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We arrived in Hiroshima two dfays ago and stayed in an amazing little place called the World Friendship Centre. It is the base of a peace organisation set up in the 1960s to highlight the plight of the survivors of the atimic bomb and to foster cultural understanding between Easst and West. They offer conversation classes to local residents, volunteer tours of the peace park, the chance to meet survivors (most of whom are in their 70s) and they also run a small guest house. Unfortunately we didn`t have time to take up the tour or meet a survivor but talking to the American volunteer directors really framed our visit to the a-bomb museum and the peace park. When we arrived larry, one of our two hosts, explained the history of the organisation and then directed us to the museum. We were rwvenous and decided that we couldn`t really go round the museum on empty stomachs (last time I was there 9 years ago the gravity of the subject left me dizzy and I had to leave to get some fresh air) so we braved the cafe which turned out to be a low point in our culinary adventures. Darren had microwave pilaff with horrible watery miso soup. I had the same microwed pilaff wrapped in omlette with ketchup (it`s called Om ruice and usually is delicious) which was pretty disappointing. At least it filled our stomachs before we entered the musuem which tackled an extremely sobering subject with a little bias as possible. The firast section explained why the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima (a former military centre) and why the Americans felt they had to drop it despite the Japanese being in a very weak position. It also went into the science of the bomb but I was not very good at following that. The second section had object after object belonging to those who died in the bomb-clothes in singed tatters after their owners received fatal burns, a lunch box with a charred meal inside never eaten, glass bowls fused together by the heat of the bomb and with each a harrowing story of the owner`s fate-many had survived in a terrible state only to die a day or worse 3 days afterwards. After the museum we took a sombre stroll around the @peace park and up to the a bomb dome-one of only two buildings to remain standing in a 2km raduis after the bomb was dropped. Feeling rather desolate about the obstacles standing in the way of a nuclear weapon free world we saw a small sign of hope when a heron (very much resembling a crane) flew up into the bombed out dome and hopped about the building delighting us and dispelling some of our gloom. With the light fading we decided to go for a ramble to Hiroshima castle and see it lit up a night. Having had our spirits revived by the heron and the castle glowing in the darkness we headed back to the WDC and ate okinomiyaki in a local place just round the corner. Okinomiyaki is my favourite Japanese food-it`s pancakes stuffed with vegetables and other toppings (photos to come) and cooked on a hot plate in front of you. In Hiroshima it`s made by making to pancakes and putting the vegetaables and other toppings like noodles in the middle but in Osaka the vegetables and toppings are mixed in with the pancake batter. Now we`ve had delicious Hiroshima okonomiyaki we will be sampling Osaka style ones when we go to Osaka in a few days.
The next day we were treated to a wonderful breakfast by Larry and his wife JoAnn. We were served hot toast with bluberry jam, cereal and yoghurt with pinapple juice. All the guests and Larry and JoAnn ate together at 8am and we met two women fromEngland who work for a children`s sleep disorder unit in Southampton. There job sounds facinating and Darren had a really good conversation with them and speech therapy and sleep deprivation. After packing up slowly we left Hiroshima bound for Naoshima, a small island dotted with contemporary art installations and galleries. We were sad to say goodbye to Larry and JoAnn who had been such wonderful hosts. They really went out of their way to make us welcome even popping to the shops to buy me a mosquito pellet plug in as I am getting feasted on almost daily and JoAnn gave me some of her antihistamines to help ease the itching as the bites are driving me mad and you can`t get those tablets in the chemist over here.
We now have to catch a ferry off Naoshima to will write about are art adventures next time we have internet access.
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