A Message of Prosperity Through Peace

The more you do something, the easier it becomes. Sure, I agree with this to an extent, yet no matter how many stand-by flights I’ve taken, there continues to be, for me, a period of slight anxiety and panic before knowing if I’m getting on that particular flight or not. This feeling of the “in-between” space of not knowing one way or the other hasn’t lessened with time and experience.

This has also been the case, in my experience, when I set out on an adventure on my own. Despite having numerous opportunities now of travelling by myself in several countries, and knowing that I genuinely LOVE my solo adventures, the period before I set off STILL produces nerves, anxiety and doubt.

So, when B-Rod left to go to Tokyo leaving me behind in Kyoto to figure out my next path, I was having this stirring of emotion exacerbated a bit because I genuinely didn’t know where I would go the next day (I had a few options, but hadn’t made a definite decision).

In the meantime, B-Rod and I were keeping in contact and messaging about our experiences. We were both staying that night in capsule-type hotels. It was B’s first experience and he had chosen a place based on “sort by lowest price” 😆

I ended up in a different kind of capsule called a “pocket hotel” which was essentially a tiny room for one.

My last night in Kyoto I decided to go out for okonomiyaki which a friend had recommended to me as something to eat in Kyoto. I set my sites on a place, sheepishly walked in the door, was welcomed in, and after the initial uncertainty of if I spoke Japanese or not, was handed the English menu and through points, hand gestures and other ways to communicate was offered suggestions and recommends. They warned me it would take at least 20 minutes to prepare, and though I was happy to sit there simply observing, eventually an American couple (the husband had been stationed in Japan in the army more than 20 years ago and spoke Japanese very well) was sat next to me and we spent our dinner chatting and sharing stories. My solo adventure, like the ones before, was going to be just fine because everything always works out! ☺️

I got back to my place, decided where I would go the next day and had a cozy sleep in my lil’ room.

The next morning I hoped on the Shinkansen (bullet train), watched the scenery race by, got a message from B-Rod of a single picture to show what he was doing with his last day in Tokyo, . . . .

. . . . and I found myself here.

I unintentionally timed things so well, that I got off the train, walked to my accommodation where I was able to drop off my bags before check-in and continued walking straight to a meeting point for another free walking tour.

Our tour guide was Akiko, and it was another EXCELLENT introduction to the culture, people, food and history of the area.

Most of our time was spent in Peace Memorial Park and, thanks to her detailed and researched information and the impact of the place in general, I dedicated a whole other day to exploring and being in that area on my own.

Her share that I took advantage of immediately that night, was her food recommend.

Seeing as I had had Osaka style okonomiyaki in Kyoto the night before, I took this as an opportunity to do a comparison with Hiroshima style okonomiyaki immediately!

Okonomimura is a building of okonomiyaki restaurants in Hiroshima which has 4 floors and over 20 small okonomiyaki restaurants. Thankfully, I was also given the recommend to go to Hassho because that’s a bit too many choices for me!

Okonomiyaki is basically like a Japanese omelette or pizza (or combination of the two?!) The base is made from flour, egg and soup stock and often includes cabbage and pork, but you can basically add what you want in the pancake mix or to layer on top. They are made on a grill in front of you and is made on the spot so takes a bit of time.

While made of the same ingredients, but prepared a bit differently, in the battle of Osaka vs. Hiroshima okonomiyaki for me the winner was Hiroshima for no other reason that I can pinpoint except that maybe it just tasted better that day?! 🤷🏽‍♀️

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Of course Hiroshima will globally and forever be known as the first place where a nuclear weapon was used. What struck me was how quickly and adamantly the city seemed to be to use this event and all of the stories that came out of this period of time of literal hell on earth (some of the side effects still happening today) as an example to choose a different path – the path of PEACE.

