BRIEF VISIT TO KURE

22nd- 23rd Oct 2019

Neptune statue outside the Kure 'Yamato' Maritime Museum.

I got to hear, belatedly, of an interesting sounding Naval museum in the port of Kure, about 40 miles south of Hiroshima. I took the 10.20am train from Nagasaki and had to change at Shin Tosu for Hiroshima and then on to Kure. I hoped to arrive there at about 2.00pm for a visit and stay the night in Kure. It all went a bit wrong! For the first time in ages (I remember once going to Newcastle and waking up in Edinburgh) I fell asleep on the train and woke up as the train was stationary in Shin Tosu. You only have about 60 seconds to get off at these intermediate stops and I didn't make it! Next stop was Tosu itself so I decided to get off there and wait for the next train. At this stop (about 10 minutes later) my suitcase got stuck in the luggage rack and despite much frantic tugging the train moved off again! I thought I was doomed to a big diversion. Fortunately a very helpful lady conductor saw my desperate struggle and suggested I go on to the next stop, Hakata, and there would be a fast train from there to Hiroshima arriving at 3.15pm. So I did. I then thought it would be too much of a rush to get to Kure and anyway I couldn't find a cheap hotel there. So I decided to spend the night in Hiroshima and go to the museum the following morning. It turned out to be a very fortunate move. Another night in Hiroshima in another great little (cheap) hotel near the station was a pleasant break with a jolly evening spent downtown. On arrival at Kure the next morning (Wednesday) I was told it had been closed yesterday (Tuesday) because Monday, when it is usually closed, was a public holiday and open then but closed the next day instead! What a fortunate fluke. FYI, as I discovered, many museums in Japan are closed on Mondays (unless public holidays). Confusing.

Kure had been a major Japanese naval base and arsenal since 1889 until the end of WW2

This museum is centred around the WW2 Japanese battleship Yamato. The blurb said it was the biggest battleship ever built at 263m long. I think this is wrong as the USS Iowa was 270m long. Maybe it was heavier?

Left: A 1:10 scale model of the ship in the central hall. The main guns, 9 of them in three turrets, were 46cm calibre (18.1 inch).

Right: It even had a biplane 'spotter' aircraft on the rear deck. I couldn't work out how it took off, let alone landed (presumably ditched if out of range of land).

Left: It had the most amazing amount of smaller gun turrets amidships.

Anyway it was sunk in April 1945 by US fighter-bombers when on its way to Okinawa. As indeed at some point was most of the rest of the Japanese fleet, and the remainder scuttled.

The wreck, which was only discovered in 2016, is  widely scatterd in bits over the sea-bed. It had blown up. It had had a ship's complement of 3332 of which 3056 perished. An underwater video showed the wreckage.

Right: An example (presumably replica) of a 46cm naval gun.

Left: A  diorama of one of the 12 boilers used to power the Yamato. This type of boiler was rescued from some Japanese ships (before they were scuttled) and used ashore and, I believe, some are still operational.

There are many more exhibits of Japanese naval vessels, plans and technology including this (right) of a pre-WW2 Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carrier, the Akagi. There were lots of details of the exhibits but unfortunately most of the descriptions were in Japanese.

Left: This was interesting. It is a Kaiten human ridden 'kamikaze' torpedo. About a hundered of these were actually used. Understandably there are not many left. I don't suppose the Kaiten Veterans Association ever had many members.

Right: A description of these suicide torpedoes. Click on to enlarge to read.













Left: A Zero fighter is on display. A very capable machine in its day.














Right: A Type D 'Koryu' midget-submarine. Many were built at Kure during WW2.

Left: Adjacent to the museum is a decommissioned (in 2004) submarine, the Akishio (nicknamed 'The Whale of Iron') It is 76m long. This is open to the public (free entry) and provides, according to the  brochure, a fascinating tour of all the compartments and living accommodation. I was really looking forward to seeing around inside. Unfortunately, for some reason I didn't establish, it was bleedin' well closed that day. Very disappointing.

Right: the train staff are very smartly turned out

Left: .....as are the Underground personnel. They are also very helpful to bemused tourists.













Off that afternoon to Tokyo.........

NAGASAKI

20th - 22nd Oct 2019

Nagasaki City looking north-east from Mt. Inasa.

Another efficient train journey; a 3¼ hour trip with a change of train in Shin Tosu from the Shinkansen to something called the 'Express Famome' which got me into Nagasaki at 2.50pm.

