Peace in Hiroshima... (Part 1)

Amanda, Kayla Horton, Christina Collazo, and I ventured down to meet up with Christina Chirico in Hiroshima for the weekend. It's about a 4 hour bullet train ride south-west from Tokyo to Hiroshima in the Chugoku Region.  Visiting this city was definitely more of a history lesson than anything.  I would recommend the trip to anyone visiting Japan!  It was an erie feeling walking around in a beautiful city full of open parks, rivers and monuments and knowing the destruction and devastation this city has gone through.

In front of the Aioi Bridge and the A-bomb Dome.

When the first atomic bomb, named the "Little Boy" was dropped over Hiroshima by the Enola Gay on August 6, 1945, at 8:15am, the city became known worldwide for this unenviable distinction.  The destructive power of the bomb was tremendous and obliterated near everything within a two kilometer radius, including an estimated 80,000 people.  About 69% of the buildings were destroyed and 7% were severely damaged.  The A-bomb Dome is what remains of the former Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, left exactly how it lay immediately after the bomb.  Right next to the Dome is the T-shaped Aioi Bridge, which was the aiming point for the atomic bomb.

Cranes representing prayers for peace for a 2yo Japanese girl, Sadako Sasaki,
who later developed leukemia from the radiation and died and the
age of 12.  In a hope for peace on Earth, she folded a thousand
origami paper cranes before her death.
"This is our cry.  This is our Prayer.  Peace on Earth."

People visiting from all over the world
fold a thousand paper cranes and turn them
into masterpieces displayed in the park.

After the war, great efforts were taken to rebuild the city.  Predictions that the city would be uninhabitable proved false.  Britain over took the city shortly after for a little bit, so there is a European influence on some of the buildings and parks that were rebuilt, including the widest streets in a larger city in Japan.  Destroyed monuments of Hiroshima's historical heritage, like Hiroshima Castle and Shukkeien Garden, were reconstructed.  In the center of the city a large park was built and given a name that would reflect the aspirations of the re-born city:  Peace Memorial Park.

"LET ALL THE SOULS HERE REST IN PEACE
FOR WE SHALL NOT REPEAT THE EVIL"

The Cenotaph with the names of the victims in a tomb.
There is a reflection pond right behind it with an eternal
flame for hope burning in the middle of the pond.

Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park is one of the most prominent features of the city.  Before the bomb, the park was the political and commercial heart of the city.  Now it's a beautiful, open park with the Peace Museum and other monuments/memorials.  Between the Museum and the A-Bomb Dome is the Cenotaph for the A-Bomb Victims. The Cenotaph is an arched tomb for those who died because of the bomb, either because of the initial blast or exposure to radiation. Below the arch is a stone chest holding a register of these names, of which there are over 220,000.

A monument where "time stood still" at 8:15am on
August 6, 1945.

Amanda, Christina, Kayla, Christina, and I in front of the A-bomb Dome.

The A-bomb Dome at night.  There is a gate surrounding it
to preserve the building in the exact way it laid after the bomb.

This memorial was "Peace" written in every language!

Reflection pond in the middle of the Peace Park.

Hopefully, by now you can see the overwhelming
theme taking over the city... PEACE!  Thousands
of origami paper cranes from all over the world!

Fuji Oshino Kogen Trail Race 21K

Fuji Oshino Kogen Trail Race

What was I thinking when I signed up to run 14 miles in the mountains???  I have no idea!  But... after all is said and done, I'm very glad I did and it was a rare experience!

The mountain side we ran through

Kim Gerber and I headed up to Oshino, Japan, a little village surrounding Mt Fuji and it's several lakes.  We took a bus up there and was dropped off at the race site which was in the middle of nowhere.  Just mountains and little Japanese shacks surrounding us.  After checking in and checking out the race expo (it's exactly the same as race expos in the States), we walked to our hotel, which was supposed to be a 5 minute walk.  Not quite!  We quickly learned we were in rural Japan, where most signs are in kanji, including hotel signs.  Oh yea, and did I mention, it was hard enough to tell the difference between the guest houses (hotels) and the regular houses.  Needless to say, we finally walked into a house we figured might be our hotel and these two sweet little ladies greeted us, sat us into the tatami room, and brought us coffee and snacks; still not confirming we were at the right place or not.  I guess there was a little something called "a major language barrier" there!

