japan, part II

I never finished Japan, so here you go.

The A-Bomb Dome in Hiroshima.

Radiation Effects Research Center (formerly Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission)

Four hibakusha (被爆者 or bomb-affected persons) we met with - the woman with them is a hibakusha as well, and one of the youngest survivors (6 mos. old). She travelled with us.

My pitiful attempt at a paper crane.

The "floating" torii at the Itsukushima Shrine near Hiroshima - it's one of the Three Views of Japan, which were determined in 1643, and that kind of blows my mind.

Floating lanterns at the Hiroshima lantern ceremony. In honor of those who died, especially those who died crying mizu or "water" - messages of peace are written on the sides and they're sent down the rivers.

Nagasaki memorial. I think it's really peaceful (and it feels like you're underwater)

One of the most lovely nights, we spent in a restaurant as the only people speaking English, eating delicious yakitori.

These are strands of paper cranes - gifts of 1000 are given at these memorial ceremonies in memory of Sadako Sasaki, a young girl who contracted leukemia after Hiroshima, and started to fold 1000 paper cranes (which traditionally gives you a wish). Stories differ, but the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum says she finished, and has some of her cranes there. She died in 1955, aged 12.

Sushi.

It's hard to express the highs and lows, and how close we got to our peace families. Here, we're on top of a mountain in Nagasaki overlooking the harbor, on almost our last night.

I was interviewed by NHK, a TV station in Japan, about my experience at the Nagasaki ceremony.

We returned to Tokyo, and the electronic city was closed.

I have so many more photos, but this will have to do for now.

365 - japan

First meal on the airplane.

Revolving sushi.

View from our seminar room.

Ginjojo (castle).

Hiroshima hypocenter - 500 ft above this point.

365 - metro center

Metro Center station, on the commute home. It is now becoming clear exactly how much work I have to get done before I leave for Japan. Oh my.

365 - putting on the slipper

Today was my last big day of errands before Japan. I bought shoes for trekking around and they're like walking on air. I love them. At this point, though, I'm still in denial (and I'm sure will remain so until I am quite literally on the plane en route). I found out today that our flight is flight #1, which amuses me greatly -- and harkens back to the trans-Atlantic Pan Am London - New York flights, which were #1 and #2 respectively. I love that.

I bought body wash that reminds me of Hawaii, a new carryon bag, and tiny carryon bottles. Thrilling, really. Now it's on to 2.5 days of work, class, and finding an apartment in the meantime. I shall be a busy, busy bee.

365 - take 3, take 2

My Apollo glass arrived today! It is making friends with its cousin, my Apollo whisky bottle ($25, best purchase ever). It makes me wonder how many drinking vessels in the shape of space vehicles there are -- not to mention the fact that their shape does not lend themselves to drinking, necessarily. Note that the Command Module on the bottle is removable, and it nonexistent on the glass. Intriguing.

The stairs in my good friend Leah's new apartment in Petworth. She had a BBQ on Friday -- her apartment is amazing. Paneling!

Speaking of apartments, we (the four roommates) went on a whirlwind (ok, 2) tour of apartments today. It was lovely, we had slurpees (as evidenced by Josh's blue lips).

365 - apollo glass

I won! I am very excited with the spoils of my most recent eBay win. As you can tell, it is quite fabulous (and a logical partner to my Apollo Command Module bottle). Oddly, this is only the Service Module - no command module - but I suppose you couldn't drink it that way.

365 - paper bag

I went to that Italian deli again. There's something just so physical about brown paper bags that I love. The feel, the holding of groceries. Not sure if it's a retro thing, or if there's something so tangible about it. It just makes me happy. So does the delicious sandwich inside. Yum.

365 - bright sky, kitchen, projected

Final shot taken while watching "Atomic Café" in class.

