39. Dalian, China

Dalian, China

I was lucky; China Customs picked me for a face to face interview. They did not only pick me but a random selection of the passengers on board; they wanted to see all of us at midnight. No kidding, midnight. The problem was most people they selected were asleep at that time. What to do? The Ship’s Purser negotiated to have the face to face interview at 9.00 AM the next morning instead. And what was all this about? A Chinese woman had a list; maybe 30 people were on the list. You step up to her, passport in hand, she looked at the passport, hooked off the name in the list, glanced at you, nodded her head and off you go. Not a word was spoken. A very strange interview! Stranger even to want do this at midnight. Welcome to China.

Port of Dalian Building

We docked at Dalian at 11.00 AM but somehow the Chinese Border Security was already on board. Were they on board since Shanghai? After Shanghai we went to Korea, so did they go to Korea with the ship? Did they jump onto the ship like harbor pilots do at each port? When did they come on board? If they wanted a midnight interview they had to be on board, right? Again, very strange to have Chinese border guards on our ship while we are at sea coming from Korea. Stranger still to think we were being watched since we left where? Shanghai? Or even Inchon? Welcome to China. The hidden agendas of China give me the creeps!



Almost No People About

 There was an unnatural quiet at the Dalian Harbor. No band greeted us. We were the only large ship at the pier, not even a freighter was being loaded near by. Carol and I took a walk then took a taxi to the Wanda Mansion Complex. This is a newly built housing tower complex for the super rich. Does this sound right to you? I said for the Super Rich! Here in China? Yes in deed, super

Gates for the Wanda Mansion

rich. And Dalian, this city in the North of China is the residence of the richest man in China. This man has more money than Buffet. He alone owns Wanda, the corporation that recently bought AMC movie theaters in the U.S. (all of them) for 2.4 billion dollars, U.S. The same man just a few months ago, with the help of the Mayor of Chicago, announced he will build a new skyscraper on

Of Course the Only Open Entrance is Guarded
Wanda Mansion Buildings in Background

North Shore Drive that will become an icon of Chicago. What is the cost of the hotel, residence building? a mere 980 million U.S. dollars. There are many more such acquisitions in the U.S. by a selected group of Chinese billionaires. I just follow the Wanda Corporation.

Not many people have paid attention to this, or to the

Wall on the Side of the Wanda Complex

seemingly sleepy city of Dalian, way North in China. Dalian is a city that has seen its troubles in the past. It was a Manchurian City, and then a Chinese City, then Russian, then occupied by Japan and then it recently reverted back to China. The architecture, the mix of cultures, the city layout is so very different from any other place in China. Large parks, roads that radiate outwards from large roundabouts remind me of Paris. Some folks here on board thought it beautiful. Sure this is China, too.

Buildings Being Erected

We were only 6 hours in Dalian, not enough time to do much. Since my focus was the Wanda Corporation I did not visit down town nor the parks and or large Squares. Beijing claims Tiananmen Square is the largest public square. Not quite, Dalian’s public square is bigger.

I just took a few pictures of

Delivery By Motorcycle to the Wanda Mansion

buildings going up, walked over brand new, but already cracked sidewalks, watched a Ferrari Testa Rosa drive by and looked at the stunned face of a delivery guy on a shabby tricycle when he saw the car. There are two levels in China. The ‘have’ level of grandeur and wealth with Ferraris is one level and the level of the delivery guy who still pedals his bicycle in freezing cold weather to make

Really Cold in Dalian

deliveries is the other. There really is no middle class. Dalian has both levels but there seems to be an unusually higher number of the ‘haves’ here. One can judge by the buildings built and going up, anyhow.

 

The visit to Dalian was short. We are off to Beijing now and that is the end of my cruise adventures for a while. Last blog will most likely be from Beijing. 

 

38. Inchon, Korea

Inchon, Korea

The Demilitarized Zone

The Chinese New Year ends next week and Monday everybody goes back to work. I came to Korea explicitly to see the DMZ close up and to walk one of the tunnels the North Koreans dug so that they could move armies into South Korea without being detected. The traffic at the end of the Chinese New Year was unusually dense; it took some time to get to the 38^th parallel.

