after much ado, the trip to hiroshima will be a go. i imagine that the experience will drain me quite thoroughly; yesterday marked the 60th anniversary of the americans dropping the atomic bomb on hiroshima, and there were memorial services throughout the city. i would have liked to be there.
the americans choose to remember this tragic event in history in a different, more glorious way: the enola gay (the airplane that carried the 60 kg of uranium in bomb form) has a display in the smithsonian , though the original exhibit was closed down in 1998, later to be reopened in 2003.
hiroshima is the first leg of a small tour of japan i am going on over the next 10 days. tomorrow i will be visiting hiroshima and hopefully miyajima on monday before i have to return home to himeji to put in another week of work before earning my four day weekend in shizuoka with jacob and the epic mt. fuji. i must remember warm clothes, and to respect the greatest mountain in japan.
today in himeji, the annual castle matsuri was underway and there were hundreds of people dressed in yukata. i even bought an inexpensive yukata for myself to really catch the mood of things, but as my companions had to depart from the festival early, i didn't even get a chance to try it on. maybe i'll wear it around my apartment over the next week or so. the yukata is a casual style kimono outfit worn by japanese people to summer events. there are different yukatas for both men and women, as the men have a wrapping cloth worn like a belt called an obi (like obiwan kenobi) that ties quite differently than the female version and is without a bow. they are typically worn with hard wooden sandals called geta. as for those who were in yukata today, they looked fantastic and it was a really nice feeling to see the city i live in get all decked out in history and celebration. there are a number of festivals over the course of the summer in japan, including a few spectacular fireworks festivals, but this is the only one i know of that is focused specifically on the castle. ironically, i didn't bother going to the castle to see what was happening; i found that the events immediately around me as i was killing time were compelling enough to keep me occupied.
in small world news, i met a young man today who is currently attending my alma mater, the university of guelph in ontario. his name is hiro and is returning to canada in september to resume his educational career in environmental sciences. he afforded me the chance to reminisce about my university days, though it sounds as though a lot has changed back in guelph since i was there.
as usual, pictures are above and comments below. you know i'd love to hear from you. wish me luck tomorrow. at least i'm not drinking this time.
1 comment:
overall i wouldn't say theres too much change. campus (and the people who attend it) while they're not the same people you and i know, they're pretty much the same kind of people.
construction is probably the biggest difference, in that there's currently 3 cranes on campus. the new wing of the science is complex is being built, an addition is going onto mackinnon, and rozanski hall (the new classroom complex) is finished. its really nice in there.
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