Day 3
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
Miyojima Island
Sprint to the train, again.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park

The rain was gone and the sun was out, it was a beautiful day in Hiroshima. The first stop of the day was to visit the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima (official site here). I was excited to see the park but  also to remember the people and families that are directly affected by acts of war, past present and future. All of the things I have seen so far in Japan are about Japan's history, so the peace park really interested me because it is world history. Now that I think about it, I don't think I have ever been to a place/museum that is on the same magnitude as the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. Also, I don't think I have been any where in the US that reflect or depict major events in US history. Wait I take that back, I have been to ground zero and it is a very emotional site. It represents what terrorism can do and that it must be stopped. With that said I guess I will be adding some places to my bucket-list.

The first thing you see when you get off the streetcar is the A-Bomb Dome. This building was the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall before the bomb. The bomb detonated almost right above it so there wasn't much lateral force applied to the building, this is the main reason it wasn't leveled.

A-Bomb Dome at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park

This panoramic picture was displayed in the museum and was taken not long after the atomic bomb. You can see the A-Bomb Dome on the left side.

Panoramic View of Hiroshima After the Atomic Bomb

Hiroshima Pre A-Bomb

Hiroshima Post A-Bomb

There is also a monument for the children that where killed by the bomb. That day there were many groups of school kids of all ages touring the park. There was one group that sang a few songs and read aloud some letters (maybe prayers?). 

Children's Monument

Folded Paper Cranes

The Peace Memorial Park was very nice and presents a lot of information about the A-Bomb and the efforts for world peace.

Miyajim

After the park, we took a train then a ferry to the island of Itsukushima aka Miyajim (the Shrine Island). When the tide is up the the torii (the orange gate) is completely surrounded by water and is known as the "floating" torii. Also the shrine itself is built on stilts so the water is underneath it when the tide is up. 

Miyajim

Chelsae with the deer

The guide book talked about the friendly deer that are on the island, but we never expected them to be this friendly. We saw probably at least 50 deer just hanging out with all the tourist. The stroller must have had some food in it because one deer started to get real interested in Chelsae and the stroller. At first it was funny, but as the deer became more persistent Chels just pushed the stroller and walked away. Did I mention that Reagan was in the stroller? As Chels went to save herself, Seth grab the stroller and the deer lost interest. No body was ever in danger but it was really funny. The best part is that I caught it on film.

Traditional Ceremony

It had been a long hot day so we took Reagan's clothes off and let her play in the water.

Family at Miyajima

This is when the trip gets really exciting or stressful, depending on how you look at it. Finishing up our lunch of famous Hiroshima area oysters we started to realize that we need to get going because we still have a ferry ride and a 45 minute train ride back to the Hiroshima station. Let the running begin. We ran to catch the ferry, then quickly made our way to the train station to catch a train back to Hiroshima. On the train is when it became apparent that we might actually not make it to the Shinkansen on time. We had something like 50 minutes before it left and we were like 45 minutes away from the station. Even though the girls were being pessimistic, Seth and I stayed optimistic and devised a plan. As soon as the doors opened at the station we would sprint to the Shinkansen platform, regroup there and some how delay the train if need be. It would be Seth then Katie, Chelsae and then me with Reagan in the stroller. Justin didn't have to really worry about it because his train left later. Well, only one of these steps were partially executed. When the doors opened we had something like three minutes to get to the platform. Out of the gate first was Seth then the rest of us followed. At the first escalator I told Chelsae to catch up with Katie and follow Seth. Justin stayed back and helped me up the first escalator with Reagan. At the top of the escalator I took off running pushing the stroller has fast as I could. The next escalator I picked up the whole stroller with Reagan in and ran up it. The train was still there but I didn't see anyone on the platform. They must be on the train since I should be the slowest with Reagan. I boarded the train and double checked to see if it was the right one. Once I did the doors closed and the train starting moving. I thought to myself, "Wow that was close but I made it, so the others must have too." Well that was a short lived thought. As I'm making my way to our seats I meet Seth (alone) in one of the cars. Both us of asked, "Are the girls with you?" We instantly knew the answer. "No."

Without cellphones, all we could really do is hope that they could catch the next train. Seth was thinking the girls would be pretty upset since we left them. I wasn't sure about Katie but I knew Chelsae would be excited to be on the next train because she would actually get to relax and sleep without having Reagan. She might have actually done it on purpose, maybe I'll miss the train without Reagan next time. Anyways, we weren't too worried about them because Justin was also there (hard to miss 6ft-something Justin) and the Japanese are really helpful.

Reagan actually did really well on the train. I think it helped that she had her own seat. When she started getting tired I put her in the stroller and pushed her up and down the train for a little while to put her to sleep. She actually slept for an hour and a half or so which was nice. Four hours later we arrived in Tokyo and we checked to see when the next train would arrive. Being Japan the next one was only 10 minutes behind us. Seth and I just waited by the stairs and a few minutes later the girls came walking down. Chelsae was smiling and said something like, "Well, how was the 4 hours on the train with Reagan?"(with sarcasm).

This is their side of the story. Katie was chasing a person that looked like Seth through the station and Chelsae was following Katie. At some point they lost that person and got lost in the station and was almost completely outside of the station. Once they finally found their way to the platform Justin was there and he told them he saw me get on the train. Then a guy came up and asked if they were looking for their bearded friend. The stranger said that there was a guy with a beard sticking his head out of the train looking for someone. So with these details the girls knew that we were on the train. Chelsae and Katie got their tickets changed for the next train and boarded just 10 minutes later.

Well, what did we learn from this? One, stay together or at least with your partner preferably your spouse. Two, if you miss the Shinkansen you can easily board the next one for no fee in the non-reserve section. Three, stay optimistic and you will make the train.

The trip was great. It was fun, exciting, quick, and a little stressful all rolled into one. I am so glad that we did it and were able to share the experience with Justin.

Us at Miyajima

The End.

~Matt