Many Signs Like This

The dividing line between North and South Korea is a heavily fortified, demarcated zone.  Both sides built walls, fences, anti-tank installations and mined woods and fields with millions of mines. Signs are everywhere spelling out “Danger Mines” in 2 languages, Korean and English. Even harmless looking roads ‘near’ the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) are

This Area Is Right Beside the Parking Lot

fenced in and signed profusely with ‘ Mines ‘. Soldiers are guarding every conceivable infiltration point, loaded weapons at the ready. The situation feels tense and is palpably dangerous. We needed our passports to enter the DMZ. A Military Police (MP) officer stepped on to our bus and inspected the passports and checked out every face. While it is routine for him, he still did not take his responsibility lightly. He was taking his job seriously and outside the bus were 4 or 5 additional MP’s with loaded weapons pointed at the bus. It only takes one spark to start a fire; the area seems to be a powder keg, waiting to go off.



Entering the Demilitarized Zone
 

The latest news reports from North Korea are not friendly. It is said that the North Koreans hate 3 Nations in particular. They hate the U.S., South Korea and then Japan. We arrived at the DMZ just after the face slashing of a US Diplomat. Not a good sign, is it? The face slasher was a S. Korean but rumor has it that he was a defector from the North. Who knows?

Demilitarized Zone Is Well Guarded

We all recall former U.S. President Bush calling North Korea the Axis of Evil. It sure seems this way when standing at the DMZ. The fact that North Korea, in the early 1970’s, dug at least 4 underground tunnels that would have been able to move whole armies into S. Korea shows their militaristic thinking. Those tunnels were only detected after a N. Korean defector, who worked on the tunnels, told S. Korea about them. To find the tunnels on the S. Korean side without digging was not an easy task. It took months to finally confirm that the defector told the truth. S. Korea, even today, still wonders if there are more tunnels than the 4 they discovered. Tunnel #1 was discovered in 1974, #2 in 1975 and tunnel #3 in 1978. Then after some years they found tunnel #4 in 1990. Like I said, nobody knows how many tunnels there are. Maybe some of them have been discovered but the public has never been told about them. Each of the tunnels was built to let 30,000 men pass through each hour. The tunnels are deep in the ground.

Getting Ready to Take the Electric Train
Into Tunnel #3

We visited tunnel #3 and an electric train took us down 230 feet below ground. The walls are rough hewn into the granite ground. Each visitor has to wear a hard hat to protect their heads. The tunnel we walked through was low. I am 6.3 and had to crouch down to move forward, in some sections so much so that it felt like ‘duck walking’. After maybe 100 yards I stopped walking, turned

Military Making Sure All Is Secure

around and ‘walked’ back. No use banging my head on the rough ceiling and getting injured. I got the basic picture, I saw the tunnel and left the rest to Carol who went on and reports that after about 400 yards one comes to a concrete wall that blocks the tunnel. Signs with “no pictures” faced Carol and there were short circuit security cameras recording everything near that blockage. Nothing to do but walk back, reports Carol. I understand that there are 2 more, similar blockages like this, deeper inside this tunnel. No picture taking was allowed inside the tunnel. But you know people; some had their phone cameras clicking in overtime. We left our cameras in lockers above ground, we are still too honest.

Watch Tower Overlooking the
Barren North Side of the DMZ
 

Tunnel #3 is open to the public and is a tourist attraction today. The tunnel is 54 km from Seoul, Korea’s capital. Interesting is the fact that S. Korea made the location of the tunnels public. I would have built devious traps inside each tunnel knowing I could kill 30,000 enemies each hour. S. Korea is nice to not do that. Or? Maybe they did that with some other tunnels they found and nobody knows about it. What do you think?

