Miyajima Island and Hiroshima

On day 7 we went to the famous floating gate on Miyajima Island.  After visiting the island we headed to Hiroshima to visit the museum there which was a very moving thing to experience.

The city across the bay from Miyajima Island

In order to travel to Miyajima Island we needed to take the Shinkansen to the bay where it was located, and then take a ferry across the bay to the actual island.  The ferry ride was breathtaking. We were surrounded by water, city, foliage, and the actual island in sight.  With the floating gate in the distance we knew it was going to be an awesome thing to go see.

The deer that ate my map =P

When we arrived at the island we were surprised by deer inhabiting the island.  They were super friendly and would let you come close to them and pet them.  They were also very cute.  One of the deer ate my map of the island as I was petting it.  It was a shocker to me when it ate it, but everyone got a good laugh out of it.  We arrived at the floating gate and it was bigger than I expected.  It was low tide so we got to go stand by it and snap some photos.  After the floating gate much of the group decided to hike up the mountain to check out the rest of the mountain temple.

Me "holding up" the gate

Hiking up the mountain was fun because the view from the top was incredible.  You could see the whole bay and city we crossed over to get to this island.  There were thousands of mini Buddha dolls all around climbing up to the temple.  When we got up to the top there were several monks doing certain religious ceremonies.  When we got back down we ate oysters out of their actual shells.   Those were juicy and delicious.

One of the many Mini Buddah's

After visiting Miyajima Island it was time to get back to the mainland so we could take a train to Hiroshima.  When we arrived at Hiroshima we needed to take a bus to the actual museum.  It was a hot day, around 90 degrees with 90% humidity, so we were all baking in the sun.  The bus ride was packed but when we arrived we were astonished by the last standing building from the nuclear bomb that blew up just a few kilometers in the air above over half a century ago.

The last standing building

The museum was very moving.  It was full of personal stories from people who experienced the actual explosion.  There were original letters from Albert Einstein to President FDR telling him that the bomb should not be used against real people.  Many different artifacts were also strewn about the museum.    Later in the museum there were pictures of people with burns on them that scarred them for life, babies who have birth defects from the radiation, and a mini city of Hiroshima that showed the destruction of the bomb.  It was quite a disturbing thing to see, but it enlightened our group about the effects of nuclear warfare.

Before the Bomb

After the Bomb

After this trip to the museum we decided to head back to Osaka.  We took the shinkansen back and went out when we got back.  I don’t believe we did much interesting after we got back.  It was just a quick stroll around Osaka to see the town.  This was a very moving day to see all of the history of the Japanese.  My cultural experiences will continue with the next blog about our awesome trip to Nara and Kyoto where Team Jordan Go Adventure!  was founded.