The time has come to reflect on a week that despite having seemed so far away once has already passed. At the beginning of this program, I thought the time was moving very slowly and that a month was quite a long time. Long enough to do all the things I had planned to do and visit all the places I wanted to visit before I arrived, and boy was I wrong. Now, time is passing so fast I can barely remember what I did on certain days of the week because everything just ends up a huge blur of events, making it easy to become overwhelmed by everything happening.
Week three was the week I had been looking forward to the most because it would be my first time on the bullet train traveling from one side of Japan on a train, I had heard so much about. For some reason riding the shinkansen seemed like a great adventure to me, and I am not sure why. Maybe it was because of the speed that we were traveling at or the fact that we went halfway across the country of Japan in only six hours which continues to boggle my mind. Despite what the reason may be, I am thankful for the experience because it was beneficial to have some downtime that allowed me to ground myself and realize that I was in Japan, the country I only dreamed of visiting for so long. I was reminded that I was in another country studying as a second-year university student looking out the window and watching the lush green rice field brush past as we went in and out of the hillsides. Staying in Tokyo for two weeks made it easy to grow accustomed to the life in the city and going out and using the metro system made it seem like I had been doing it for forever after only a couple of days. Having the opportunity to be in a new environment away from the bustling streets of Tokyo helped me regain the excitement I had felt when I first arrived in Japan, my dream destination.
Our first stop via the shinkansen was the Sumo tournament, that despite being a bit different from what I expected turned out to be quite an interesting experience. The location of the tournament itself was cool, as it was near a castle surrounded by what seemed to be an old moat, but the tournament was held in a newer more modern looking building. I found this to be interesting because sumo, as we read, was a traditional Japanese sport, but it was held in a building that resembled something western and modern which seemed a bit out of place. Walking into the arena where the match took place I was surprised as it appeared to be a modern stadium but after a couple minutes, I realized there were traditional sitting areas in the room and the matches themselves were very organized and followed what seemed to be a pre-match ritual. I think that the sumo matches and the venue of the tournament were visual representations of the complex Japanese national identity we have been studying in class.
Our day in Hiroshima was a very emotional time for many students, including myself. However, there was not one clear emotion that overrides the rest it was more of a jumble of emotions that made me quite confused on where I stood and my perspective of the tragic events that struck Hiroshima. I was sad and upset, but there was also this sense of shame as well. I kept thinking whether it was necessary for such a horrible thing to have happened but also wondered how else the war might have been brought to end. How else would a country listen to the demand of another in a time of war and violence and what would the alternative solution be? What saddened me the most about the museum was seeing how the lives of innocent civilians, women, and children, that had no control over the actions their government took, were disregarded. I was disgusted by the disregard for human life and the long-lasting effects that this one moment in history would leave. I felt ashamed for being born in the country that had committed this tragedy even if it was “for the greater good.” Despite this, the excursion to Hiroshima helped me understand that things are not just black and white that there are confusion and complexities in everything. One of those things being the atomic dome and the discussion on whether it should be taken down or preserved. I can see both sides of the argument, it serves as a reminder of what happened and the tragedies that should never be committed again but it is also a constant reminder of the pain and suffering the city endured. I thought it was amazing to be able to see the city from the top of the building where we had a discussion because we were able to see the Japanese spirit and how far the city of Hiroshima has come despite the tragedy.
It is hard to imagine a place like Miyajima exists if you have never visited it, and I could not believe how beautiful it was. To me, it was like something straight out of a movie from the deer walking around, the beach, and of course the cute shops. I think that the Shrine at Miyajima was one of my favorites so far likely due to the beautiful orange color but also the environment that surrounded it. After a delicious dinner, a group of us watched the sunset by the beach and it was the most beautiful scene, I will surely remember it for the rest of my life. While I am aware that this program is nearing an end, for which I am nervous, I hope we will create plenty more lasting memories together in the coming week.
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