Hiroshima was bombed on August 6, 1945. On August 6, 1947, just two years later, along with a memorial and time of mourning, the city held a Peace Festival. It was here that they declared that the epicenter of the bombing from then on would be declared “the epicenter of world peace,” along with signing a peace declaration (which can be read here)

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park 広島平和記念公園, is next to the epicentre of the bomb and was built on what had once been a busy residential and business district, but in mere seconds after the explosion had became an open field. It surprised and somewhat took me aback at how very peaceful this park/place actually IS. Yes, I could feel sadness, sorrow and horrors, but it felt a lot less heavy than I expected it to feel, and I believe that it’s because this area was rebuilt with the very intention that peace, and not simply holding the focus on the bombing, would be at the centre and focus of the rebuild.

The Atomic Bomb Dome was 160m from the location of the bomb and one of the only buildings in the epicenter that wasn’t completely destroyed. Citizens of the city decided to keep the structure as is for a reminder of the incident. In 1996 it was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site and is a symbol for the motto “No More Hiroshimas”

The Rest House was another one of the few structures that survived the blast. It was restored in 1982 and renovated in 2018 back to its original shape. It houses the tourist information and various exhibits. The basement was kept in tact and serves as a small museum where Eizo Nomura, the lone person who survived in the building, was down getting papers to do his work for the day when the bomb exploded.

The Children’s Peace Monument is dedicated to the children who died in the bombing and has an inscription that says “This is our cry, this is our prayer: for building peace in the world.” The statue on top is based on the story of Sadako Sasaki who died from radiation from the bomb. “She is known for folding over 1,000 paper cranes in response to a Japanese legend. To this day, people (mostly children) from around the world fold cranes and send them to Hiroshima where they are placed near the statue. The statue has a continuously replenished collection of folded cranes nearby.“

The Bell of Peace (biggest one of three) encourages people to ring the bell for peace and it was cool to hear it ringing and vibrating at various points while walking through the park.

Ground Zero is not actually in the park grounds and is on a nondescript street beside the hospital that was rebuilt after being destroyed by the bomb. It was so quiet, so surreal, and so sad.

The Memorial Cenotaph houses the names of all the people in Hiroshima who were killed by the bomb, along with a sheet that states “many victims with their names unknown.” During the annual Peace Memorial Ceremony new names of victims who died during the past year are added.

The Peace Flame was lit in 1964 and has been burning continuously since then. It will continue to burn until all nuclear weapons on the planet are destroyed.

And these were just some of the MAIN monuments, structures and memorials in the park. There were soooo many more, but as I mentioned earlier the whole area resounded with an aura of peace as opposed to feeling weighted down by sadness. Maybe it was because of the abundance of greenery and flowers, or simply the intention that was placed into the creation of it.

Having said that, my aim was to go to the museum after a few hours in the park, but it was just too much to take in and I couldn’t do it. I wasn’t actually sure if I was going to go to the museum at all, but after a day away from the city spent in another area, I came back to the museum and am so glad I did.

The museum was so well done. It was sad, and it was real about what the event looked/felt like, the aftermath and the struggles, some of which continue to this day. Everyone deserves for their stories to be told, but some stories no matter how difficult NEED to be heard.

Hiroshima has two city slogans: “the tragedy of war” and “prosperity through peace” I love how Hiroshima has used this to remember and direct their energy and focus towards a future of peace vs only looking at a past filled with pain. It’s very easy, to look at the world we live in now and wonder if us as a species and humanity in general has even learned anything from all of this. The optimist in me wants very badly for Hiroshima’s wish of a nuclear free world to become true despite the stats that show yearly we’re heading in quite an opposite direction. What actually brings me hope is an awareness I have had very recently . . . . no matter what we humans choose to do (or not do) . . . nature will be just fine. So while humans tend to veer towards complicated and divisive, following the aftermath of our meddling and control (however that ends up looking), nature will simply do what nature does – put ALL of it’s energy into regenerating, renewing and creating new and different beauty even if from destruction.

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The weather wasn’t the greatest while I was in Hiroshima, and there were a few (sometimes quite heavy) rain periods. When looking at the forecast there was one day that was forecast to be rain free, so I chose that day to head out of the city and to the island of Itsukushima.

Itsukushima is more commonly known as Miyajima which means shrine island, or island of the gods and has been considered a holy place throughout a lot of Japan’s history. It’s well known for it’s “floating torii” and Mt Misen.

