Hiroshima

From Himeji we took a bullet train to Hiroshima. Japan has an extensive public transportation system. If we were in America it would be almost impossible to spend a day exploring two cities that were hundreds of miles apart, but on a bullet train that travels upwards to 200 miles an hour, this kind of touring is more than possible. Traveling on trains in Japan can also be very expensive, for both of us to ride the bullet train round trip to Hiroshima would cost $150 dollars. However, for foreigners, Japan offers this great deal called the JR Rail Pass. For about $230, you can ride any train around Japan for 1 week (this includes all JR ferries, trams, and street cars). Anyway, we jumped on this super fast train and rode 45minutes to Hiroshima. The only thing to do as a tourist in Hiroshima is visit the Peace Park and Museum. This was a sobering experience so say the least. It’s amazing that a city that lost over half its population in a flash of fire and radiation would construct a “Peace” park in memory of that day. In America, we construct memorials for sure, but we rarely talk of peace when it comes to attacks on our people. The museum seemed very fair, although it was absolutely anti-nuclear weapons. Part of the museum was made up of clothes of children who were able to run home before they died of burns and radiation poisoning. Each tattered piece of clothing told another child’s story of horror and pain. One of the most gruesome sights was the skin and fingernails of one young boy who died the day of the bombing. The skin and nails melted from in his body and fell off in his bed when he was moved to be buried. His mother saved these pieces of her son so show his father who was off fighting the war. The other incredible exhibit was a piece of the famous bomb dome that still stands in shambles outside the museum. On the stairs outside the building remains a shadow of a man who sat waiting for the building to open when the bomb hit. The blast left a permanent impression of the man in the concrete. There is a shrine outside where you can pray for peace for the souls who died that day. Every year on August 6^th, the people of Hiroshima come to the park for a memorial service. As part of the service, the people of the city lay on the ground to represent the hundreds of thousands of people who died that day. Although it was good to see, I was happy to leave that place.

Peace arch. If you look through it you see the A-bomb dome.

Hopefully you all of heard of the Thousand Cranes. If you don't know it, google Sadako. This is a monument constructed to her.

This is a shrine outside of the memorial that prays for comfort to the souls of those who died here.

The A-bomb dome.
No longer in a 4-star hotel room. This was our tiny but cozy hotel room in Hiroshima.

Famous Okonomiyaki. These are pancakes of sorts with fried egg, sea weed, noodles, sprouts, beacon, shrimp, cabbage, etc... you eat them right off the grill that they were made on. So good.