Rice-patties in Japan countryside

Oshino-Hakkai

Once we finally figured out we were in the right place, we went out back to walk around for a bit before it was time for dinner.  We stumbled upon the quaint little town of Oshino Hakkai, Japan, that was just out the back door of our guest house.  It is known for it's eight ponds surrounding Mt Fuji (yes, this different from the 5 lakes).  The town was extremely cute and had little food stands that we had to try sweet potato and egg fries at.  They weren't what we were expecting, but good none the less!  After walking around for a while, we headed back to the guest house to have dinner.  It turned out that everyone staying there were running the race the next morning.  We all enjoyed the homemade dinner by the two Japanese owners, sitting at communal tables on tatami mats.  What a unique pre-race experience!  Oh, and did I mention, the dinner was a huge spread of Japanese food of shrimp tempura, soba noodles, salad, a pork stir-fry kind of thing that cooked over our own flame, tofu, rice and Japanese soup.  Delicious!

Kim and I at the start line

RACE DAY!  Perfect running weather on a crisp Sunday morning!  The course was awesome but a lot more elevation changes than I was expecting.  It included some parts where we had to use ropes to either go up or down and some where we had to stop and wait to go single-file because it was so steep.  After the 14 miles of running/hiking, my whole body was sore, but it was completely worth it for the views!  We had some amazing views of Mt. Fuji and the town of Oshino on one side and Lake Yamanakako on the other side.  The pictures don't do it justice!

Usually after races, the runners are given healthy energy packed food and water or beer.  But, here, we were given a bag of soba noodles (fresh buck-wheat noodles) and soup.  Kinda weird, but an interesting experience.  So who's up for the run next year with me???

Behind our guesthouse

Kim and I exploring the little mountain town

I love this picture... a farmer with tractor out in his field!

The owners of the guesthouse making homemade
shrimp tempura and the stone stir-fry dish

awesome spread of homemade food!

How cool to enjoy a pre-race dinner with a bunch of
Japanese runners sitting on tatami mats!

race-expo... looks the same as in the States

I'll give you one guess...
pre or post race???

Kim and I having to stop and wait to go single file up
the steep incline ahead

Are you kidding me!!  We have to go up that!?!?

Not sure if you can see the people at the top,
but we had to climb up and over a ton of steep rocks!

And we weren't even at the top yet!!!  ahhh!

Kim making her way down part of the course

Amazing view of Lake Yamanakako from the top.
Too bad the visibility wasn't the best.

The last few miles of the race was through the countryside

I didn't sign up for stairs!

WE FINISHED!!!  14 miles of running and hiking later!

Hiking in Kamakura and Enoshima Island...

The mirage of a cafe during our hike...

Amanda, Christina, and I taking a relaxing break

 Amanda, Christina, and I went hiking out in Kamakura.  It was perfect day out and a relaxing hike in the hills above the Great Buddha.  The best part of the hike was stumbling upon a small cafe in the middle of the forest.  So of course, we felt obligated to stop and get a drink!  While Amanda enjoyed a local beer in a Budweiser Christmas Stein, Christina and I had a delicious fruity drink.  I would love to go back there, but I'm not sure if I would be able to find it again...

Walking over the bridge leading out to Enoshima Island

After the hike, we ventured out to Enoshima Island, a short train ride from Kamakura.  Most of the island was destroyed by the tsunami after the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923.  There is a famous picture of a large tidal wave from the tsunami with a view of Mt. Fuji in the background that was created after that event.

Mt Fuji can be seen on clear days from the harbor.  Sadly, it was overcast the whole time we were there.  The island is full of little shops and vendors lining crowded narrow streets.  We hiked up the many stairs to the top of the hill with the uniquely-shaped lighthouse.  We didn't get much time to explore the islands gardens or caves, so I will definitely be making another trip back!

