Lost in Ogawa

August 6th 1945, 8:15A.M., a day that forever changed Hiroshima, Japan……..As an American, if you didn’t know that day as the day the United States dropped the atomic bomb on Japan, SHAME on YOU!! Ok, actually I didn’t know either prior to my visit to Hiroshima. If you asked me what year War World II ended, there’s a possibility I might get that wrong too! If I wanted to know about history and especially about War World II, all I have to do is ask my history major roommate from college or have him look it up! Anyway, it was rather suiting that my first visit to Hiroshima coincided with the 60th year anniversary of the bomb dropping. It would be pretty cool to tell my kids one day that I was in Hiroshima 60 years later since the incident took place… or maybe not! Anyway, after a year in Japan, my ability to recognize some Kanji (Chinese characters) has allowed me to understand that Hiroshima in Japanese means wide or large (hiro) island (shima). It’s not an island per say but a very wide and flat piece of land with many canals or rivers running through it. Being in Hiroshima was a little surreal for me because I never knew if I would make a trip out to Hiroshima. Geographically, it is quite far from Tokyo or from where I live in Saitama for that matter. So my friends and I flew there! It still took about 1.5 hrs., but compared to the Shinkasen(bullet train), which is about 3 hrs., and for about the same fare, the plane was the best choice. First thing we saw in Hiroshima was the famous “Atomic Dome.” This is the only building left in the original condition after the bombing devastated and wiped out Hiroshima city. Hiroshima today is considered a new city with relatively new buildings. The condition of the building is left there as a memorial but also to remind the world never to repeat this atrocity ever again. The building is in ruins with bricks on the ground but some metal infrastructure has been placed inside to prevent the complete crumbling of the building. I didn’t know what to feel when I first saw the dome. I was still full of excitement to be in Hiroshima and then suddenly to see something that is suppose to remind you of great sadness; it just didn’t come right away. It seems like I needed a switch to turn off happiness and a switch to turn on serious mode. Taking picture with the dome was awkward. I usually smile in my pictures but somehow smiling in front of the dome seems unrespectful. Next we visited the nearby memorial peace museum with history and artifacts found after the aftermath. Some things were pretty gruesome. There were pictures of how the city looked and how the people looked and I’m sure you can all imagine what they would look like or actually have seen some footages or images from textbooks, magazines, or documentaries. Seeing actual items found and left behind were the things that interested me the most. I tried to imagine and visualize the people that might have owned these items. Many charred school uniforms and school bags were also donated to the museum by parents who lost their child. There were also locks of hair that the parents cut off from their child after they died. One exhibit was gruesome but also amazing. It was a complete nail with skin attached to it that was easily pealed off from the child’s hand. The coolest item I saw was a watch that stopped exactly at 8:15AM. The museum did educate me more about the incident at Hiroshima and why the bomb was dropped there. At that time scientist including Albert Einstein who had helped created the bomb did not know what consequences the bomb would have on human beings and it was the first time in human history that an atomic bomb was used on humans. Did you know that?!!

The next day, we visited a nearby island called “Miyajima.” It was a nice ferry ride to the island and as we approached the island, I saw something that I always associated with Hiroshima. It was the giant red “Torii” gate in the waters. If you take a look at my pics, you’ll know what I’m talking about. This gate is actually a gate to a shrine called “Itsukushima jinja.” It is a beautiful shrine built right by the water. When it is high tide, water runs underneath the shrine. According to what I read, Miyajima is a sacred place to ancient Japanese people. Today, it’s just a tourist attraction! There are deers all over the island and you can buy deer biscuits to feed them so they’re not afraid of humans at all. We climbed the mountain at Miyajima and the view from the top was gorgeous with the help of good weather. Finally on the third and final day, we visited Hiroshima castle. The castle was cool and all but not too impressive. Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve seen a castle elsewhere in Japan before and they all look the same or the fact it’s not really the “actual” castle when it was first built but just a replica because obviously, the castle was also wiped out due to the A-Bomb.

Overall it was a fun and educational trip concerning both America and Japan. I’m very fortunate to have this opportunity to visit Hiroshima. Most of my Japanese friends from the Tokyo region have not even been to Hiroshima themselves either. Hiroshima city definitely feels very different to Tokyo. I made the analogy that Hiroshima to Tokyo is like the San Francisco to Los Angeles. Hiroshima is more relaxed and calm and it has street cars! I don’t know if I’ll ever get another chance to go to Hiroshima but I recommend that anybody that stops by Japan to try and visit Hiroshima if you can. Once I got back to Saitama and back to school on Monday morning, instead of asking me what I saw at Hiroshima, the Japanese teachers asked me, “What did you eat at Hiroshima?”