Torri gates are often found at the front of Shinto shrines and I love their symbolism! They represent the transition from the mundane to the sacred. The “floating torri” is in front of Itsukushima shrine and appears to be floating based on the tides. When I arrived it was in a period of floating!

The population of Miyajima is only about 2,000 but is a heavily visited island of mainly day trippers. I knew it would be busy, but I had also heard it is quite beautiful and there was a hike I wanted to do to Mt Misen. There are two ways to get to this highest point on Miyajima – by walking or by ropeway. Some people take the ropeway up and then walk down. Call me cray cray, but I like walking uphill more than I like going down, so up by foot and down by cable car it was for me! I think this also helped me avoid the crowds that the island is known for. I got there early enough that I was able to explore a temple that was at the foot of my walk with very few people around. On my walk up I often felt like I had the forest and views to myself. By the time I came back down it felt like a lot of day-trippers had already come and gone. It was perfect!

Wandering around Daisho-in Temple

My favourite part was the statues with red caps and sometimes bibs. Of course there are many and different explanations that I found about this, but the easiest version is that red is the colour of expelling demons and illness and so I’ll simply leave it there.

The walk up to the top of Mt Misen was great. It was quiet, peaceful, a chance to commune with nature and had some wonderful views. It was, however, A LOT of stairs and did I mention it’s fairly humid in the area? I was a hot sweaty mess by the time I got to the top!

Stairs, after stairs, after stairs, and a jump shot wondering how many more stairs . . . .

. . . . . until I finally made it to the top. Worth it!!

Taking a different way down in order to get to the ropeway, I come accross Shinkido Hall aka Eternal Fire Hall. “Here, in 806, [a monk] Kobo Daishi undertook ascetic practice for one hundred days on the mountain. The fire lit here has supposedly been lit for over 1,200 years and it was used to light the eternal flame in the Hiroshima Peace Park.”

A couple cable cars to get back down

And back in time to see the torii no longer floating

It was a great day in Miyajima and I’d love to go back again to at least stay overnight next time!

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I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Hiroshima and though I could have stayed longer, it was time to start making the trek back. But first on the way from there back to Narita to fly out, I was excited to make a stop at a friend’s farm. I met F during a program and later in a training we did together. I loved her playful, childlike energy and actually forgot that she lived in Japan. Luckily a mutual friend of ours reminded me of this and alerted F to the fact I was there. She invited me over and I got to spend two days with her, her husband and pets. It was sooo special!

During the day F would spend some time working while I wandered around her peaceful countryside and explored the town nearby. Eventually we’d meet up and go for a walk, go to the onsen (public bath house which I was soooooo happy to finally get to!!), or simply sit, have tea and chat. She has been living in Japan for the past 24 years, their children were born and raised there and we had so many interesting conversations about the culture of Japan, their life on the farm, the experiences of a foreigner in Japan, family dynamics, relationships, and life in general. I was so welcome and well taken care of, and it was two days that truly filled my soul!

At the farm

Japanese countryside

Wanders/discoveries around town

And, of course, we jumped!!

Thanks so much for everything F!!!!! I can’t wait for our paths to cross again! ❤️

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Of course, I can’t forget about the food!

The “standards”

The seasonal

The snack

The OMG’s

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My flight out (which was looking very iffy for me to actually getting on) wasn’t until the evening, and I was emailed in the morning that it would be further delayed by 2.5 hours. After doing a bit of research to figure out how to spend my time, Narita became my FAVOURITE airport when I discovered there was a free shuttle from the airport to a nearby onsen (hot springs) where I quickly planned to spend the day.

A full day (on a rainy day I might add) spent soaking in tubs, getting a Korean scrub down, sweating in saunas and reading and sleeping in the nap room was THE best way to spend the day before a flight out (spoiler alert . . . . I made the flight!)

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I freaking LOVED my time in Japan!! 🇯🇵❤️ Will I be back?! Hells Yeah!!!! 🎉

Thank you Japan! You rock!