20 juin 2008
Hiroshima, heavy with history and tragedy
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A southern city, small by Japanese standards, with around 1 million inhabitants, Hiroshima conveys a unique and tragic memory on the worldwide maps and history books since August 1945. Today, we forget that we are on a fantastic visit to Japan. We go back in time to revisit one of the darkest pages in the history of human kind.
The peace memorial museum presents the masterminds and the historical events that lead to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and - 3 days later - Nagasaki. 
There are vibrating audiovisual testimonies on the aftermath of the bombing, the death and misery, the various unexplainable effects of radiation, and above all, its continued effects until today on the survivors’ lives. The exhibits explain in technical mechanisms and cold indifferent words, the various stages of the nuclear reaction. The last part draws the scary nuclear race, retracing the technologies developed during the cold war until today and the efforts of the Hiroshima and worldwide communities for peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons.
The visit left us speechless and with grim reflections of the future. Beautiful flowers are offered everyday in remembrance of the victims in front of the solemn peace monument.
We are very surprised by the ability of the Japanese to remember the tragedy and equally forgive the world for its indulgence and indifference to the continuous nuclear tests and armament in front of the peace efforts. There are fingers pointed, but very gracefully, with the wiser smile of a parent.
Despite its association with the human tragedy, Hiroshima has long risen from the rubble and is a wonderful city with large avenues, and small buildings on both sides of the river with the streetcars (tramway) that give it an old-time charm.
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On the path of history, we take the earliest train to Nagasaki in the afternoon. Later in the day, we have a nice bike stroll looking for a jazz bar that appears to be closed. We take bikes and ride around and end up in the red light district; lots of prostitutes and salary men, visibly drunk. It’s definitely a very different facet of Japan that we have not seen so far.
With its narrow backside roads, small eateries, and neon lights, Nagasaki has a typical – somehow fishy but full of charm – south east Asian feel.
We continue riding and end up at Ayer’s Rock bar where we sip our ritual cocktails. The place is truly underground, very dark. If techno and DJs are your thing, you’ll love the place.
Tip of the Day
In Hiroshima, we stay at Comfort Hotel, a business hotel. There are three Confort hotel, we stay at the most modern one (slightly more expensive, but still a great bargain – 8400¥). Good service, free bikes, free internet and nice breakfast. Coffee (included espresso) free of charge whenever guests want!
Lunch: at Fukuya shopping mall on the 11th floor at the Italian restaurant, great deal at 1100¥ / person with salad, dessert and a drink. But food is nothing to write home about. Views from the restaurant are great though.
In Hiroshima, we have a drink in a great bar (Opium) that also serves decent basic meal.
A trip by street car in Hiroshima costs only 150¥. It costs 100¥ in Nagasaki.
13 juin 2008
Takayama – As cold as it gets
We wake up to a white Takayama. In the room it’s hot like a sauna bath and we could hardly believe when we open the window that it has been snowing all night. It takes enormous will to get out of bed and walk to the morning market at Miya-gawa. The town is really small by Japanese standards and we walk around quietly to discover one sight after the other. The ticket for the Takayama Yatai Kaikan with festival floats is really overpriced unless you’re really interested in Matsuri (a traditional Japanese festival). The museum is quite disappointing. However, it includes entrance to the nearby Sakurayama Nikko-Kan with miniature models of Nikko shrines very neatly displayed.
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Sunshine is back and the melting snow is dripping from the tiled roofs. We take a walk in the traditional streets, and have furtive looks inside the alleys and houses. The sunshine is gone again and it starts snowing. We take refuge in some sake breweries and sample various kinds of sake…at 10 in the morning. The only sake that lasts longer than 3 months ends up in our shopping bag. (sake doesn’t last, once a bottle is open, it should be drunk within a week, a month maximum) To recover from the sake taste, we drop in the next merchant house and taste a good miso soup that warms us up.
We go back in the street and we can barely move our fingers from the cold. We take refuge again in a good restaurant where we taste the famed Hida beef in sukiyaki style. It’s still snowing. This is as cold - and as rural as it gets for us in Japan.
We hop on the next train to Hiroshima and have a big nap on the last train section. On arrival, we haven’t even decided where to sleep or how to get there. With the help of a very nice gentleman, we get to destination and even have a bike ride around the city and take a quick look at the Atomic-Bomb Dome – the hypocenter of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima - lighted from the inside.
Tip of the day:
Country Hotel Takayama, just facing the station at 11,000¥ the double room including breakfast is a no frills business hotel. Breakfast is included and is just ok.
In Takayama, we have a sukiyaki lunch at Suzuya restaurant with great thin Hida beef slices.