Military Lookouts Are Everywhere

Every young man in S. Korea is required to serve in the military for 21 months. Every S. Korean is aware that they live their daily life within range of missiles, artillery and sudden attack by North Korea. I think knowing this adds to inner tension or one gets so used to the danger that it fades into oblivion. The DMZ is 4 km wide. It lies 2 km in the South and 2 km plus in the North. In case a war starts again, the US President automatically becomes the Commander in Chief of the South Korean Army. The DMZ is 

Town In the DMZ, North Side,
Has Been Evacuated

a line drawn along the 38^th parallel and represents a cease fire line, not an actual border. Technically North and South Korea are still at war. Inside the 2 km border on the Southern side is a village named Freedom Village with 500 inhabitants today that live in abandoned US barracks. Land and buildings are too precious to just leave barren. This village harbored North Korean spies in the past that came over as refugees. The S. Koreans take to N. Korean spies with a smile. If S. Korea needs info about N. Korean state secrets they found ways to just ‘buy’ the information in North Korea. People are poor in N. Korea and hungry too. With enough money there are few secrets money cannot buy.



Frost on the Viewing Platform For the DMZ

A large amount of the DMZ runs along the Han and Injin rivers. When the rivers are frozen in the winter people could easily walk across were it not for the fencing on both sides. There is no longer a mutual trust among the people. The North Koreans are forbidden to learn English, it is the language of the enemy, they are told.



The Freedom Bridge; the Only Connection
Between North and South Korea

The only bridge still in existence is the Freedom Bridge. There is only one bridge between the two halves of Korea. We made a stop next to the bridge but of course nobody was crossing it. We also stopped at a lookout point where the border is clearly visible. The North is easy to recognize, there are no trees growing on their side. All the hills are barren. The trees were used up long ago for fuel or food (people ate the leaves) and nobody replants them. For me that alone was a disturbing sign.

The Freedom Train Brought Refugees
From the North to South Korea

How did all this happen? How did this wall spring up, this division of one Nation? Korea has a long, long history. It would take a few books to write the Korean History, so let me just go to the 19th Century and start from there. Korea wrests itself from China’s Qing dynasty after the Sino-Japanese war. China recognizes an independent Korea in 1895. But in 1905 Japan invaded Korea and ruled brutally over Korea until 1945. The 40 years of Imperial Japanese rule made the Koreans hate the Japanese. Japan's rule was without mercy. To speak Korean was forbidden. Korean women were forced to become Comfort Women to supply the Japanese army. Capital punishment was commonplace etc. After Japan lost World War II Korea was given its “independence” with the help of the Americans and the Russians. But Korea was split along the 38^th parallel when it became obvious that the Soviets and the Americans did not agree on a form of government. All went well for a few years but the differences in political views became aggravated when China stepped into the picture. China had just become a Communistic country supported by Russia. The new China did not recognize the agreement that was signed by the Qing Dynasty creating an independent country.

Many In South Korea Would Like to
See Reunification But That Is Not Likely

Kim Il Sung, a puppet of Russia, a Communist and North Korean Prime Minister, received help from Russia to fight the occupying Japanese during World War II. After the U.S. dropped the Bombs on Japan and ended the war with Japan, Kim Il Sung saw his chance to make all of Korea another communistic county. He now turned to China and asked for support to kick the remaining US

A Monument Proposing Reunification

soldiers out of South Korea. The U.S., not wanting another war, agreed to a compromise and to separate Korea into a communistic part and democratic part. But in 1950 North Korea declared war on South Korea and invaded. The North pushed the South almost off the peninsula. Just a small area around the most Southern part of Korea, around Busan, remained free. In 1953 South Korea asked the U.S. For help and MacArthur landed in Inchon and pushed the Northern Armies back to the Chinese border. Diplomats agreed to a cease fire and a separation of politics around the 38^th parallel, and the rest you know.

Ribbons Commemorating Those Who Died

Kim Il Sung ruled over North Korea. The total death toll for this Korean war?

·         33,000 American Soldiers killed,

·         1.3 million North Koreans died,

·         Civilians and South Koreans 1.2 million,

·         Chinese 500 thousand.

Oh, did I forget to tell you that the U.S. had to fight the Chinese, too. And fight some Russians?  It was a rotten war, betrayal and lies on all Asian sides.

Reminders of Soldiers Who Gave Their Lives

After Kim Il Sung died the power went to his son Kim Jong Il. After Kim Jong Il passed away in 2011 the power over North Korea now lies with Jong Il’s son, Kim Jong-un, a 27 year old brutal leader, who advises foreigners and tourists to leave South Korea because their lives are in danger. Nice guy, right? He also had his uncle and others killed because they doubted his ability to lead. Like I said, nice guy! This 27 year old kid is now in charge of all North Korea, he is the Dictator. He seems to know everything; his word is law in North Korea.

You will find a lot of Kim names in Korea. Kim is the last name for 20% of the population in Korea. Another last name is Lee, about 10% of the population. The reason is that in old Korea most people had just one name, Jong Il for example. But when dealing with other nations one name was not enough so the people added their King’s name, to show their allegiance. About 1000 years ago the King’s name was Kim, so everybody from that time was a person from the Kim regime. If you were a true descendant of the Royal house of Kim, you had your name entered in to a Royal Book.  Today the Kim’s are mostly the descendants of the name alone. Very few are true bloods and very few Kim’s can trace their heritage to royalty. The same story relates to the Lee or other names. The house of Lee was around 100 years ago, so very much more recent. Kim is a very old and honored name in Korea.



Shopping Street in Seoul
 

After the visit to the DMZ we had a Korean lunch back in Seoul. Bulgogi (marinated beef) served on a grill right on the table. Kimchi (fermented, spicy vegetables), Radish Salad (mild, white radish salad), vegetable laced pancakes, more assorted veggies and of course rice. One person did not eat meat; she was served Bibimbap (rice with lots of veggies).

Street Scenes

After lunch we just walked a shopping street. For me the walking was mainly for exercise. I did not need anything of the stuff that was offered in the stores.

All in all, the entire visit to the DMZ was a sad trip. To just split a country in half just because there are different points of view in politics is sad. I found this even

Korean Dolls in Traditional Clothing

stupid. Both sides in Korea speak the same language. Both sides have the same roots, even the same last name. After 60 years plus, the results speak for themselves when one looks at which political view was (is) the better one. South Korea is an economic power-house with an abundance of food and healthy, happy people. North Korea is a hermit nation where people are fed

Street Food

the wrong info and don't even have the most basic needs filled. There are foods shortages, people must do as told or else. There is no freedom of speech. Ruled today by the spoiled, insane, young Dictator, Kim Jong-Un, who might even, one day, push a button to prove himself (in his mind alone) equal to the rest of the world. Communism in theory sounds good, but it turned into a disaster when applied to real people.

Enjoying Street Food

I think the DMZ will be there awhile. I cannot see a reunification like Germany had. The differences and the brainwashing of the northern people are severe. The DMZ keeps the northern ideology contained. Maybe that is a good thing.

Happy People in South Korea


 

37. Shanghai, China

Shanghai, China

Futuristic Shanghai (Can You Tell Which
Building is Called the Bottle Opener?)

The city has changed on the face of it. The changes are unbelievable. Some of Shanghai looks almost futuristic. This is not the Shanghai I remember from 1990. Only 25 years have passed but what a change has been brought to this city, one of China's largest. Pudong for example, today a very modern, huge part of Shanghai was then just rice paddies. The changes to Shanghai occurred rapidly. Almost like a sudden explosion. Today's population lies somewhere around 25 million people. Shanghai is huge.

A Hazy Day in Downtown Shanghai

Skyscrapers are being built in ever increasing numbers to give the population the latest modern dwellings. While esthetically those buildings look like chicken coops to me, they are effective for housing the millions of people. How else would you house the masses? Highways had to be built, roads needed to be widened, tunnels to be dug, and bridges to be built. Shanghai, at one point, was the city with half the world’s high-rise building cranes actively occupied. The result shows today. The smartest and most creative minds established a new Shanghai using the latest worldwide technology and creativity.

More Futuristic Architecture

There are some old parts; some Hutongs are left, but not many. The buildings on the Bund are still standing. Old colonials from the 1930 or so, the former financial and political street looks old now. The Bund became a historical landmark. Only built around 1920/30, these buildings look ancient compared to the free flowing, curved, glass-enclosed

Colonial Buildings on The Bund Behind Hans

superstructures of today. Shanghai certainly had a boom in construction. The city planning board must have been a busy place. The result is a modern and forward looking image. That is what every visitor will see when visiting China. The back alleys look a little better too.  There are hardly any bicycles being ridden. Even scooters are not common any longer. Electrical wires moved underground.

Shanghai At Night From Our Ship

What about the minds or behaviors of the people? Have they changed? I smiled when I saw a group of people still throwing trash into the street and drop cigarette butts on the ground. If not forced by the “Government” to behave in a certain way, there would be no change. I want to believe that Shanghai or China is trying to break the old, a bit sloppy, ways of the population, but I see also an uphill battle for the people in charge. Plastic pails, mops and bric-a-brac still stand on the balconies of the tenement skyscrapers. Even modern office buildings have cardboard lying in the entrance to catch the biggest pedestrian dirt. Chinese are very practical people, aesthetics take 2nd place over practicality. Hygiene is not the most important part of their life, they still occasionally spit on the ground in public places. Those things are hard to change in the populace, no matter the latest modern conveniences. Motorbikes seem to never get washed and ropes or duct tape hold broken things in place. In hidden corners stand utilitarian items such as plastic covers, trash cans, containers and items too bulky to stuff into a closet inside the house. It is much easier to just have them outside when needed. Chinese are very practical people.



The Shanghai Centre Theatre
No Picture Taking During Performance

The city is too large to explore quickly. The few days in port does not allow enough time to see even a little bit of what Shanghai has to offer. We went to a performance of Chinese acrobats one night. Young performers gave a stunning display of their acrobatic skill and agility. They must have had lots of practice. The underlying story of these abilities lies on the Chinese farm. Wanting to stand out, young people on farms in the country, practiced in the winter months or during their daily chores, ways to juggle dishes or throw around pots or they played with different ways to jump through hoops, etc. Their abilities were amazing. The best performers in the past were allowed to show their skills to the Nobles or even the Emperor. If they were good enough they were handsomely rewarded. Today, there are no longer emperors. To be on TV is now the goal. To be recognized as the greatest is what drives them on. All the performers we saw craved lots of applause.

View From the Yu Gardens Restaurant

We made a lunch date with other passengers for the next day at the famous dumpling restaurant next to the Yu Gardens. Yu Gardens is a landmark in Shanghai that everybody knows. We took a taxi to get there but landed someplace else. Don't ask me where, I have no clue! But I knew from having been to the restaurant before that we were in the wrong location. There was no Yu Gardens nearby. Was it done deliberately? I had the Yu Gardens address written down in Chinese and showed it to the taxi driver 

Meeting Friends for the
Famous Dumplings Lunch

who read it, he nodded his head and off he went. I was already a little suspicious when he went onto the elevated highway, a very modern super-slab. But how do you ask a taxi driver in Chinese “Hey buddy, are we going the right way?” With all the new roads I thought he might know a new, better way. Wrong! The meter kept on going and was at 50 Renminbi when he indicated we had arrived. Arrived where? So we showed him the written direction again and he just smiled and turned around and drove us back to where we came from, the meter running! At 60 Renminbi I asked him to turn off his meter and told him in broken Chinese we want to go to Yu Gardens. He just nodded his head and brought us at least close enough to walk a few blocks to the restaurant. We were late, of course, but still we met the others. Was this diversion a mistake or misunderstanding or a deliberate way to make extra money? I let you decide!



Area Around the Yu Gardens

After lunch we shopped a little in the area around Yu Gardens and then took the subway to another part of town. The subway was packed. While the subway is well organized and modern, the mass of people makes taking a ride a chore. So crammed was the first train that we waited for the next train. But even this train had hardly any room to squeeze in. We were held in place by bodies around us. There was no real need to hold on, nobody could move.  Getting off the train after 5 stops was not easy. Luckily I am tall and can use my elbows when I have to. Once off this line we had to find our connection to the next line. The signage was good, but the masses of people seemed to have increased. Not that the people were unfriendly or very pushy, there were just too many people. Sure I had to remove one Chinese fellow by lifting him up by the collar because he pushed himself ahead of me, but there are always people like him. He understood and queued up, somewhat. I think if you know the subway system in Shanghai it is a cheap (4 Renminbi = 50 cents) way to move about, but you need to time it right. Or is it always like that? I don't know but it sure was packed to the limit in my eyes.

More Shops Near the Yu Gardens

I bought an overhead-sized, collapsible, wheeled suitcase at a small store. We bargained back and forth. The price quoted seemed high to me so I bid 1/3 of the asking price. With a few ups and downs we settled on a price of 125 Renminbi (about $17, - U.S.). While fair in my eyes I learned later that I overpaid somewhat. It is an art to bargain in China. Other people came back to the ship having found true “bargains”. The quality of the products is about the same as in the U.S. since most products today are “Made in China” and are sold world-wide. It is becoming a small world indeed.

The biggest obstacle today is the language. The tech guys need to sit down and find a great way to translate via computers. What is in the market so far is inefficient and too primitive. Apple, Google, Microsoft? Anybody hear me?  Are you reading this? We need an app that translates any language to another language and is easy and fast!



Colourful Bridge Near the Harbour

We took a taxi back to the ship. Well we tried to, but the first taxi we sat in looked at our written directions back to the ship and chased us out of his taxi. He would not take us. He seemed indignant that we even tried to use his car. The next taxi took us and we got back to the ship, well close enough that we could walk. Construction around the ship seemed to throw the driver for a loop, he could not figure out how to drive onto the pier. Again not being able to talk or read/write was the biggest difficulty of the day. The rest was peachy.



Another View of Shanghai at Night
From Our Ship



 

Just before ‘all aboard’ the next day we took another walk through the shopping streets of Shanghai. Carol wanted to walk the famous Nanjing Road. I took her to Beijing Road instead.

Beijing Road seemed busier and looked a lot cheaper. Nanjing is the most expensive road in Shanghai for the very wealthy shoppers. No use going to Nanjing road, right? 

36. Hiroshima, Japan

Hiroshima, Japan

A close-up look at Hiroshima was always on my bucket list. I was awarded a book with the title “Rays from the Ashes” by the school board in my hometown in Germany. Naturally I read the book and ever since, I wondered a lot about many of the details when the first A-bomb was dropped.

This is the first time that I actually will step foot in this radioactive place. I have no clue how radioactive it still is, is it still radioactive? I am writing this in Kobe, before I even get to Hiroshima. Hiroshima must be ok to live in now; there are millions of people walking around the city. Still, I wonder about the radioactivity in Hiroshima today. Compared to Chernobyl, compared to Fukushima’s latest breach of the containment building, how safe is Hiroshima now? Is Hiroshima safer than Nagasaki? Remember it is only 70 years since the bomb exploded and radioactivity, the half-life of some elements, is in the thousands of years.

Little Boy

I hope I will find the answers for myself. I know it was a plutonium 235 bomb that was split on the atomic level. The bomb (Little Boy) had a devastating effect. The ignition of the bomb was very simple and almost primitive; a special bullet was shot into the Plutonium. The whole procedure was similar to a gun being fired within the bomb.

It is not that Japan was not warned about the coming of a very new, very devastating weapon, a weapon the Americans had developed. On the 26^th of July 1945, at the conference of Potsdam, near Berlin, Germany (Germany surrendered in May of 1945) the Allied Nations sent an ultimatum to Japan. Surrender or else! There was no response from Japan. The fighting continued. Little Boy (the code name for the bomb) was dropped over Hiroshima 11 days after the warning, on August 6, 1945. We all know about the famous Enola Gay bomber, we have seen the black and white, historic films of the drop of the A-Bomb. A new area in warfare had begun. The atomic age had started.

