Today we went to Hiroshima for the day. It was a bit of a pain having to get up around 6am to make sure we got the Shinkansen (bullet train) but we got there anyway and got the ferry to Miyajima Island. There was the famous Torii (Shinto gate) in the water, a shrine (of course… they’re everywhere) and more deer! I wore my “日本人彼女募集中” (“Looking for Japanese girlfriends” — similar signs are up around cities looking for part-time employees, tenants for apartments, etc) t-shirt but though I got countless giggles and smiles there were no takers. I still have tomorrow left before I go home though. Maybe I can see that Maiko-san again if I go through Gion (old district here in Kyoto).
The memorial park and museum were fantastic. Museum was incredible and it was great to see the Japanese actually confront everything frankly and talk openly about events like Nanking (where the Chinese estimate is 300,000 murders by the Japanese army).
More pictures in the flickr set, as usual. Here are some tasters:
