...you can't pass out with your shoes on.

• First things first, Daniel and I weren't in the earthquake. We're both fine, and hanging out in southern Japan. Crazy thing, though? We were totally in Sendai (where the earthquake happened) a week or so ago. We also weren't in Tokyo for the stabbings or anything, although Daniel and I totally knew exactly where they'd happened. It's a weird feeling.


• I haven't updated in like, forever, because the internet has been inconsistant. The signal was weak in Sendai and Mt. Fuki, and my computer didn't get internet in Kyoto. Also, I am lazy. But I am updating now. See?


• In reference to the title of this post, I really am beginning to like this no-shoes-in-the-house thing. Think about it: you never misplace your shoes because they're always by the door. And your floors are cleaner. And you don't ever have to worry about passing out with your shoes on at a party because you took them off before you even started drinking. No shoes, no shame. The Japanese think of everything.


• On a more serious note, we've been in Hiroshima and Nagasaki for the past four days and I'd like to get my thoughts on the A-bombs out while they're fresh. The thing is, I'm relatively cool with carnage. Violence doesn't really bother me to any serious extent, and I usually find it more interesting than I do horrible. And I'm not saying that I didn't find the A-bomb stuff interesting. Actually, it's really interesting. But it's also really, really horrible.
  
  We all learn about it in school, but we learn about it as part of history. The problem with that is history is usually something we are detached from. It happened. It's over. But seeing it in first person, trying to wrap your head around how much of an impact one bomb had. Certainly the Holocaust claimed more lives, but the Holocaust was a process--the Germans worked pretty hard for over a decade to take as many lives as they did. This was one act. One order, one plane, one bomb and 140,000 people were gone.
  
  I was really pleased with both Atomic bomb museums for their balance in explaining the actions leading up to the bombings. I kind of went in thinking I'd feel bad about being an American, but they were really fair about things. I didn't feel bad about being an American, but I still feel bad about the bomb. In Hiroshima, the audio guide used the term "human family" as in, this thing we are all part of. I can understand why the bombs were dropped. Sometimes it becomes necessary for bad things to happen to make way for good things. But that doesn't make them suck any less. And on a basic level, as part of the human family, my heart aches for the victims, and the families of the victims, of the bombs. We gave their children cancer. And birth defects. We took two entire cities away. Not we as Americans, but we as humans. We did this to each other. It's hard to swallow, and I feel really silly typing it because there's no way you can feel the weight of all of it unless you see it. I don't think the right words exist.
  
  The other major difference, for me, between the Holocaust and nuclear warfare? I'm not particularly fearful of the US suddenly creating concentration camps and beginning a regimen of mass torture and extermination. Nuclear war could happen. I don't think it will, indeed I think it is a very good sign that we haven't used nuclear weapons since Japan, but knowing the option is out there is still kind of unsettling. But, and this is where I disagree with the museums, I don't know if getting rid of our nuclear weapons is that great of an idea. I mean sure, if everyone got rid of all their nukes at the same time, maybe everything would be sunshine and rainbows and we'd stand in a big circle and sing songs. Or, more idealistically, we'd all breathe a little easier knowing that our chances of being burned to death just decreased. But the knowledge is out there. We (again, as humans) already know how to make atomic bombs. We already know how successful they are as threats. And knowing that my country has some sort nuclear-bomb insurance is kind of (shamefully) comforting. But in that vein, I don't see how we can expect other countries to give up their nuclear arms when we still have them. I see how it would be a good thing for us, but not so much for them.


• Sorry to be a bummer. We really are having a great time in Japan. As one would expect, Daniel does occasionally drive me nuts, and we've had a few arguments. I haven't figured out how to really teach him about directions. Seriously, the boy would have trouble finding his way out of a cardboard room with a box cutter. That's sort of unfair. More often than not he is an excellent travel companion.


• I have pictures for you.

Japan III: June 1-4