Published: 2025-05-17
Gonna keep it kinda short tonight. Today was mostly a travel day where we picked up our gear and caught the Shinkansen in rainy Kyoto and headed southwest to Hiroshima.
Our tour guide in Nara had talked about these self-heating bento box lunches you could buy at the Station so I grabbed one of those today - you pull a little rip cord and it starts an exothermic chemical reaction under the food in order to heat it up for you! I highly recommend it, thought it was mighty tempting to buy the kid-sized bento box in the shape of a literal Shinkansen instead.
As we departed Kyoto the weather improved and we could appreciate the surrounding mountainous landscape. I have to say, every part of Japan has been breathtaking in its own way whether urban, rural, or wilderness. I still wasn’t completely ready for just how fast and smooth the ride was - bullet train is absolutely the way to travel.
Arriving in Hiroshima a few hours later, we all started to feel the gravity of where we were. Sure, we stopped at the Pokémon Centre here too (conveniently located at the train station) but boarding the bus and driving to our accommodations got us closer and closer to Ground Zero. The building we’re in is roughly 800 metres from the “hypocentre” - the point on the ground that the bomb exploded over (that’s a fun new word I learned today).
Many people before me have said deep and introspective things about Hiroshima, the war, and world events. I will say this: The destruction and death is a stark reminder of how, as a species, we are frighteningly good at hurting each other. The vibrant city that has rebuilt itself from the ashes of the atom bomb is a testament to human perseverance and ingenuity and a shining example of a triumph over evils.
