00:00:02 John Daub: Hello everybody, welcome to Hiroshima. That right there is the Genbaku Dome (Atomic Bomb Dome). And it is August 6th, 2023. On this day many years ago, that was about 200 meters from the hypocenter. We're going to walk into the park. Today is the anniversary, so there's a major police presence around here, loads of protesters. The peace memorial ceremony was held at I think 8 a.m.

00:00:37 John Daub: How you doing everybody? I'm here to film something else, but it just so happened it placed me on this day. I used to live here, just across over there in a place called Yokogawa. You can see on the other side. I used to walk about 25 minutes along this river to Yokogawa, which is a terminus of the streetcars. Wow, what memories. And today, we're here. It's a solemn day.

00:01:10 John Daub: I've already made an episode about this on the old channel, and I'm making a new one which is partially what I'm filming, but it's not based on the atomic bomb. Here's the Genbaku Dome-mae station. We're going to wait for the light here. But this city has changed so much. Hold on a second. Do we even have audio? Yeah, we have audio. Sorry. Let me know if you have any. I hope the signal is going to be okay around the Genbaku Dome.

00:01:48 John Daub: It is scorching hot. The taxi driver told me the temperature outside was 39 degrees Celsius, which is I believe 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Yesterday it hit 40 degrees in Date, Fukushima, the first time it hit 40 this year in Japan. It doesn't do that often, by the way. This is all new. So for me, this is a huge mind-blowing experience.

00:02:16 John Daub: This is where the stadium for the Hiroshima Carp used to be at this exact spot, and now it's a park. Let's see exactly what they call this. The Hiroshima Castle Tower is here—it's a reconstruction of the original. Okay, the Genbaku Dome would be here, and this is called Heiwa Kinen Koen (Peace Memorial Park). Interesting. I haven't thoroughly been here. I used to live here 19, 20 years ago, but this was not here. And I guess it's sort of shaped still in the form of a stadium.

00:03:20 John Daub: I used to work out at this gym. I would run along the Ota River, the Honkawa River, and work out at the gym. If you took a bus, it was about 200 yen for each workout. And there was this really big dude who'd help me out. It was very nice, very friendly. The streetcar is here—Genbaku Dome-mae station. And it's 220 yen for public transportation. I took a taxi. It's cooler, easier, and I'm working.

00:04:03 John Daub: Touch your IC card when you enter, and touch it again when you exit. There's a big tube here—it's a pump tube, kind of weird. Alright, we're right at the base of the Genbaku Dome, and I'll say a little prayer for all you guys because in an instant 80,000 people lost their lives in a flash. And it's something that's always, when I lived here, weighed on me quite a bit. I would unapologetically maybe drink a little bit too much at a bar called Kemby's, and then walk past here at night with it illuminated. It was really impactful. And there was nobody around.

00:04:47 John Daub: Back then 20-some years ago, Japan was not a major tourist attraction, and when I walked back home there's not a soul here. It was almost eerily quiet, not like today, in particular today because this is the day of the memorial. You can see over there they have a pianist playing. They really try to give a feeling of peace in this park, and that's what I love about it. There are other things besides the Genbaku Dome that will give you pause. Let's walk around it a little bit.

00:05:27 John Daub: There are trees around this area that are still burned out that survived despite the intense heat and erosion. Life found a way, and when you see the trees burned and damaged from a nuclear explosion still alive 75, 80 years later, that building's new with an amazing deck where you get a view over the park. I guess they built it about seven, eight years ago. Get some hot or cold matcha and really chill. So let's go to the front. The police, the security here—they're really nice. Security was really tight this morning.

00:06:21 John Daub: I was thinking of spending the night here walking over because you could enter for the memorial at 5 a.m., but it just didn't seem like something I wanted to do. You can see the wreckage, the devastation, the twisted metal, the concrete. This is one of the few buildings made with concrete back then in Japan. They still use wood for quite a lot of buildings here. If you look down on the ground, you can see the rocks still scattered. In fact, the U.S. Army has archived video and photos just months afterwards. It does not look like it has changed much since those photos from 1945 that I've seen, which in itself is amazing.

00:07:18 John Daub: You used to be able to go a lot closer. Locals told me there wasn't always a wall around here, but as time went on they did a better job to preserve it. There's an alarm system so if you try to climb it the cops will be here pretty quick, especially today. Just don't do it. Security is really tight today as it should be. The G7 was here a couple months ago, not that it really matters to the people here. I guess there was a little upset with the changes in the schedule. I think more wasn't given to the things that happened in the city during that summit.