365 - mourning ring

I picked up a ring while in Williamsburg -- it's a hand-made (in the Silversmith shop) of an 18th century mourning ring (given out at funerals). I got one for Claire a few years ago, and I've always loved it. So, huzzah.

365 - breeches role

Amy in her role as "Mr. Scribble," a breeches role in this case, which is a role of a male character played by a female. Amy was, by all accounts (including my own), fabulous, shining in a great shows to boot. Lots of calls for "encore" - which in the 18th C. meant that you would quite literally replay the last few seconds of the show -- of course those calls were coming from good friends in the audience.

All in all a lovely time, and of course, we're all jealous of how well her suit fits (better than any suit fitting any guy in the area!)

365 - harry take II

Since this photo was taken at 3am, I think it counts. I'm sad I don't have a photo of watching Dr. Strangelove with Nick today, which was a blast (no pun intended!) and exactly what I needed -- or of class, which I'm enjoying more and more but realizing that we only have 3 classes left.

Frustrating to have a class last only a month when you wish it would last a semester. On the plus side, 2 weeks until Japan, which means my list of things to do before I leave grows ever-longer. Phew.

365 - harry potter

A late post, because we were out late watching the most recent incarnation of the Harry Potter films, Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince. It was fantastic, but I must to bed, leaving only the lament that we were one of few folks dressed (and fabulously so) for the midnight showing, which made us sad. Thankfully, the sadness did not last, because we were dressed so amazingly, even though I had to disguise myself as a Gryffindor. :)

365 - alas, babylon!

This book has kept me up pretty darn late. It's frightening, but that's not why. It's compelling. Gives an interesting perspective on the dawn of the nuclear age (written in 1959). It's due on Wednesday. I'm halfway done.

365 - late night

I read for class, played Warcraft for 10 minutes. It was a pretty mellow night, really.

365 - morning

Good morning! After a night that ended at 5am (surprisingly) due to late-night diners and talking, it was nice to just collapse into bed and not worry when I woke up. Still woke up at a reasonable hour, which was nice. Headed out this evening to celebrate Alexandria (the city)'s birthday, which promises fireworks and I'm not sure what else.

On another note, I love having my bed next to a window. I will relish this as long as I don't leave anywhere near any place plagued by earthquakes. The weather's been so lovely recently (today is the first sliiiightly humid day), breezy, in the 70s and 80s, wonderful, so I can still fall asleep with the window open (and a fan on).

365 - it's been a rough few days

Here, I waited for my car to get fixed (just oil change &c) and attempted to learn Hiragana / Japanese syllabary.

One of the more difficult days of my life culminated with a sandwich from the Italian Store, a lovely deli, a night on the town with some girlfriends, and screaming the lyrics to pop songs. Also, a stranger randomly spun me around in circles, and Leah listened.

365 - night

Tonight, we watched interviews of survivors of the atomic bomb blasts at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

365 - drive home

Today was a long drive home, since I left at the regular time (and not my usual 8pm - 10pm ish), but it was a lovely day regardless, and I always forget how simply green things are this time of year. So, along Canal Road (while stopped), I snapped a photo of the trees over the canal. I rather like this overabundance of greenery.

365 - double feature

Grass stains on my jeans from the BBQ.

Quite a few books for classes arrived in the mail today - can you tell what I'll be studying for the next month and a half? I'm rather excited for Japan, though I'm just trying to keep everything in order in preparation. Hard to imagine that it's coming up in a few weeks!

365 - snake whiskey

Apparently, he asked for it for Christmas.

It's snake-infused whiskey from Thailand. Apparently, a cobra with a vine snake in its mouth. Unreal. Sadly, the only photo I took last night from a fabulous Fourth of July BBQ in the city. Not photos of the delicious bacon-wrapped-shrimp, no photos of Nick's adorable dog Eva, no photos of the 10 different fireworks shows we could see from the hills of Fort Reno (one of the old forts to defend the city), but a photo of snake whiskey.

You'll have that, I suppose.