aftermath, pictures of charred bodies, and tiles soaked in black rain. The museum was completely anti-war. I was glad to see that. After doing the tour, I sat on a couch, and I guess I dozed off, because my emotions were all over the place. When I came to, I signed the guest book. I can't remember what I said, but I signed it, "On behalf of all of my family and friends who could not make it, with high hopes that peace will reign, yours truly, Rory S Rutledge Jr." After the museum, I took a walk to the trollies that hiroshima are famous for and took most of my friends advice and went to a gorgeous island called Miyajima (next blog, sorry). When I left Miyajima, I had a local specialty called okonomiyaki and watched the baseball team, the carp take on the orix buffaloes. I left the next morning with a heavy heart, because I found Hiroshima to be one of the awesomest places I've EVER been. I spit, a lot, it's a bad habit I picked up from managing my high school's baseball team. I tried my best not to spit, but I was tired that I accidentally did before I slept. I slapped myself, because I felt that was extremely disrepectful. When Hiroshima was mentioned to me in the past, I always thought of the fucking bomb. I'm tired of that. I wanted to create a new memory and bring peace in thw name of all my family, and I feel that I went beyond it, because I loved it, and now I am not reminded of the Enola Gay, Little Boy, and total incineration to Hiroshima. It is a very peaceful city with wonderful people, awesome food, and excellent weather. I love it. The war is a subject that I'm supremely interested in because of the mysteries surrounding it. But I am glad that I no longer have to think that in accordance to Hiroshima. War is stupid, we all should just talk it over with a beer. I feel that by doing this, I have honored the last name Rutledge by showing that we want peace just as much as the next guy. I'm definitely going back.