Insane weekend: To Hiroshima and Fukuoka (photos): Day 2

On Thursday, it was another early wake-up time but nowhere near as early as Wednesday. However, like Wednesday, it was another day in which I had a lot of miles to travel. On this day, my plan was to visit Hiroshima.

Above: Hakata Station was my starting point today for another long journey.

I made my way to Hakata Station and bought my breakfast -- a small takeout box of sushi. I went to buy tickets for the Shinkansen bullet train, and boy, was it expensive. I had to buy two separate tickets for it. The first one is for the journey from Hakata Station to Hiroshima Station, and the other is some sort of zone/city boundary fee because I was going from one zone to another. The latter cost effectively doubled my fare cost, and was over double what the KTX cost me from Seoul to Busan (which is the most expensive a KTX ticket could go).

Above: A Shinkansen bullet train at Hakata Station.

I thought the KTX bullet train in Korea was fast, but I was absolutely blown away by the Shinkansen. The Shinkansen went at around 400 km/h, while the KTX went around 300 km/h. The KTX waited to exit the city before it picked up speed, while the Shinkansen is already was full acceleration before it even left Fukuoka.

Above: The train was already in motion when this was taken. I was seated and reached high to take this photo. Good thing, because I didn't know it would go at 400 km/h before even reaching the farms!

Before long, I reached Hiroshima Station. It was about the same distance as Seoul to Daegu but only took about an hour. The difference between the two commutes was really remarkable.

Above: Hiroshima Station!

Above: The busy Hiroshima Station.

As you may have guessed, one of the main reasons for me wanting to go to Hiroshima is because I wanted to see the atomic bomb memorial. While Tokyo is easy to reach from most places, Hiroshima is in southern Japan and is harder to get to from anywhere else -- except Korea. With the long weekend, it seemed like the perfect time to make this trip.

Above: The directions to the atomic bomb memorial are remarkably clear.

I may sound insensitive for saying this, but one of the unintended consequences of the atomic bomb attack was that it made Hiroshima a big tourist attraction. The Japanese seem to have a reputation for knowing how to deal with tourists, and this was no exception. The directions to certain attractions are very clear and easy to understand, and a lot of signs are even quadlingual (in 4 languages).

Above: Some signs in Hiroshima are in Japanese, simplified Chinese, English and Korean.

The distance from Hiroshima Station to the atomic bomb memorial wasn't too bad. The first place I encountered there was probably the most famous sight of all -- the Genbaku Dome, also known as the Atomic Bomb Dome.

Above: The Atomic Bomb Dome along the river.

Above: The ruins of the Atomic Bomb Dome.

The Atomic Bomb Dome was a lot more ruined and destroyed than I expected. But then again, as I said, I don't know what the hell I was expecting. Of course it's going to look ruined and destroyed -- it was hit by an ATOMIC BOMB. There was rubble lying around everywhere, as they seem to have left most of the debris untouched.

After the Atomic Bomb Dome, I went to the nearby memorial park where they had many monuments and statues, including one dedicated to the children victims of the attack, inspired largely by Sadako Sasaki, the Japanese girl who folded over a thousand paper cranes in an act of hope.

Above: Display cabinets full of donated paper cranes donated from all over the world.

Above: Paper cranes on display.

Above: Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, with the Atomic Bomb Dome in the background.

Adjacent to the park is a museum detailing the historic events leading up to and after the atomic bomb attack. Admission was cheap (about 50 cents Canadian) and well worth it.

Above: A replica of the Atomic Bomb Dome inside the museum.

Above: A model of Hiroshima before and after the atomic bomb attack.

Above: The atomic bomb's epicenter.

Some of the displays were a bit graphic and jarring. One of the most memorable displays had the front steps of a bank with a large shadow on it. Someone was sitting on the steps of the bank, waiting for it to open, when the atomic bomb was dropped. The person was incinerated to death on the spot but his sitting body shielded part of the steps from the radiation, resulting in a shadow. That was a bit creepy.

Above: A destroyed Buddha figurine.

Above: A wax figurine depicting the immediate effects of the atomic bomb attack.

From what I keep hearing about Japan, I didn't expect to see anything in the museum admitting imperial Japan's role in the war. But I was a bit surprised because they dedicated a large section of the museum showing the errors and atrocities that the imperial Japanese government committed prior to the end of the war. I wasn't expecting this at all.

Above: The final hallway at the museum.

After the museum, I went for more pleasant surroundings at the Hiroshima Castle. I didn't go inside many of the buildings but it was nice to see something not related to the atomic bomb.

Above: The tenshu of Hiroshima Castle.

Above: Interior view of the ninomaru of Hiroshima Castle.

Above: Exterior view of the ninomaru of Hiroshima Castle.

Above: Hiroshima Castle's Gogoku shrine.

After Hiroshima Castle, I decided to make my way back to Fukuoka. Back in Fukuoka, I did mostly exploring, as it was getting late and a lot of places were closing. I had to hurry in order to get things in before daylight was completely lost.

Above: The ruins of Fukuoka Castle.

Above: Momochi Seaside Park, which overlooks Tsushima Strait and the Sea of Japan.

Above: Fukuoka Tower, the tallest seaside tower in Japan.

Above: Fukuoka's Tenjin shopping district.

After exploring, I went for dinner. Being in Japan, I felt like I should probably get sushi -- so I can go home and say I had sushi in Japan.

Above: It had been a long time since I had decent sushi.

Sushi is considered a luxury in Japan, so the bill was a lot more expensive than a normal meal. But this is something any visitor to Japan must do, so the cost was secondary to the experience.

After this, it was getting rather late. I went back to the hostel. I met some of the other hostel guests. We had a nice chat about places we visited, as well as share stories about living abroad. (Those of us who have been to Korea shared an inside joke about the horrible drivers here.) After it was done, I took a shower and went to bed.