Pictures
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/tonykao0627/album?.dir=4e76&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos

NFL in Tokyo? God, I miss football! It’s been one year since I watched an NFL game. Well….that’s not true, I did download last years SuperBowl from the internet! Good old internet! I was walking in Tokyo one day, and I randomly came across a poster that advertised NFL in Tokyo called the “American Bowl.” For a moment, I was stunned because I was thinking to myself, NFL? Japan? Really?!! It was the Indianapolis Colts vs. the Atlanta Falcons. These were the two teams that were runner ups to the SuperBowl last year. I actually didn’t realize this until much later on. Anyway, the poster featured star quarterbacks Peyton Manning for the Colts and Michael Vick for the Falcons, both whom I would love to see in action. Believe it not, I have never seen a LIVE NFL game before in my life. I remember myself starting to watch NFL football as early as when I was in Junior High over ten years ago?! And with no professional team in LA now, my chances of seeing a NFL game was even lower. I was dead set on seeing this game. I thought, “NFL in Tokyo? When am I going to get another chance to watch professional American Football in Japan?(well, maybe next year if I’m still living in Japan!)” As I researched prices and availabilities for the seats in Tokyo Dome where they plan to hold the match, I began asking friends who would be interested in going with me. I knew right away my Japanese friends wouldn’t be interested but when I started asking my fellow American friends, I was surprised nobody was as enthusiastic as I was or showed interested in going. In fact at the end, I found nobody to go with and I went by MYSELF!! I really didn’t mind at all. I was just so thrilled that I was going to see a NFL game!

Prior to the game outside the Dome, representative cheerleaders from both teams were signing autographs. Unfortunately, I got there at the end of the autograph session so I didn’t have the chance to get any signatures. I did get some pictures of them but it wouldn’t it be more cool if I had picture taken with them? This is where a friend would come in handy and take a picture FOR me. I was expecting to see only guys lining up for the autographs but there were plenty of Japanese women as well. Actually, I think these women were girlfriends or wives of the Japanese men! Maybe they’re there to keep the guys from drooling too much. Among the cheerleaders, there was one Asian girl that seems to be everybody’s favorite cheerleader. I don’t know if she’s Japanese but she got a lot of attention from the attending fans. She also got a lot of coverage on the Jumbo Tron in the Dome.

I was SO excited waiting for the game to start I almost pissed my pants!! Not literally of course, haha. As I expected, it was not a sellout crowd but there were still a good amount of people that attended. I didn’t even think the Japanese would even have interest in watching football but I was wrong. And of course, there were plenty of foreigners wherever I looked. I had a good view of the whole field but I couldn’t see any players in detail. I was only able to make out the player’s jersey number if I squint hard enough. I was able to pinpoint Manning and Vick who were the only two players I wanted to watch closely. As the first kickoff began, my adrenaline was at its ultimate high, I think I was screaming like a maniac throughout the game, yelling things like, “sack him! SACK HIM!!” or “GET his ASS, GET HIM!” Fortunately the seats around me were unoccupied. Every time a great play was taking place, I would stand up and cheer but then I would look around and see myself and other foreigners be the only people standing. When a bad play or somebody gets hit hard, I would “Boo” and “Awww” but I wouldn’t hear a peep from my Japanese neighbors. Once in awhile, I would hear the Japanese couple behind me say “sugoi ne (that’s wonderful/cool isn’t it).” They must think I’m weird when I put both my arms straight up into the air every time a field goal is made! I’m sure the Japanese are equally excited as I am if they were watching a football, I mean SOCCER game. It was an awesome game overall. I wish they would play Manning, Vick and other starters longer than one quarter! The Falcons were the winner and it was a close game. The Colts lost by a touchdown and it came down to 4th and 10 as the last play. The MVP for the Falcons received a pair of katana, or Japanese sword (you know the thing that Morpheus used in the Matrix) in place of a trophy, that was interesting. I enjoyed the experience immensely especially being reacquainted again with the hard hitting sounds of football. Boy, do I miss the violence haha! The last thing I saw on the Jumbo Tron before I left Tokyo Dome was “Winng Team, Atlanta Falcons.” Oh yeah, one last thing, only girls sold beer in the dome. They wore a uniform advertising the brand of the beer and carried a keg on their back with a portable dispenser. Now THAT was cool!
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