Mt Aso

To start my Obon holiday, I visited Hiroshima for a couple of nights. I checked into the lovely hostel Roku on Friday night and enjoyed a complementary drink (+1 more a friendly guy bought me) at the downstairs bar, meeting and talking to fellow travels and a couple locals. The owner of the hostel (and bar) is super nice and her child is a hoot - we briefly got into a poking fight after she poked me in the back and I had to make things even. As the bar was closing I debated exploring the town but since I was tired I settled into my bed for a lovely night of hostel-sleep, which of course includes lights, snoring, doors opening and closing, and discrete conversations throughout the night! 

Saturday I had a cup of joe at the hostel then started my trek to Miyajima. A couple buses later I was at Hiroshima Port, barely missed  the ferry so I waited around til the next, and then enjoyed the speedy boat ride to the island. Being on a ferry always reminds me of the Bolivar ferry in Galveston, which I took so many times as a kid. However this ferry has WAY better views than Galveston... From Miyajima Port I started walking, found the trail to Mt. Misen (I took the Misen Climbing Course via Daishoin, in case this ever helps a random internet searcher), and hiked the ~3 miles to the top. I set out at a jog but the stairs were way more frequent and steep than expected and I was gassed quickly. The trail itself was lovely, often shaded with a lookout here or there, and views to keep you interested in between. The top of the mountain was absolutely stunning, with essentially a 360 degree view of the surrounding area, including Hiroshima and various islands stretching into the sea on the horizon. Highly recommend. Oh yeah, there are also wild deer on Miyajima, which I think is one of its supposed selling points. Even near the port, where there is tons of people, there are deer mingling about begging for food, with people happily obliging. I even saw a mother take a picture of her child sitting on a deer that was lying down in the shade. Honestly, to me, it was all a bit morbid. The deer I saw on the trail seemed a bit more shy (as they should be), but still surprisingly comfortable with human encroachment. Sadness aside, it was cool to get so close, and they are beautiful creatures if not a bit creepy. The return trip down the mountain I took the alternate path, forming a big loop back to the ferry port, and made my way back to the hostel to shower and rest up a bit (and write this!). After dinner at a place with vegan egg for okonomoyaki, I started drinking at the hostel bar with a couple of strangers. Shoutout to Shahar and Dan for a fun night <3. I learned that the dice game my family calls Farkle is called in Israel SOMETHING THAT I CAN'T REMEMBER UGH. But it was interesting I promise. 

On Sunday I went early to the Hiroshima Peace Museum, memorializing the atomic bomb in 1945 that the United States dropped on the city. The experience was intense. So much suffering and horror happened, and the museum does not hold back. Photos, drawings and paintings, and descriptions of the people (including children) who were devastated physically and/or emotionally by the bomb. It was graphic but not indulgent. This museum experience should be required education for every highschooler throughout the world - I honestly think that would help deter the stupidity of nuclear weapons in the future, and in general increase our collective humanity. One of the most horrific events of the bomb was in the following days, as survivors, burnt and injured, were trying to leave the city to find somewhere not in hell. Rain started pouring. These poor souls, incredibly thirsty, lifted their mouths to the sky and drank. But the rain was infused with toxic waste from the bomb, and was radioactive. Imagine surviving the explosion, walking miles with your skin falling off and oozing, get blessed with some rain only for it to be nuclear death rain. Horrible stories abound of course, and I think every one was worth the read. After detailing the experience of the victims, the museum has an exhibit on the United States' development and deployment of the bomb. It is so frustrating. Despite what is oft taught in American schools, there was no "good reason" to drop the bomb. Obviously the countless innocent lives. Japan was on the road to surrender already, so the "better than a ground invasion" excuse is a lie. There were American POWs in Hiroshima, which American leaders decided was not an issue. They decided against a warning, to "maximize the impact." The reason America killed hundreds of thousands of citizens, destroyed cities and environments, was because they spent billions of dollars on a new toy and wanted to play with it. I'll end the rant now but it just makes me so sad and mad.

Hiroshima castle was also cool, and so was Peace Park and the famous building left standing after the A-Bomb. The city turned out to be one of my favorites from the whole trip - a perfect blend of citiness, nearby nature, culture and history, ease of transportation, fun bar scene, and good food. Love Hiroshima!