Nuclear Horror House

Japan is safely a world beyond the one that I hail from, its cities cleaner than my kitchen after the hardiest scrubbing, its people friendlier than I imagined and its charm immeasurable. A ride on the Sakura is classier than any other ride I have ever been on. The mountainous landscape, delicious food and stylish people are awe-inspiring. I trip over myself trying to match the level of conduct that is so normal here, and I was led to believe that Canadians are polite and successful...

It is so beautiful to see so many people riding bicycles here, and charming to see them do it in the rain while holding an umbrella. I have quite the urge to rent a bike and join them, but that will have to wait until tomorrow in Kyoto (and hopefully the edge of this typhoon will have passed).

Today's visit to the peace memorial museum in Hiroshima was gut-wrenching in its honest pursuit of peace as a global goal. Pictures of mutilated people and artifacts as testament to what occurred in the very same spot 68 years prior were a reminder of the brutality that humanity can inflict, but the whole atmosphere held a strong hope of the humane possibilities that the future can hold if we focus our energy in the right direction.

After a visit to the Korean war museum, it was so very beautiful to see such a balanced reaction to the horrors of the past in contrast to the anger and hurt pride that was evident in the Korean exhibit. I left this place feeling both uplifted and frightened to realize what a huge nuclear arms stockpile still exists and how much more powerful many of the warheads are than that which levelled this city. It is easy to be comfortable in Canada and forget about how much latent and pointed violent exists elsewhere.