The narrow streets of Enoshima... very
crowded in Japanese-fashion

Enoshima lighthouse

A local Japanese lady making a Japanese staple snack...
grilled corn with soy sauce!!  DELICIOUS!

Japan-igans over the last month...

Even though I haven't done a lot of traveling around Japan over the past month, I've still kept myself quite busy:

I passed my test to become a Certified Emergency Nurse in April!  A few of the ER nurses and I traveled up to Tokyo to take the test.  Right in the middle of the test, we had another earthquake!  Talk about adding stress to a stressful day already!

Miranda, Pon, Kayla, and I after taking the CEN... stressed out
and unsure of how we did.  I think our expressions say it all!

I put together the Navy Nurse Corps Birthday Ceremony at the hospital in Yokosuka.  We had a video-conference with the surrounding clinics in Japan also.  From all the time and hard work put into planning the event, it turned out very nice!

YNA members after the NC Birthday cake-cutting Ceremony

Me during the Ceremony

Oh and a little side note to that... I was interviewed by AFN (the military TV network) on why I became a Navy Nurse and all that.  It was actually played as a commercial on AFN and then they had a little segment about the Birthday Ceremony.  Kinda cool, except for the fact that they put the title of "Maternal-Infant Nurse - Labor & Deliver" under my name!  So now a lot of people are giving me a hard time about it.

USNH Nurses with Japanese Ground Self Defense Nurses after the ceremony

On June 1st,  Bryan and I were promoted to Lieutenant!!  (I actually out-ranked Bryan for 8 hours due to the time difference)  So, now there's two LT Stoniecki's and one LTJG Stoniecki!!

I officially transferred down to the Emergency Room from Labor & Delivery!  Even though it's not as busy or exciting as San Diego's ER, it's still better than working with preggos every day.  I definitely like it a lot better and am excited about the switch.

The Japanese LTC Nurse Corps Officer gave us
103 roses for our 103rd Birthday!

Kim Gerber, the recipient of an award during the ceremony
with the video-conference in the background

70.3 Half Ironman and Nurse Corps Luau

Kim Gerber, Kat Chiu, and I before the 70.3 Ironman in Yokosuka

Finishing up my 4th half marathon!  1:51:49

Kat Chiu, Kim Gerber and I teamed up to complete a Half Ironman around Yokosuka Japan last weekend. Although the weather wasn't really cooperating with us, we still had fun and rocked out the 70.3 miles in style!  For those who don't know, a half Ironman consists of 1.2 mile swim (Kat), 56 mile bike (Kim) and 13.1 mile run (me).  I ran the 1/2 marathon in 1:51:49 which is right around my previous times.... not bad!  All together our time was 6:01:27.  We were the only ALL girl team and we beat a few guy teams.  That just shows that Navy Nurses are AWESOME!  (but you already knew that)

Post-race all sweaty and wet from the rain...

We had our own fan club!  GO USNH NURSES!

This was just a warm-up to our race next month... a 30K trail race at the base of Mt. Fuji.  I know you probably think I'm crazy, and maybe I am, but it'll be a good time getting out and racing in Japan.  It's just good to have fellow Navy nurses to work out with and keep me busy! 

The hard working YNA member who put this whole thing together!

Of course Amanda and I would bring some fun to Yokosuka
...they don't know who they're dealing with!!

Anyways, that night we also celebrated the Navy Nurse Corps 103rd Birthday with a luau.  The Yokosuka Nurses Association, which I'm president of, and all the rest of my friends are part of, have been planning this for a while.  It was originally going to be a formal Navy ball off base, but due to the earthquakes and devastation to Japan, we decided to have something less formal on base instead.  With less than 2 months to plan, and a lot of hard work, it turned out to be a great night letting loose with fellow nurses and kicking off a great Nurses Week!

Kayla, me, and Christina enjoying some tropical drinks

Kat, Kim, me, and Ted post-race
Ted paced me the whole time... otherwise I probably
would have stopped half way through.