Nagasaki is a port city on the south-west tip of Japan (Kyushu Island). It started off as a Portuguese trading port in the 16th century, followed by the Dutch and became wealthy as a result. Lots of cruise ships still call in here. It is a long narrow city running north-south.

I booked in (by internet) to another excellent (£45pn) APA hotel (left) which was coincidently, and conveniently, just opposite the railway station. It had an 'Oirish Pub' attached and there was another just around the corner. A bit of luck there.

Right: The interesting and efficient booking in system where you just slap your passport onto this computer screen, fill in a few details and your room keycard is spat out at the bottom.

I visited the Irish Pub later that afternoon (touristing on hold) to watch the World Cup Rugby matches; Wales v France and later Japan v South Africa. There was an enthusiastic crowd including this (temporarily) happy Welshman and his Australian wife.

Of course Nagasaki is well known for the second horrific US atomic bomb attack at 11.02am on 9th August 1945, just three days after the Hiroshima one, when the B-29 bomber, 'Bockscar', dropped a much bigger bomb, 'Fat Man' on the city. About 74,000 people were killed instantly followed by tens of thousands more due to radiation and burns in the following days and months. In fact Nagasaki was the secondary target (cloud cover prevented the primary target, Kokura, from being hit). The main target in Nagasaki was to have been the Mitsubishi arms factory in the south of the city, but in good ol' American fashion they missed, and the 'hypocentre' was above Urakami Cathedral in the north of the city. 200 Allied POWs in a prison camp in Urakami were also killed (what a tragic cock-up that was!).
There is an interesting story of a worker in the Mitsubishi factory in Hiroshima who was caught in the open and badly burned by that explosion. His house was flattened but his wife survived. The family was evacuated to Nagasaki the next day. Guess what? He was further injured two days later when the bomb fell there. I wonder what his thoughts were? He actually survived, produced two healthy children and died at the ripe old age of 86. The effects of radiation can be somewhat unpredictable.


As in Hiroshima there is a Memorial Museum in the northern Urakami district (a 2 mile tram journey) which contains similar exhibits as the Hiroshima one, if on a slightly smaller scale. Again, lots of gruesome photographs, a clock stopped at 11.02am, mangled artefacts and accounts from survivors and heroic rescuers. Right: A full size replica of the 'Fat Man' bomb, Yes, it was yellow.

As an aside, there is a very efficient, comprehensive and cheap tram service around the city using very charming, colourful and old-fashioned trams. I used them a lot. I forgot to get a photo of one.

Left: A cut-away model of the insides of the bomb and a detailed description of how it worked (also in English). Beyond my comprehension.

Right: There were several exhibits of burnt and tattered clothing. This one included a photo (taken much later) of a burns victim. Keloids (large disfiguring scar growths) were a common phenomenon of radiation burns. 

Across a main road from the museum and up on raised ground was the Peace Park which featured (left) the supposedly dove-shaped 'Fountain of Peace'.

Right: Plus various rather odd sculptures.

Left: The main statue, the Nagasaki Peace Statue, a 10 ton bronze at the base of which people are still leaving flowers.

Right: Hypocentre Park. The black stone column marks the point above which the bomb exploded. There are bomb-blasted relics around the outside including a section of the wall of the destroyed original Urakami Cathedral. A new one has been built but I didn't get to see it.

Back to the station and a bus ride to the Nagasaki Ropeway. This is a cable car which goes to the top of Inasa-Yama (Mt. Inasa) to the west of the city.

It is a comfortable 5 minute ride in a smart gondola to the summit where there is a viewing station including a good restaurant. You can stand on the roof (telescopes provided).

The view over the city at night is considered exceptional and ranked as one of the worlds top three night-time views (alongside Hong Kong and Monaco).

Left: The view over the harbour at the south end of town. The river which runs south into the sea here is called the Urakami-gawa. I think 'gawa' is Jap for 'river'. The rest of the view is at the top of this blog.

Right: A sort of 'montage' outside the restaurant which was advertising a concert with the night-time view as a backdrop...so I've seen it now and no need to revisit after dark.

Left: Our delightful 'white-gloved' gondola operator.

