Hiroshima Special

I’ve been in Japan for just over six months now, a thought quite scary considering how quickly it seems to have gone, how little of the language I have learned, and how few of the items on the “things to do in Japan” list have been ticked off. Sure, I’ve ridden the Bullet Train, been in a fair few earthquakes, I’ve eaten things that my ten year old self would have vomited at the mere sight of, and I made Bourdain’s pilgrimage to Tsukiji fish market.

But when it comes to seeing Japan, and I mean REALLY seeing Japan, I haven’t exactly gone anywhere fast. True, I exhausted Tokyo as best one can on a tight budget, little language and just six weeks, but I maintain I did pretty well there. And when it comes to rural Asia, it doesn’t come much more remote than Yanai; possibly the only town in the world not to have a Starbucks.

So, this weekend, with my trusty companion Manami in tow, I decided to venture to Hiroshima, thus finally checking this historic city off my list. With plenty to do and see, yet only one short day (made shorter by us missing the early morning train), we blazed a trail round some of the most important sites.

The A-Bomb Dome

Let’s start with the history lesson, shall we? At 8:15 on April 6th, 1945, Hiroshima was subjected to the first atomic bomb used in war in human history. The blast, occurring 600m above the city, instantly decimated everything within an area of 3km, killing thousands, and leaving many more burned and poisoned. When presented with the facts so precisely, it all somehow becomes a lot more harrowing than history lessons at school; “Hiroshima was bombed by the Americans, thus, along with Nagasaki one week later, the war was ended.”

The first site we found was the “A-Bomb Dome”, an old building that was once the governmental pride of Hiroshima that was, within seconds of the blast, an empty shell. The building was originally penned to be destroyed in the subsequent renovation of the city, but planners decided to keep it as a haunting reminder of the physical destruction caused.

Hiroshima Museum

The museum itself is pretty darn depressing, and I found myself really not wanting to be there after about ten minutes, simply through a nauseous empathy for the suffering that these people had gone through. Of course, it’s all very one-sided in its exposition (but then who isn’t when it comes to war?) but nevertheless a half hour or so spent in the museum is something that will stay with you for a long time. Strangely, the most haunting artefact for me was a collection of milk bottles that had been fused together in the blast. I don’t know why it hit me harder than anything else, but there was something just so very disturbing about something so bizarre happening to something so simple.

Hiroshima Peace Park

Surrounding the museum is Hiroshima Peace Park, a large expanse of land studded with various monuments dedicated to peace. The park itself was a large part of the city, obliterated by the blast. The overcast a drizzly weather that followed us as we entered the park only added to its maudlin aura, but the monuments were quite something nonetheless.

My favourite, upon learning the story behind it, is the Children’s Monument; a large statue of a girl with an origami swan. The tale behind it is that of a young girl (her name escapes me unfortunately) who succumbed to radiation poisoning. She had once heard a legend that if you make one thousand paper swans then you will be granted your heart’s wish. Unfortunately she died before she could complete the thousand, but she, along with all the children who were killed, are remembered here. A collection of the swans is also on show in the museum.

Jupiter Import Foods

The major drawback to living in a country so far a field is not the language barrier, it’s not the culture shock, it’s not even the ridiculous extremes of climate change. No, it’s the cravings for the taste of home. In a country that is mostly lactose intolerant, and where rice is the staple foodstuff, where a snack consists of fried octopus and crisps are apple flavoured, it goes without saying that a comfort eater such as myself gets some serious pangs more than occasionally.
So at the recommendation of fellow teacher Alex, we set off to Jupiter Import Foods, a haven for the Gaijin, and albeit small, filled with just about every foodstuff that you could ever find yourself pining for. Such was my fervour at finding taco shells and REAL CHEESE (I bough just under a kilo, and have frozen most of it to keep me stocked) that Manami was reduced to fits of giggles at my utter foreignness. I’m sure she would’ve been the same if she’d gone without squid-on-a-stick or dried sea urchin for a few months.

Kemby’s

On the subject of food, one thing I really miss is Mexican. In a country without cheese, avocados, spices… etc, etc, it goes without saying that a decent taco is nigh on impossible to find. Last week I was taken to “The Shamrock” in Hikari, and was pleasantly impressed by a most delicious plate of enchiladas. Indeed, so much so that I’m going back on Saturday, so will probably throw together a review over the weekend.

But anyway, Kemby’s of Hiroshima is kind of a Tex-Mex establishment, and it’s not bad. It’s not great, but it’s not bad. We had pretty much everything on the menu; the Caesar Salad was very good, with proper Caesar dressing which was a nice surprise. The fried mozzarella was excellent, and really did suppress my cheese withdrawal. A plate of nachos left a little to be desired though; the chips weren’t great, and though impressively cheesy (mozzarella and Monty J. if I’m not mistaken), they were rather lacking in toppings. And whoever made the Long Island Iced Tea needs a few lessons from Tom Cruise. Kudos to the Mimosa however, and even moreso for its ability to turn a young Japanese girl bright red within two sips!

The highlight, however, was the rather scrumtrulescent stack of chicken fajitas. Delightfully spiced, and with all the trimmings you would expect (save for guacamole, though that can be somewhat forgiven), it was great fun teaching a fledgling who had never even heard of fajitas how to roll the perfect wrap.

Kudos for effort; though not perfection, Kemby’s certainly does its best to give the lonely Gaijin exactly what he’s a’missin’.

Starbuck’s Sakura Steamer

To round off our trip to the big city, and to quell the last of my cravings, we sought out a Starbuck’s. Now, why the hell I didn’t have what I actually wanted (double shot cinnamon latte), I will never know, but there was just something curiously appealing about the bright pink Cherry Blossom latte. Well, there was about the picture anyways. Ten points for originality, and indeed for crow-barring ruddy Sakura into yet another thing (I’ve got a Cherry Blossom KitKat waiting for me in the fridge), but really? It tastes like an old jumper. Not impressed. Should’ve gone with the Larson.

So that about sums up my whistle-stop trip to Hiroshima. I shall be returning there next month for the Carps vs Tigers baseball game (a rather extravagant gift from one of my students), but for now, stay tuned for Tarquin’s TV Top Ten coming soon… This week, it’s TV Pigs!