Sooooo..... Let’s finish with part 2 already... right??? ^^
Hiroshima...
I cannot convey the feelings that I have whenever I hear that name... I wanted to visit this city since I was a little girl!! I remember seeing a documentary on the Japanese involvement in the 2nd World War when I was seven years old... the image of the mushroom after the bomb detonated was imprinted in my brain so hard that even today I still remember it!!!
From that day I really disliked Americans and especially that weasel J. Edgar Hoover... well, I dislike Americans more today because of ALL the problems they have caused the world ever since the war ended... I don’t say "hate" because its a very strong world, and although I am not the world's greatest humanitarian, I still don’t like violence between humans...
Anyway... we arrived at Hiroshima city and we parked the car at a public parking lot... Japan has the best parking system if not in the world; then its better than Europe's for sure ^^
The first place we visited was the Hiroshima Peace Memorial park... there where a lot of people, mostly students; obviously on a field trip... We saw the Peace Memorial and the Children Peace Monument...
I was so moved by the cranes that were surrounding the monument, I almost cried... Hiro-san told all about the significance of the crane and for what purpose they were made...
I fell in love even more with this beautiful country and its amazing people... ^^
Next stop was the Atomic bomb Dome... it was breathtaking to see it in front of your eyes... I've always wanted to be here and at the same time I never thought I would be able too... I'm sorry but my train of thoughts make no sense sometimes!!! :P its all part of being... ME!!!
While walking from the Dome to the museum Hiro-san's phone rang... it was my father... (*^*) I had forgot to let them know I arrived a couple of days ago so they were worried... :P
I informed them that I couldn’t get through with the card phone so I asked them to open the roaming system on my phone... good thing I left Hiro-san's contacts just in case!!! (^.^)
So... after that was settled I got a free hug from someone who was holding a sign saying "free hugs"... that was so weird that I pulled away and looked at him puzzled... his reaction was very funny because he blushed furiously and looked immediately down... one of his friends that were close and holding the same explained to me what it was all about!!!
I laughed and ended up hugging the whole lot (five boys), although one of them chased after me since he was doing something else and I skipped him!!! :P
I was surprised to see the girls that had gathered there chatting and being shy to give a hug... hugs to us Europeans is nothing!!! We hug people all the time... ahahaha... most affectionate action to show u like someone I guess...
But what troubled me was that the first guy hugged me impromptu so I asked him why he did it... his answer was and I quote "your eyes"... (*^*)
Finally we reached our destination... the museum... so far, Hiro-san paid for everything, tickets, food, even for my manju... ^^; I guess it was the result of the talk we had last night... how Japanese men are so cold towards women... hehehe... It was so funny... he was trying so hard to be chivalrous... but I did manage to pay the entry to the museum... ^^
He argued with that so I had to explain that it was acceptable for women to pay for men too... especially when they considered each other friends... so he finally let go and I had my way!!! :P I am good at that I guess.... *fufufu*
We saw the whole museum conversing about what happened in war, how and why everything turned out the way they did... it was a nice exchange of information on the history part, because he told me the Japanese side of the story and I told him the European part... (^.^)
Photos aren’t allowed in the museum but at that time I so excited that I forgot about it and I took a photo of a watch that had stopped at the time of the bombing... the guard immediately came and asked me to delete the photo... but before I was able to do so, he asked me from where I was... I guess he was curious of my whereabouts... :P
I told him I was from Greece and his reaction surprised me... he was surprised too and told me that his dream was to travel one day to Greece and see the Parthenon... (o.o) the next thing he said shocked me... he said and I quote "don’t delete photo, but no more!"; he said that in English... Hiro-san served as a translator in the previous conversation...
I must have stood still looking at him for a few minutes, because he turned to Hiro-san and asked him if I was okay (that much I understand in Japanese)!!! I shook my head and asked him if it was okay for me to keep the photo and he just nodded sending us away towards the other displays...
Although I never got his name I thank him so much for his kindness and I hope he gets to visit Greece one day!!! ^^
Final stop of the museum was the floor with the waxed impressions... I don’t think I want to see that again... the emotions I felt were so strong my heart almost exploded... and I felt a huge... sadness... filled with immense rage... especially when I saw an elderly American couple (around 60 - 65 years old); the woman was crying at the site of the waxed impression that depicted three children going to school as their skin melted from the heat wave after the bomb exploded...
My hands are shaking as I write this... (!__!)
This woman kept saying "I cant believe we did this" over and over again between tears... at that moment I wanted to lash out and tell her how stupid and hypocritical she seemed, but I managed to harness my anger and just felt sorry for her that she was brought up in a society that brainwashes its people in believing they are superior then others... I walked out of the room quickly and pulled Hiro-san with me...
He was surprised at my action and wondered what happened so I told him and he nodded saying he felt the same way...
That was my day trip to Miyajima and Hiroshima... but the day didn’t end there... :P because when we arrived home, Hiro-san's wife had cooked okonomiyaki... Hiro-san called it Japanese pizza!!! ahahahahahaha
It was delicious I must admit... and I so want to eat it again >.<
When we finished with dinner we went to the "western room" with a big bottle of sake and some Japanese snacks... we got drank once again!!!! :P