Hi guys~ Today is Niki
telling you all about our third day in Japan (: We woke up this morning in our
Japanese style rooms, and I have to admit, I really do love futon. They’re so
comfortable, and the blankets are so fluffy and warm T-T. I think we all wanted
to keep one haha! Some of us went back to the public baths, but I take too long
in the morning to get ready so no ofuro for me. Leaving the island, we headed
to Hiroshima where we visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial site. We saw the
A-bomb building, Children’s Peace Memorial with Sadako, and the museum
dedicated to the atomic bombing. Honestly, the museum was pretty shocking. It’s
an extreme understatement to say that the event was sad, and I feel that
American history classes never cover these events very thoroughly at all,
although I suppose that it’s to be expected considering the events are taught
through an American perspective. Everything in there was so eye opening though;
it really made you question whether dropping the bomb was worth all the extensive
suffering. Towards the end of the exhibits, there was a book that guests could
write their thoughts in it. One of the guests, a foreigner most likely
considering they wrote in English, had said that the saddest part was that the
atomic bombing was inevitably going to happen again. And as much as I hate to
admit it, it’s not totally doubtful. Maybe not in our lifetime, but eventually,
with all the nuclear research going on, isn’t it very possible?
Straying from that subject,
something less disheartening: After leaving Hiroshima, we took the shinkansen
(bullet train) to Kurashiki, and Sensei brought us to an area that had
preserved the Edo period’s style of structures and architecture. The site was
really quite interesting, seeming to come out of nowhere in the very developed
area of modern Kurashiki. There was a water canal that separated the two sides,
with bridges to connect the pathways across. Shops and restaurants lined the
sides, with street venders sitting along the canal. There were two shops that
sold wire pins shaped into names, and I found my own middle name: Shizuko. I
didn’t really know what I would do with a pin like that however, so opted on
not buying it. I do regret it a bit now however. It might have been nice just
to have.
As we left the Edo past and
came back to the present, we walked to Ario shopping center, where we were let
free to shop as we liked for about an hour and a half. I have to admit that I
probably bought the most out of anyone, but I did bring money to shop, so shop I
will!
Finally, we boarded the
shinkansen once more to Osaka, and took the train to Umeda where we will be
staying for the next four nights. Osaka really is beautiful, probably one of my
favorite cities in Japan if not my favorite. Sensei took us to dinner at a
family style restaurant, and that was pretty nice. I had clam pasta :D
Returning to the hotel, many of us stayed down in the lobby to use the free
wifi. Teenagers these days haha. Jk I’m definitely one of them. But because we
didn’t have wifi the last day or two, it was nice to finally talk to our
friends and family back home again. Super tired now though so I’ll be going to
sleep soon. Oyasumi (:
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