世界遺產軍艦島／李明熙
對軍艦島的迷思，源於當年日本電影「大逃殺 2」以軍艦島為故事背景，第一次知道這島的存在。近年又有 Skyfall 和「進擊的巨人」等電影在島上取景，軍艦島的照片在網上再次風行，造訪軍艦島的念頭再次萌生。從空中鳥瞰，像是一艘荒廢的郵輪，盛載著人類消失的光輝故事，在海洋中心漫無目的地漂流著，不過一登上島，跟我預期的完全不一樣。
長崎港有幾間船公司提供軍艦島半日遊，因為極受歡迎，最好在網上先訂位，但能否登岸，還要看當天的天氣。我們出發那天橫風橫雨，不過船上依然爆滿，船艙下層播放著軍艦島紀錄片，我們沒聽懂半句，便走上二樓的甲板。雨勢愈來愈大，浪愈拋愈高，我們嘗試打開雨傘擋雨，船上的糾察便走過來，向我們兜售雨衣，並說明在軍艦島上不能打傘，我們只好乖乖付款。
看到軍艦島的外形，心情立即變得興奮，橫風冷雨也忘記了，只擔心浪太大不能泊岸。我們極之幸運，登岸過程雖然狼狽，要多次中止，但總算有驚無險。以為登島後，會有英語的導賞，但導遊們都只說日語，不懂日語的遊客，便在島上自由行走。說是自由，實質軍艦島開放的地方不多，不用三兩分鐘就行完。
回程船上，Kim 失望說軍艦島不及我們住的坪洲有趣，我說這可是世界遺產，她指坪洲亦有荒廢的工業遺跡，我無言反駁。看著一個人口曾經達到 5,000 人的小島，今日變成頹垣敗瓦，視覺上雖然震撼，但沒聽懂任何一個有關軍艦島的故事，實是遺憾。
Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum/Kimberlogic
As a kid, growing up in the United States I heard the terms Nagasaki and Hiroshima whenever the subject of nuclear weapons was discussed. The “terms” were always used together; I never heard one without the other. I never learned exactly where these cities were located besides somewhere in Japan, which was on the other side of the world.
When learning about the atomic bombs that were dropped, it was only presented as a means to an end for the war. It was briefly stated that the destruction was so horrendous that the issue of nuclear warfare became feared and has been a global topic ever since. I never learned about the cities or the people or anything that made this history lesson personal or even human in my mind.
Planning the logistics of our Kyushu trip got tricky when I wanted to add Nagasaki as one of our destinations. With a five day JR rail pass, we had to get creative with our planning, but we managed to add two days in Nagasaki to our itinerary.
On our first afternoon in Nagasaki we took a tram and walked to a quiet part of town where the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum was located. The building was nothing special to look at and once inside, it was so quiet and very few people we had to follow signs down to the lower level to find the museum entrance.
Upon entering the exhibit, it was dark and silent except for the ticking of a clock. Hanging on the wall was a clock that was salvaged from someone’s home after the explosion. The clock was destroyed and the hands were stopped at exactly 11:02, the moment that the bomb exploded.
I walked through the exhibit at my own pace, taking it all in in silence. The setup of the display presented the bomb, called fat man, showed the area of impact, then showed artifacts from people’s homes and business before telling of personal accounts and showing the suffering and effects of the aftermath.
After reading about a few families and seeing everyday items that had been destroyed and still had bone fragments and hair fused to them, I had a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. The experience was quite overwhelming. The final room of the exhibit was brightly lit and presented views from world leaders, scholars and scientists; it stopped the tears, but got my brain spinning with so many thoughts.
We left the museum and walked somberly around the grounds and eventually back to our hotel. The museum was a great experience, but our happy travel mood had been extinguished for the night. We always try to end our days with cheerful thoughts, but we decided this day could be an exception.
As we prepared for bed, we heard the sounds of bombs exploding close by. We looked at each other in shock, but when we pulled the curtain of the window open, there was a massive fireworks display just outside our window. Maybe because residents of this city don’t visit the museum everyday it is normal, but for us we found the fireworks display awkward in this particular city. Either way, it was stunning and a great way to end our gloomy day.