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Coming next:

• Insane weekend: To Fukuoka (photos): Day 3
  

Insane weekend: To Busan and Japan (photos): Day 1

You've seen the videos to the trip to Japan (1, 2, 3). Now here's the trip in detail with some photos.

So Wednesday had to be an early wake-up call in order to catch the KTX bullet train from Seoul Station to Busan Station (in the far southeast tip of South Korea). Seoul Station can look quite calm in the mornings. I'm lucky enough to live within walking distance of Seoul Station, so I soaked it all in.

Above: Seoul Station's KTX tracks in the early morning.

Above: Seoul Station sign.

Moving through the Korean countryside at 300 km/h is something else. Seoul can be quite ugly but it can get quite peaceful once you get away from it. This was no exception. Compared to Seoul, the rest of Korea seems relatively pleasant to look at.

Just under 3 hours, I arrived in Busan. Busan is the southernmost major city on the Korean peninsula and the second largest city in the country.

Above: Busan Station.

Compared to Seoul Station, which is more of a metal and concrete structure with little in terms of aesthetic pleasure, Busan Station seems to at least make an attempt to look visually pleasing. However, its outside is more impressive than the inside. The inside is rather claustrophobic, in a huge contrast with its spacious outdoor plaza.

Above: The spacious outdoor plaza of Busan Station.

I had a few hours to kill in Busan, so I wandered around for food. On the way, I came across the second "Chinatown" I've seen in Korea.

Above: The Busan "Chinatown."

But interestingly, the place was more Russian than Chinese. I actually saw a lot of Russians there, and the signs in "Chinatown" reflect this reality.

Above: Not many Chinese signs in Chinatown, but many Russian ones.

After eating a quick lunch, I made my way to the Busan International Ferry Terminal, which isn't too far from Busan Station. Due to immigration and check-in procedures, I had to arrive a bit earlier for the ferry than I did for the KTX.

Above: Busan International Ferry Terminal's waiting room.

Above: Cargo containers at Busan International Ferry Terminal.

Above: Busan to Fukuoka, only 2 hours and 55 minutes. Why not just say 3 hours?

Above: Other destinations from Busan.

Immigration went quite smoothly, except the departures immigration officer actually asked me two questions. Since the expiry date for my visa is only a few months away, she had to ask me if I intend to return to Korea, and also whether my trip was for pleasure or business (ie. renewing my visa in Fukuoka). It wasn't a big deal.

One interesting thing is that they X-ray your bags and metal-scan you like at an airport. I've never had this done for a ferry before, but I guess it makes sense since it's an international crossing and all. And just like that, we were off.

Above: Good bye for now, Korea.

The ferry ride was on a Japanese vessel called the Beetle, and took a little longer than advertised but was nowhere near as choppy and bumpy as people have said. I wonder if it's because those people weren't used to hydrofoil ferries. I took one between Hong Kong and Macau and it is a bit jarring for the first time. But the second time is no big deal.

However, you still have to watch for hazards. Like whales.

Above: Beware of the whales.

Above: Just in case you forget.

After a long time of seeing nothing but the waters of the Tsushima Strait (which is between Korea and Japan, and separates the East China Sea from the Sea of Japan), I finally caught my first glimpse of Fukuoka, Japan.

Above: Well. Konichiwa, Japan!

I had heard that Japanese immigration can be a little anal at Fukuoka. I was advised beforehand to have the address of the hostel where I was staying and have proof of my intent to eventually leave Japan (such as a return ticket). They are especially wary of people with passports from English-speaking countries due to a problem they allegedly have with illegal English teachers entering the country.

And indeed, the immigration officer did ask some questions but it was mostly set up to see if you're being truthful, such as asking what level of school you teach and gauging the manner in which you answer.

One thing that is different about Japanese immigration is that all foreigners are required to have their fingerprints scanned and photo taken. It wasn't as big a deal as I thought.

By the time I got through, nighttime was dawning on Fukuoka. I quickly made my way to the hostel to check in and put my things down. It was a bit weird navigating around because I was so used to reading signs in Korean but now everything was in Japanese.

Above: Apparently the Japanese people really hate Machi, whoever he is.

I was getting hungry, so I set out to find some food. I headed towards the big mall I had heard about, Canal City Hakata.

Above: Canal City Hakata, an outdoor mall in Fukuoka with a canal running right down the middle of it.

It was a big more upscale than I expected, so I exited the mall and searched elsewhere. I eventually settled for udon, which Fukuoka is famous for.

Above: A view of the menu items.

Above: The prices were higher than in Korea, but if you consider that 100 yen is about 1 dollar and that tipping isn't customary in Japan, the prices are about en par with Canada.

Above: I eventually settled on this. Nom nom nom. Hadn't had good tempura for a long time.

After dinner, it was raining and things were closing, so I headed back to the hostel. One great thing in Japan is that unlike Korea, the plugs run at 100 V (Korea uses 220 V) and most North American plugs with two prongs can fit in Japanese plugs and run with no problems. (North America uses 120 V, which is close enough to 100 V.) No need to worry about blowing out appliances.

Above: This is a little familiar looking to North Americans.

As it was after hours, I wandered around and looked at the brochures and maps at the reception desk. I came across a map of Japan and it has something that might make Koreans a little upset.

Above: The island east of the line is disputed territory, claimed passionately by Koreans (who call it "Dokdo") and also claimed by the Japanese (who call it "Takeshima"). This issue is a very touchy topic among Koreans, who consider the islands their territory alone.

After a long day, I finally crashed and went to bed.

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Coming next:

• Insane weekend: To Hiroshima and Fukuoka (photos): Day 2
  
• Insane weekend: To Fukuoka (photos): Day 3