Aug. 6, 1945, The A-Bomb Exploded
Over Hiroshima

Mr. Harry Truman, the U.S. President at the time, had a very difficult decision to make! I am sure it was not looked upon as “Let's drop the bomb”. The U.S. knew the bomb would kill a lot of people and would injure many more through radiation in the days following. History tells us today that after the drop of the bomb, about 80,000 people died immediately and another 160,000 died by the end of the month through radiation poisoning. The exact number will never be known. Imagine, within a split second, 80 thousand people are dead. The town itself is wiped out at the same time. Water is poisoned due to radioactivity. The survivors are out of food and water, with no shelter and no medical facilities; all within a split second. The ‘survivors’ were severely

Metal Twisted by the Heat of the Explosion

burned. At the point of explosion (2000 feet above ground level), the temperatures rose to millions of degrees C. The shock wave of this explosion wiped out everything within a one mile radius. On the ground, metal melted like hot butter. Steel beams inside buildings or on bridges evaporated or twisted into just a molten mass. The ground temperature immediately after the explosion was 10,000 degrees C. It was hell on earth.

People who lived far outside the radius of the initial drop (the official target was the Aioi Bridge) had somewhat of a chance for survival “if” they were underground at the time of the explosion and left Hiroshima immediately thereafter. Not many people were so lucky. Luck came a few days after the bombing when a huge typhoon swept over Hiroshima “washing” the rubble and dust down, bringing drinkable water to some. The Typhoon helped douse the persistent fires and lowered ground temperatures that were still in the hundreds of degrees C.

Japan did not capitulate, even after this horrific bomb. The U.S. waited to hear from Japan, but Japan kept on fighting on the many battle fronts. The U.S. prepared to drop a second, bigger bomb targeted for Kokura, a few days later.  When the bomber plane was over Kokura, there was no positive verification of the target possible; the ground below could not be seen due to a dense cloud cover. The bomber diverted and dropped the 2^nd atomic bomb (Fat Man) on Nagasaki.

This second bomb was even more destructive. This time the Emperor of Japan surrendered unconditionally. August 14, 1945 the war between the U.S. and Japan ended.

The Japanese People Were Very Welcoming

When we arrived via the cruise ship, none of the destruction was visible. It was just short of 70 years ago and almost 3 generations have passed. We were greeted with music, signs and waving flags. “Welcome to Hiroshima” the signs said. The Japanese people were very welcoming and had no animosity towards American visitors.

A Modern Harbour in Hiroshima

The city today is very modern, clean and a busy metropolitan city. I still do not know what radioactive level Hiroshima has today. Carol and I did not worry about it though. We were tourists, doing the tourist thing on the one day of our visit.

Map Showing the O-Torii Gate
Guarding the Itukushima Shrine

We first visited another UNESCO site, the O-Torii Gate, part of the Itukushima Shrine; An 800 year old, but still very active Shinto Shrine. It was recommended that we wash our hands to purify ourselves before entering the inner sanctum of the Shrine. I did that. The gate itself stands in the ocean and separates the water of the small bay from the water of the vast ocean.



Purification Ritual Before Entering the Shrine

It was like a demarcation line in the
water, separating the common from the sanctified.

 

I was amazed by how many people were praying at this Shrine, despite the many tourists present and the heavy rain. The Shinto religion is still very much practiced in Japan, it seems. Whenever you see a postcard picture of Japan there is a high likelihood that you will see a picture of this red gate, standing in the water. 

The O-Torii Gate

It seems like an official entrance gate to Japan. But in reality, one can only see the gate from shore or from a ship near the common waters. The actual gate is untouchable. This all expresses Japan symbolically. Think about this! Is this not a good description of Japan? You can visit Japan but you will never really be Japanese, even if you speak the language.

The O- Torii Gate From Inside the Shrine

The O-Torii Gate is a symbol of Japan's efforts to keep itself separate from the rest of the world. Since the shrine itself stands on an island I even looked at it as Japan, the Island Nation, separated from the rest of the mainland, the rest of the world.