00:08:02 John Daub: It's a beautiful tree here, nice shade. They illuminate this at night, and at sunset around 7:15ish the mosquitoes are biting, but you might want to wear pants. It's cool enough to maybe do that. But the illuminations with the sunlight make for a stunning photo. The Genbaku Dome is a reminder of the past, of war, of the people that lost their lives here. And that's what it is.

00:08:45 John Daub: You know, I see Michael Sassano's here. Michael, I'm sweating it out. When I lived here 20-some years ago, I didn't know anybody else had lived in Hiroshima before. I have to admit I was somewhat worried because I thought there'd be some resentment. I just knew the history from what I learned in school. We didn't have the internet back in 1998, 1999 like today, no smartphones. It's amazing that I never felt any animosity. In fact, it was the opposite.

00:09:23 John Daub: Following World War II, the occupation was almost a relief compared to life during the war, which was really harsh. Afterwards during reconstruction and occupation, older people I spoke with were really grateful—life seemed better after. And there's a lot of media crews here covering tonight at around seven when they're lighting the lanterns—about 10,000 of them. They should put 80,000 in my opinion, one for everybody who lost their life that day. This whole area fills with different colored beautiful lights with the backdrop of the Genbaku Dome. I've always wanted to see it, but not on this day because I have to go to Nara in about 10 minutes.

00:10:44 John Daub: Thank you. I have some Mount Fuji water from the Shinkansen. I'm going to Nara. Here's some aerial pictures—this is sort of new. Images from different angles, and one from 1945. I like the green around it. Life. Michael writes: Hey John, I visited this place in 2019. Very somber to read actual stories from survivors. Yeah, there's an area where you can do that—a reminder that in war no one truly wins.

00:11:40 John Daub: Absolutely. I talked with firebomb victims of Tokyo in 1945, March 9th and 10th, and interviewed them for an episode. I wish I could get it out sooner, but you could hear in their voices how they felt, and really empathize with what's going on in Ukraine. The two people I interviewed in their 90s both brought up Ukraine—they know what it's like being bombed. You could really feel their words, and that's why the interview was hard to translate. Emmy my assistant did it—about two and a half hours long. I'm putting the whole interviews on Only in Japan Go after the main channel episode because you should hear it all in entirety.

00:13:00 John Daub: It's a unique experience now to hear from people who lived through this a few generations ago—the last of them, in their late 80s, early 90s, some in their hundreds. Those in their late 90s were teens then, so different perspectives. But those voices are going away, and the hibakusha (A-bomb survivors)—hibaku-sha means the person, survivor of the nuclear bomb—and their numbers are going down every year. You could see people looking around at faces that weren't there the year before, or before the pandemic. The more we lose, the more stories we lose. There's urgency to get as many who want to share for our kids who'll never meet them. We have the technology, and that's a point of this channel this year.

00:14:25 John Daub: Let's go quickly to the cenotaph—I've never been here on the sixth before, so just a couple minutes then skedaddle to Nara. Not sure how the signal is—maybe walk through Hondori (covered shopping arcade) and catch a taxi to the station. Oh my gosh it's so hot. I heard from Kevin Riley today before his tour—would've been funny to see him at the station. You see how bright it is with the sun on the bridge? That's how I feel—I'm frying.

00:14:58 John Daub: You can see the memorial signs on the river. Stories I heard from Yuji, a tour guide who gave me a tour—I interviewed his grandfather who saw the blast, came here to help, and gave impressions. To put your arm around somebody who'd seen something like that—it's incredible. Amazing view, and some things he said I didn't use before, I'll recycle into the episode next week.

00:16:02 John Daub: There's a lot of resentment right now with Mattel and the Barbie movie trying to combine things—it was an awful image. Alright, here is the Peace Memorial Museum. For those who've been here, you know exactly where I am. There's the museum, the cenotaph. Let's cross the street and walk over—just gonna circle around because it is blazing hot. The cranes—you can see they still honor her by making them. Signal is going—stay in 1945 just hours afterwards. A lot of things I heard from Yuji's grandfather were incredibly affecting—the screaming, the crying back then.

00:17:55 John Daub: There's a lot of buffering right now—sorry, gonna walk away from this area. This is—keep forgetting her name—Sadako [?]. That's 28 to feedback. People just comment. Well, I'm tired, so I'm out anyways. You can see the police presence across the street. Protesters are all over in a different area, doing it peacefully. You can hear the cicadas in the background. Looks like rain is coming—it was raining on the Shinkansen, patchy rain.

