3-23-07

This is going to have to be one of those `Look at the pictures, read the comments` entry cause honestly I can`t remember all the things that I did in Nagasaki. I`ll have to recount my experience through photos.

First off I arrived in Nagasaki a little later in the after noon so I didn`t have too much time to walk around after finding a hostel to stay at. I`m finding that youth hostels in Japan are more restrictive than I would like, imposing curfews, allowing only one shower a day (very strange in Japan) and charging for everything from fresh sheets to using the kitchen facilities. But nothing a little beer can`t help right? Or maybe a lot of beer, perhaps 2 liters of Asahi out of a vending machine? Unfortunately vending machines in Japan require you to insert a Japanese drivers license before making your purchase, damn.


I had a map of Nagasaki but I`ve found that if I just start walking around interesting things will make themselves known to me. Lo and behold, a giant Buddha on a turtle appeared on a hill! I think in some cultures a turtle is supposed to support the universe on his back like Atlas and the globe. But it`s been a long time since I studied mythology so I`m probably wrong. Either way, the inside of the turtle is a shrine that isn`t all that impressive and is kind of a let down considering there`s a Buddha on the turtles back. Sometimes I like to imagine what would happen if the Buddha came to life and started attacking the city.




This is the hypo center of where the atomic bomb struck Nagasaki at 11:02 am. It was detonated high above the city with a fatality rate of 100% within a km radius of the blast. The black monolith was the first structure erected after the blast. Around this area are many bomb-related exhibits like the Peace Statue, Peace Park, Victims Memorial and the Atomic Bomb Museum. I found that all the bomb sites are extremely peaceful and are great places to just sit and think for a while. I thought it was nice that these kids were taking a picture.





This is the Peace Statue in the Peace park near the hypo center. One arm points upwards to warn against nuclear weapons and the other points out symbolizing eternal peace. I met a nice Australian woman here but her two daughters were really going at it with each other. I thought `Oh how nice, a relaxing family vacation.`










Here is a likeness of the Peace Statue rendered in paper cranes strung together. This was inside the Atomic Bomb museum and I walked past it not really noticing it. I did a double take and had to walk back to understand what it was. Paper cranes are supposed to represent prayers for the deceased and for the cease of nuclear arms.






My family has always thought that we had family members who died in the bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In the Atomic Bomb Museum there are internet terminals with databases of the victims and audio and video testimony. I searched for `Okamura` and found quite a lot of individuals.








This table is in the middle of the Victims Memorial center and is a place where visitors can put paper cranes in memory of the victims. I took a page from my journal and made a crane for the table. Mine is the small tiny one next to the pink cranes on the right.









There is also the Sanno Shrine that was blown in half by the atomic bomb farther away from the hypo center in what is now an apartment complex. It is still standing on its one leg. I love this shrine, the symbolism is unmistakable.