Devotees Inside the Shrine



One of the Open Buildings
Seen Through the Rain





Rainy Streets Near the Shinto Shrine

We took some time to walk through the shopping streets near the Shinto Shrine. This area is known for a maple leaf shaped cookie, some filled with assorted fillings (cream, bean paste or chocolate). We ate a few of those plum sized cookies and even had one that was deep fried. Yummy!

So Many Good Things to Eat

Deep Fried Maple Leaf Cookies
Incredibly Good





Yummy Street Food

Maple Leaf Cookies









 

Oysters, Another Local Delicacy

We did not taste the other delicacies, the famous oysters or the savory pancakes, however. Carol bought a special wooden spoon, designed and hand carved to dish out rice and a sushi mat. I guess this was a hint for me to try to make sushi rolls when we are back in Toronto.

Our Lunch Time View

Our Japanese lunch was in a Hotel with a stunning view across the water, with forest covered mountains in the distance, with tranquility as a theme. Beautiful! The food was not as good as in Kobe but there was an interesting representation of the O-Torii Gate. The lobby of the hotel showed some folksy figures representing life as it was years ago. We were in a nice place for lunch. 

Lunch

Lunch With a Jellied O-Torii Gate










Carved Figure in the Lobby Where We Had Lunch

Trade Building Before the Bombing

The afternoon was spent walking around the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. The park was erected at ground zero, right next to the Aioi Bridge. Grim reminders are still visible. Walking in this Memorial Park made our group of visitors a sober bunch. Hardly anybody spoke and if they did, it was in a reverential whisper. The remains of a trade building that was erected just

You Can See the Remains of the Trade Building
Through the Scaffolding (Look for the Dome)

before 1945 in steel and concrete with a distinctive dome construction of its roof, serves today as a reminder of this horrible day. It somehow is the focal point of the park.

Modern Monuments in the
Memorial Park

Modern, simple but artful monuments were built to give all of humanity a reminder of this infamous day. On the premises of the park are museums.



The Eternal Flame in Front of a
Bombed Building

One memorial burns with an eternal flame and has a reflection pool nearby to symbolize and honor the dead. Another building houses assorted examples of items that were found after the initial explosion. There are burned remains, melted and distorted metals, scenes of temporary survivors in tattered clothes with horrific burns on their body; their body fat dripping off their fingers, melted by the intense heat. The visual effect is shocking and disturbing. The museum was packed with young people but hardly anybody spoke. Picture taking was allowed yet I just walked through the exhibition, too shook up to think of taking pictures. The exhibition

Tattered Clothing Found After the Bombing

brings to the foreground the details of this historic day. The stopped clock on display showed the exact time as 8.15 AM. There are pictures of the 240 foot fireball and the effect of high winds following the drop. One is shown the “black” rain, the fallout and many Charts of numbers. A population of 350,000 reduced to 200,000 in just a few days after the bomb hit. The pictures, videos, body counts, interviews with the few survivors all added up to a gut wrenching display. I sat on a bench for a while after I stepped out of the museum. I needed some time to calm down and breathe.

Origami Cranes at the Children's Memorial

There were so many heartbreaking stories; especially the children’s stories. There is an exhibition dedicated to the children filled with origami cranes symbolizing long life and happiness. Very small paper origami cranes were given out in the bus as a memento to the lost and the surviving children of Hiroshima. Nobody blamed anybody; nobody pointed

There Were Many Pictures, All Done With
Origami Cranes

fingers at a nation. But everybody at this junction wanted only one thing:  No more War! Let there be peace. 

The Crane and the Child Make
Up the Top of the Entrance to
the Children's Memorial



Chinese Parasol Tree

Outside the museum, growing in the park are 3 trees planted close to each other; almost leaning on each other, the branches intertwined. One is an old tree, supported by sticks yet still alive somehow. This old Chinese Parasol Tree survived the A bomb. Next to this tree is a tree grown from the old tree’s seed. Another young tree is the number three tree; again grown from seeds from the number two tree. Life goes on. School children are given seeds from these trees today to grow more trees throughout Japan, maybe throughout the world. The one survivor, over time, will spread his seeds all over the earth. Life goes on. 

Heart-felt Sentiments