There is a small island off the west coast near here called Hashima Island. It was a seriously major coal mine until closed down in 1974. Up to then it housed its own 'high-rise' community which was considered the world's most densely populated place. Since 1974 it has been deserted and left to the mercies of nature whereafter the buildings have semi-collapsed and become overgrown; rather similar to the deserted town of Pripyat near Chernobyl. It is nick-named 'Battleship Island' and you can see why from its silhouette (right). 

Guided tours were organised around this place until the typhoon at the beginning of September (not the recent Hagibis one which never affected this area) rendered the structures to become even more unsafe. They are restoring them for future tours. So now you can either take a (expensive) boat trip around the island or go to the Gunkanjima Digital Museum near the docks. Here they have some very hi-tech visual displays of the ex-life on the island and you can take a '3D Virtual Tour' around the place. I did this. Quite spooky, but no means of getting photos. Right: A model of the island in its heyday.

It was a short walk past Oura Cathedral (left), Japan's oldest church. Built in 1864 it is dedicated to the 26 Christians who were crucified in Nagasaki in 1597 when under Shogun rule.

Then on uphill (Nagasaki is very hilly) to the Glover Gardens. After paying ¥650 entry fee (wow!) you get taken up to the top on escalators and moving walkways. These gardens hold some two dozen former (rebuilt in most cases) very grand homes of the city's Meiji period European residents (after the Shoguns). It is beautifully landscaped.

Left: This is an example of one such; the former Mitsubishi No.2 Dock House at the highest point. 

They all have fantastic views over the harbour (right).

Left: The renowned and enterprising Scotsman, Thomas Glover, who was one of the chief 'movers and shakers' in these parts at the end of the 19th century. It was he, mentioned previously, who built Japan's first railway amongst much else including starting what became the Mitsubishi industry.

His residence, Glover House, is the grandest mansion in the gardens, but it was closed off behind screens for renovation.

Right: ....and a statue of him next to the café in the gardens. It was getting dark by now as I settled down for a refreshing and much needed glass of beer. Can't think why my photo has a blue patch on his head and feet. They weren't on the statue!

I also took a walk up what is called the Dutch Slopes, a cobbled street with many attractive wooden 'colonial' houses on it. Steep and good exercise. Also, before tramming it back to my hotel, an evening wander around Chinchi Chinatown, a busy brightly lit and humming 'entertainment' area which also contains the main tram station.

Lovely city and a crying shame that the US flattened it in 1945 as I expect they destroyed a lot of beautiful colonial architecture (as well as the mass slaughter of innocents). As with Hiroshima I only had time to scratch the surface regarding sightseeing.

Off again the next morning back to Hiroshima and then intending a visit to what sounds like a very interesting Naval Museum in the port of Kure.

Left: At the railway station. I can't help but be  impressed by the way the schoolchildren such as these are always smartly dressed, in this case in quasi-naval uniforms, and march around in well- disciplined file.

Post Script. Right: A dusk view from the harbour up the river to the north.

HIROSHIMA

18th - 20th Oct 2019

The Cenotaph in Peace Memorial Park. The Flame of Peace is at the end of the pond.

It was a 3 hour Shinkansen train ride south-west via Osaka, Kobe and Fukuyama to Hiroshima. These main railway stations are super modern but have numerous complicated routes within them which makes navigation a bit of a challenge. However, signs and announcements are in English as well as Japanese, as are the sensible and short announcements on the trains, and there is always an Information Office or helpful station staff around to help the bemused Brit tourist. The train was full with many enthusiastic Rugby  supporters on their way to Oita for the forthcoming England v Australia match. It was drizzly rain when I arrived.

I discovered that there is a very useful 'Hop on Hop off' (HoHo) bus from the station which operates on three circular colour-coded routes around the city. It is also free with a Japan Rail Pass. It dropped me off close to my hotel (again booked at a v reasonable price on arrival). It was called the Chisum and similar to the APA ones I used previously.

As you undoubtedly know, Hiroshima is infamous for the first atomic bomb, nick-named Little Boy, dropped on it by a US B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay, at 8.15am on 6th August 1945. The explosion instantly killed about 80,000 people and a further 130,000 more died of radiation exposure and other secondary effects, including burns, in the following months. Many more after that. Horrific.