00:18:58 John Daub: Alright, let's head towards Hondori (covered shopping arcade). Look at all these people at the touristy okonomiyaki spot. Hondori—it's been a while. I did a livestream here six years ago working on the other hypocenter video. Wow, it has really changed—a lot of tourist-friendly shops. Hiroshima didn't bring in a lot of tourists when I first came 24 years ago. But all these shops—I think Kemby's is down there, a bar I used to go to. I think it's still there.

00:19:47 John Daub: A lot of older stores have gone away, new stuff more tourist-friendly because there are as many tourists as locals on this street, which is crazy. The only foreign faces I saw were other English teachers and US Marines from Iwakuni Base—they were fun to talk to, just not so much after four or five drinks. There's a little brawling. Hold on, gonna lock my backpack—it's heavy. Okay, sorry. So I locked it, take some weight off.

00:20:50 John Daub: Tomorrow I have a really important shoot in Nara, and I'll come back tomorrow night—back home in time for Leo's bath time. The street is nice because you feel the air conditioning from stores. There's a Taito game center—can't remember if that was here before. There was a Sega World at the end near the park—oh, that's no longer there. Okonomiyaki—if you're in the city, don't get it near Peace Park. Go to Okonomiyaki Mura (Okonomiyaki Village) with 30, 40, 50 shops on floors 3, 4, and 5. The best was Shinchan, but they changed owners. There's one called Carp which was pretty good—for the baseball team. Shinchan's pretty good too, back on the third or fourth floor. The owner used to head the tourism association 10 years ago.

00:22:20 John Daub: Wow, does anybody remember Sam's Bar? I believe it was here on the right. He was an older gentleman—can't imagine he's still around. It was the only place to get foreign beer like Sam Adams. I think it was right—why is the Budweiser sign? That's got to be it. Hold up—is he still here? Old Sam's place on the second floor. What? I got a lot of history here, folks. If Sam's around, go in and say John said hi—I'm sure he doesn't remember me, but that's crazy. I'll have to stop in next time—I'm coming back in a week.

00:23:35 John Daub: There's a little opening—after your drink, he'd come around, open the door, and say thank you as they left. That spirit of Japanese hospitality—one of the things I remembered. I always came back, sometimes alone because there weren't many foreigners and I couldn't speak much Japanese then. Sam spoke English. You can see reminders all over the city of what the streets looked like at the time. Some buildings still up, but they've torn many down because they weren't safe. I'll be back next week and see if I can stop in depending on the hotel for a shoot. If he is, my heart will be pounding, bringing me back to when I was 29. Holy crap—places still here that I visited at 29. I gotta go to the main street.

00:25:03 John Daub: I did not expect to see it there—I thought good property, he'd sell out. Get a streetcar back, but taxis are hard to find. You have to go down to go up to the platform. I can hear those kids—they think I don't understand them. Should pull an Oriental Pearl—one of the YouTubers who surprises people with fluent Japanese. When you leave Tokyo, people think you don't speak any. Funny. How do I get up to the platform again? Some peace lovers here, little presentation going on.

00:27:05 John Daub: Alright, here's the streetcar going to Hiroshima Station. All righty then—anyone want my job? This is hard. Two and six go to Hiroshima Station. Maybe I can get on one now. To be polite I should turn this off on public transportation—it's not very polite to livestream. Guys, I just missed this train. Where's my IC card? Here it is—no Pasmo. Checked—no ICOCA at the machine.

00:28:23 John Daub: There's another one coming—not far off. They're all going to Hiroshima Station. This is the old streetcar—called Hiroden (Hiroshima Electric Railway). They've been doing these since 1910. You can use your ICOCA or Hayakaken card. Touch when you enter and when you get off because it calculates based on distance—you might pay more going to Miyajima, for example.

00:29:32 John Daub: So we started right here, walked around, came up here. Alright everybody—any questions? It's so hot. Touch when enter and exit. Crazy hot. Gonna be happy on the Shinkansen—get an ebi tempura onigiri and water. Change at Shin-Osaka to Osaka, then to Nara. Should be there at 5:36 p.m., check in, go straight to bed—5 a.m. start tomorrow.

00:30:20 John Daub: Alright everybody, thanks for watching. See you in a livestream from Nara—I'll take you there, have fun in the city of deer. Don't forget to subscribe, hit the like button, and the Only in Japan bus trip if inclined. Thank you.