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Hiroshima Reflection

I enjoyed the few days we spent in Hiroshima. To be honest, I was not as excited to go to Hiroshima, however, after spending five days in Hiroshima, I wanted to stay longer, and I was pleased to learn about the atomic bomb from Matsubarasan, and also visiting the museum was a good source to learn about the atomic bomb. 
It was my second time visiting Hiroshima, although the first time was for the koto competition. We didn't have time for sight seeing the first time, so I was very happy to go around Himeji Castle, Peace Park and Miyajima. The museum we went to had many pictures of injured people, the effects of the bomb [before/after the bomb], a nd the skins, hairs and nails were displayed... It was very miserable and depressing after listening to Matsubarasan's experience, and after visiting the museum, although it was a good experience to learn about the A bomb. 
I also enjoyed hiking, even though it was very tiring. The view was very nice at the top, and we also visited some shrines on our way to the top. During the trip, I did some omikujis-paper fortunes. It was probably my first time doing the proper omikujis, so it was great (: although the results were not as good.. 
I went stargazing, along with Genkisan, Kazune, Anjali, C ecilia, Resa, Kaho, Kana and Rika and I enjoyed that too! It was my f irst time seeing the shooting stars, and I have never seen so many stars in Tokyo, so I found it very amusing! 
Also, cycling at Miyajima was one of the best! Although it was tiring, we were able to go to the beach, where we had some seaweeds (: 
I can't believe field studies is already over. The week in Hiroshima ended really quickly, compared to weeks we spend at school. I wish we could've stayed longer in Hiroshima! Thank you to the three chaperones, Ms. DeVries, Ms. Wilson and Genkisan for making this trip a fantastic one (: 

Day #5-Yokohama

We stayed at a different hotel-Hotel New Hiroden. They provided us buffet for breakfast, so Rika and I were excited. I got a variety of food, including eggs, bacons, soup, bread, yogurt and orange juice. Since we finished our breakfast early, we went back to our room to clean and pack our belongings. Rika and I had some time to play cards as well, and I made a tower with the cards, shown on the first picture (: I also took a picture with Rika, who was my room mate for the past 4 days in Hiroshima. 
After everyone packed their luggage, we walked to Hiroshima Station, which was only two minutes away from the hotel. At HIroshima Station, we had tim e to buy lunch and souvenirs. I bought two rice balls with tea, and three boxes of momiji-manjyu for my family. After half an hour of shopping time, we went on the shinkansen for Shin-Yokohama. I sat with Kazune, Kana and Kaho on the shinkansen, and I took many random pictures of Kana (: 

 

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Day#4-Miyajima

We left for Miyajima by a cruiser in the morning. I have never been to Miyajima, so I was excited to see the Itsukushima Shrine! When we got off the cruiser, the first thing I saw were the deers! There were many tourists around the deer, yet avoiding them because the deers were attempting to eat the tourist's belongings, shown on the first picture! We walked around Miyajima, and many of us did the omikuji, which is a paper fortune. I did the omikuji, on the day we went hiking and I got "small fortune." I was a bit unhappy that I got "small fortune" the other day, yet again, I got "small fortune" at Miyajima. The second picture is the shrine, also known as "torii" in Japanese. Credits to Genkisan, who took a picture of Kaho and me in front of the torii (: [Shown on the third picture.] After going around the shrine, we split in two groups-biking/walking. I chose to bike, along with Genkisan, Kana, Kaho, Resa, Kazune and Rika. I enjoyed biking with the seven of us! The fourth picture is the place where we had some rest and took pictures. We stopped our bike there, and went further, where we had our lunch. The fifth picture is where we had our lunch. I had warabi-mochi, kinako-mochi, and a bit of kaki zousui from Kaho. We went on the bike again, and we found a very beautiful beach. All of us tried the seaweed that was in the water, and it only tasted like salt, and felt like I was eating paper. Although it didn't taste well, I think it was a good experience (: The hotel changed; we stayed at a different hotel, which is closer to Hiroshima Station. We went to a food court, where we had our dinner. I went to an Italian Restaurant with Genkisan, Kaho and Anjali, where we shared three dorias, and a risotto.

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Day #3-Hiking

Today was a looooong day. We walked A LOT. We visited Mitakidera, Hiroden, Futabayama and Shukukeien. There were
steep hills EVERYWHERE and it was very tiring. But when I think about it
now, I think it was a good exercise for all of us. I hope the last two
days aren't as tiring as today. The picture of the yellow flower, bamboo and maple trees/leaves are the
ones I took at Shukukeien. I walked around the park with Maria, and we
were both obsessed with taking pictures. We saw some students from other
school who were visiting the park, and some brides as well! Resa was
obsessed with the turtles and carps that were in the pond. On the way back to the hotel, we saw the Hiroshima Castle, shown on the
last picture. I love the reflection of the castle, tree and the sky on the
water. I can't believe theres only two more days in Hiroshima...! 

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Day #2- Peace Park

I took the picture with our reflection (Rika, Xi and I) when we were going
back to the hotel from the long trip to the Peace Park. I like this
picture because it shows how the weather is like in Hiroshima, and
especially because our legs look extremely long in this picture! We took
several pictures on the way back to the hotel. I took the picture with the cranes at the Peace Park. This place is where
many schools leave the 1000 cranes they make for Sadako. The word "Peace"
reminds me of Matsubara san because she talked about her experience of the
atomic bomb. I was impressed with the cranes that were made from students
from different schools or, people from different countries/places because
they were folded perfectly! Some cranes that Sadako folded is shown on the third picture. I was
surprised with the size. I can't believe she folded over thousand of
cranes by herself.

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