What they refer to as the 'hypocentre' of the explosion occurred about 2000ft above the city directly over a building now known as the 'Atomic Bomb Dome' (left). It was an Industrial Promotion Hall and unlike other buildings, mostly wooden, in the surrounding area was left  ruined but standing although everyone inside it was killed instantly. It is now a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Right: An aerial photo of the city after the explosion. Wipe out! The Atomic Bomb Dome (the hypocentre) is just to the right of the apex of the central two rivers. In between these two rivers for about 500m south is now the 'Peace Memorial Park'.

This photo was taken from a large video cleverly showing before and after shots of the city.

The Peace Memorial Park contains several monuments and visitor centres. Including (left) the Children's Peace Monument.

Right: The Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound. In a vault under this are interred the ashes of thousands of unidentified or unclaimed victims of the explosion.

Left: Nearby is the 'Bell of Peace' at which visitors are encouraged to swing a long pole to ring a large bell hanging in the centre.

Right: The instructions.

Left: The Peace Memorial Hall. A softly lit (contemplative) subterranean hall with a fountain at the centre  surrounded by a circular panorama of Hiroshima and the names of its neighbourhoods at the time of the bomb. An adjoining room shows the names and photographs of some of those who perished.

Right: The Cenotaph which is at one, southern, end of a long pool. At the other end, framed by the monument, is the 'Flame of Peace' and beyond that the Atomic Bomb Dome across the river.

Left: There was a sort of parade here by a group of schoolchildren who, in a well-disciplined performance, were laying wreaths at the foot of the Cenotaph.

Right: At the southern end of the park is the 'Peace Memorial Museum'. Two large buildings connected by a central gallery. It contains many remnants and remains of the bombing such as tattered scorched clothing and bits of debris plus many gruesome photographs of victims. There are  moving videoed interviews with survivors (fortunately with subtitles).

Left: A child's tricycle dug from the wreckage with a photo of the child who owned it with his mother. Lots of things like this, such as a half melted watch stopped at 8.15.

Right: A model, before and after, of the Atomic Bomb Dome building.

Left: ...and a model of the two bombs. 'Little Boy' (Hiroshima) on the right. 'Fat Man' (Nagasaki) on the left.

Right: The fountain on the far side of the museum which represents something significant but I've forgotten what.

Left: The busy night-life of the city centres around the Naka ward; a large area of garishly lit streets with numerous bars, shops and restaurants. I was there on the Saturday when England were due to play Australia in the Rugby World Cup. I tracked down the Molly Malone Irish Pub which I suspected might be showing the match. 

Bars and clubs are often stacked on top of each other on various floors of buildings. The signs (left) tell you where they are.

The Molly Malone Pub was on the fourth floor of such a building. I was correct. There were lots of Brits, Aussies, Kiwis, Micks and Taffs in there to watch the matches. Quite a packed and very good-humoured crowd. I stuck to a diet of Irish stew and pints of Kilkenny beer. Such is my adventurous foray into Japanese cuisine.

I stayed for the following New Zealand v Ireland game. 

The manager here was indeed a genuine, and amusing, Irishman from Cork.

Left: Next day, courtesy of the marvellous HoHo bus, I visited  Hiroshima Castle (Hiroshima-Jo). Originally built in 1589 but was totally flattened by the bomb in 1945. It was rebuilt in 1958. It was one of the Shogun/Samurai residencies and is surrounded by a large park and impressive moat.

On the five floors are various museum pieces but most of the descriptions are only in Japanese. At one place you are able to dress up in a complete Samurai costume. Right; Just to look a bit of a prat I restricted myself to putting on a Samurai hat.

Left: There are great views from the fifth floor viewing balcony looking south across the park and moat towards the Peace Memorial Park.

Almost forgot to mention; Hiroshima takes its name from this island surrounded by water. It means (I think) 'Wide Island'. Bet you didn't know that. 

Right: An interesting 'pet shop' in one of the main streets. Little hyper-active 'toy' dogs are kept in glass tanks where shop assistants go around non-stop cleaning them out. They have very big price tags. I can't think how many they sell, but it looked a bit cruel if you ask me. How long do they keep them before their sell-by date I wonder?

Left: A well-dressed lady standing guard outside one of the tourist info centres.

Right: In the foyer of my little hotel was this display. I began to notice that they take Halloween seriously in Japan. There were many other Halloween themed displays around the place. I suppose the American influence is to blame.

Left: On the HoHo bus. Note the driver, as per standard, with hat, mask and of course white gloves.

That was my whistle-stop tour of Hiroshima. Decent enough place. Continuing the bomb theme, off next south to Nagasaki.