Goodbye for now Japan, may your history never be forgotten
Our discussion with Ms. Ogura Keiko at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Hall, an atomic bomb survivor who was eight years old when the attack happened.
PGS: Global Radiation History: Living in the Atomic Age 1945-Present
Nuha, one of the Penn Global Seminar Correspondents, shares her experience abroad during the Spring 2025 PGS. Follow along with the group of correspondents on our blog and look out for their images on the @pennabroad Instagram feed.
If there’s one thing I quickly learned during my time in Hiroshima and Tokyo, it’s that you’ll never find a trash can when you need one, yet somehow, the streets remain spotless. Alongside the custom of removing shoes in many restaurants and the nearly robotic toilets, these were among the initial cultural differences that caught me by surprise during my first Penn Global Seminar. Japan has an unspoken social contract, where the upkeep of public spaces is not solely enforced through rules or signs, but through collective discipline. The level of hospitality is unlike anything I had ever experienced, and it immediately reshaped my understanding of what it means to be part of their community.
For any future PGS students heading to Japan or any new country, my biggest advice is to slow down and take everything in. The trip passes much faster than you’d expect, and as Penn students, it’s easy to be constantly in go-mode, moving from one task to the next. But this experience is unlike anything that can be found in a typical course. Looking back, I wish I had taken even more time to appreciate the little moments—the peacefulness of a garden visit, the thrill of navigating Tokyo’s train system, or the joy of sharing a meal at a tiny ramen shop with my classmates. These small, ordinary moments exposed me to such a serene and thoughtful culture.
While I originally imagined this trip as another academic experience, it soon became so much more than that. Thrifting in Tokyo was next-level, the vending machines never disappointed, and I don’t think I’ve ever eaten so much amazing seafood in my life. However, beyond the fun and excitement, this trip was not simply a visit to Japanese tourist sites but an immersion into the devastating consequences of World War II and the use of nuclear power in ways that could never be properly learned from textbooks or documentaries. For instance, our visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial and the opportunity to meet and speak directly with Hibakusha, the Japanese term for survivors of the 1945 atomic bombing, impacted me in a way I honestly could never have prepared for. The raw emotion in their voices and the pain that still lingers in their eyes as they shared their personal stories of the bomb’s immediate destruction and its lasting effects, both physical and emotional, revealed the long-term suffering and resilience of those who lived through such a tragedy. Being there in person, hearing their stories firsthand, made me reflect deeply on the world and the importance of storytelling in preventing us from repeating the mistakes of the past.
Overall, I could not have asked for a better first Penn Global seminar experience. This trip gave me memories that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. Some were joyful, filled with breathtaking sights and laughter with my friends. Others were heavy, filled with the weight of stories that should never be forgotten. I left Japan not only with a newfound appreciation for its beauty and culture, but with a deeper understanding of the responsibility we all have to remember. If anyone ever gets the privilege to visit, prepare to be challenged, but forever inspired.
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