June 17 , 2003 - page 3

it was here for the first time that I saw true depictions of what really happened. I likened my experience here to a past trip to the Holocaust Museum in DC, only this case seemed to hit closer to home. Being both Japanese and American I was somewhat at a loss as to what I should be feeling; on one hand I could not overlook the atrocities that the Japanese people suffered as a result of the bombing, but at the same time I'm an American, and many of my fellow Americans fought courageously, and died at the hands of the Japanese soldiers.

Knowing that such scenes would take a lot out of us emotionally, our tour guide wisely gave us the night off and we were free to do whatever we wished. Some friends had told me that I needed to try the okonomiyaki in Hiroshima, and I decided to take their advice. So of course you're wondering what okonomiyaki is, and the answer is that it's a hodgepodge of vegetables, seafood, meat, egg, and noodles. It's often translated into English as the “as you like it pancake.” We walked to a nearby restaurant and I ordered the meal and drinks in Japanese of course. Our table had a built-in grille and the chef came and prepared our okonomiyaki right in front of us. It was very exciting. Everyone enjoyed the food, and my mom and grandmother were glad not only to

see my Japanese skills in action, but they were also relieved that I was there since neither of them can speak or read Japanese.

After dining it was time for me to head back to Yamaguchi since I had school the next day. I said my goodbyes and headed off to the train station.

This brings up the topic of my train rides that occurred this weekend as part of my excursion. I left early Saturday morning to meet my family in Beppu as previously mentioned, and the first leg of my train journey reminded me of a scene