Monday, November 16, 2009

Frolicking in Nagasaki

I took a lovely trip to Nagasaki last month with my dear friends Sam, Jenn and Liz. We flew into Fukuoka from Seoul, took the high-speed train to Nagasaki and visited the atomic bomb monuments.

Below is a view of our arriving bullet train:


We stayed at a Catholic youth hostel in a tatami room-- it was my first experience sleeping traditional Japanese style! Below, Jenn's yoga-pose aptly captures our exuberance.


This is a view of a building nearby our hostel:


Our accommodations were about two blocks away from Peace Park. Below is a watery reflection of the famous Peace statue, erected 10 years after the atomic bombing. The sculptor, Seibo Kitamura, remarked, "After experiencing that nightmarish war, that blood-curdling carnage, that unendurable horror, who could walk away without praying for peace?"


I saw this sign at the Peace Park and fell in love. That seems telling of my personality-- dozens of inspiring sculptures to look at and I was most enamored with an anti-poop sign.


After strolling about Peace Park, we visited the Atomic Bomb museum. That experience was not what I'd call "fun," in fact it was heartbreaking, but I feel it was important to be there and consider all the innocent civilians of Nagasaki who suffered and lost their lives in the name of war. I left with the question, can nuclear war EVER be justified?! Even 60 years after Japan's surrender, the bombing adversely affects the citizens of Nagasaki. Pictured below are paper cranes from outside the museum.

Here is a view of Liz, Jenn and Sam descending into the museum:


After visiting the Atomic Bomb museum, we definitely needed to step away from the sobering realities of the atomic destruction and do something a little more light-hearted. So we headed to Glover Garden, a large botanical park on a hillside next to Nagasaki harbor. Here is our cute little streetcar-- our main mode of transportation around Nagasaki.



We got off the streetcar and hiked up a huge hill to get to Glover Garden. Here Sam takes a rest from the climb.


My favorite things at Glover Garden were the ponds (filled with koi fish) and roses.



All in all, a fantastic and thought-provoking trip! Enjoy the photos!
~Bexbits

Arne Von Brill

I've got some old Arne Von Brill photos in the stockpile-- time to load 'em up! These are from the March show at Club FF. Enjoy!