Humbled by Hiroshima

A bit of a change of plan today- we caught the train to Hiroshima. Four hours south west from Fukui. We just about avoided having to sit on the hideous smoke filled smoking carriages - I find it so odd that people here are still permitted to smoke inside. It just shows how quickly the UK ban has permeated my thinking and expectations. There are even smokers standing next to me in the hotel lobby as I write this!

So Hiroshima - what to say? It seems like a pretty trendy, upbeat town, with young folk, masses of shops and cafes for the tourists, and new buildings for obvious reasons. Lots of foreign tourists here as you'd expect. It's a shame that we all come for such a mawkish reason really!

The park surrounding the site where the Atom bomb was detonated in 1945 is green, clean and spacious and it's hard to imagine that the ground we are walking on is the very same on which thousands lost their lives in the most appalling way in 1945.

We came really to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum which was fascinating (though I didn't really learn anything new about what happened here in 1945) and unutterably sad. It's only when you read the personal stories and look at the photos of Hiroshima just after the explosion that you get a sense of the devastation. Barely three buildings survived the blast and even they were badly damaged.

The wording of the signage in the museum is understandably loaded. Nuclear weapons bad, period. I wonder how many Japanese people today know the full story and what history they are taught in schools. Dave thinks they are pretty ignorant which is a pity.

I don't think there's much more to see here but I'm glad to have visited. I do feel quite sad though. So much death and suffering.

Ric and I are both pretty tired today, possibly still a bit jet lagged. It's also a lot hotter and more muggy here in the south which frays ones nerves slightly! We've not squabbled or fallen out yet but we're noticing each other's needs, wants, irritating facets and bad habits more than previously. We're chuffed to have found a chain of hotels, Toyoko Inns, in each city though. They're the same price as hostels but clean and almost luxurious and with our own bathroom!

Before I forget, a few other unrelated observations...

The ladies bikes that everyone rides in Japan are called Mamacharis! What a great word!

The Japanese just love their miniature Dachshunds. Today we walked past a pet shop with dozens of puppies in individual cages. Poor things. We wanted to take one home. Perhaps that's why they're kept in this way, appealing to our sympathies as they gaze out so cutely.

Tomorrow Kyoto and a computer where I can upload my damn photos!!!!