Wednesday, December 31, 2008

HIROSHIMA

Today is the New Year's eve! I can't believe how fast time goes by!!

It seems like only a couple months ago when we saw last year's Kohaku.



Anyway, I went to Hiroshima last weekend. It was my second visit there.
I visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and the museum.
At the center of the park, there is a monument that covers a Cenotaph holding the names of the people killed by the atomic bomb.


The Cenotaph says, "Repose ye in Peace, for the error shall not be repeated."

There is another monument called Peace Flame. You can see through the flame and the A-bomb dome on the picture.
The peace flame has burned continuously since 1964, and will remain lit until all nuclear bombs on the planet are destroyed. When would that be???
I hope very soon....

I wish everyone in the world a happy new year of 2009. LOVE

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm very glad you've updated your blog again...

Anyway, there's still an hour to go before 2009 here in the Philippines. Filipinos believe that firecrackers drive away evil spirits. And believe me, there are so many firecrackers exploding everywhere that foreigners would likely mistake it for machine guns or even grenades. By midnight, the streets here would be filled with smoke and firecrackers and litter.

At the same time, families eat together. Dishes such as ham, pancit(noodles), and many more is usually served...

By the way, I really wonder what the Kohaku is like. Is it a party, a contest,what really is it?

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year, Kayさん!!
I hope you are enjoying very very New Year Time!
Actually, I saw your blog after a long time.
Sometimes I stopped by your blog, though. I couldn’t find your new message.
I guessed you’ve been very busy.
I was really glad to know you’ve come back.
It will be a good day and it is likely to be a good year for me.
Thank you for giving good expectations in the new morning of this year.

Kay said...

Jayson
I have heard of that custom of the Philippines. Isn't that dangerous?
Kohaku is an annual music show on NHK TV which is broadcasted on the New Year's eve. To be on this show is one of the status for many singers here in Japan.

Mayu
Thank you! Happy new year to you, too!
Hope you have a wonderful year of 2009!

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year, Kay! ^-^

World peace is what everyone of us wants and I do hope that in this new year, slowly, but surely the grave mistakes of the past shall never be repeated again.

Though my country may have been under Japan in the war, I'm in solidarity with the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in advocating to destroy all weapons of mass destruction.

Yes, Kay our practice of lighting up tons of loud and powerful firecrackers are dangerous (emergency rooms are packed with firecracker-injured people), tradition is hard to eliminate. We just have to learn to live with it, safely. ^^;

I thought the Red Team will finally clinch the winner's spot but the White Team wins for the 4th consecutive year! And the last Kohaku was a marvelous spectacle!

^ ^