Ground Zero

We arrived in Hiroshima the previous night but it wasn’t until the following morning that the significance of this visit would have the impact that it did. We started our day with a casual stroll down a nondescript street when Manabu asked if we noticed anything in particular. Nothing struck our attention until he pointed out a simple stone marker with a plaque. This indicated that this was ground zero for the dropping of the first atomic bomb by the US army B-29 Enora Gray at 08:15 on the morning of August 6, 1945. I could literally feel the hair on the back of my neck stand up. A strange and uneasy feeling came over me as I started to come to the reality of the gravity of the event. In the end there were almost 200,000 souls lost and many of them children. After a stop at the A bomb Dome, we spent some time at the Hiroshima Peace Museum. It was surreal while touring the different exhibits as to how quiet all the visitors were. All were experiencing a profound sense of loss. This is a must see exhibit for any politician who holds any power of significance. No one should ever to be allowed to repeat the horrific act that nuclear destruction creates. Despite many efforts, for some reason, powerful people have too much difficulty coming to the realization that war and destruction are not compatible with peace and harmony.

The Peace Memorial Park is a lovely park and in addition to the cherry blossoms the tulips are in full bloom. There is another memorial besides that of the National Peace Memorial, which is that of the Children’s Peace Monument. It was inspired by a young girl by the name of Sadako. At the time of the bombing she was two years old and an athlete who contracted leukemia at age 12 due to the aftermath of the atomic fallout. She decided that she would create 1000 origami cranes to help in her rehabilitation but regrettably she succumbed to the disease before completing her goal. She so inspired children and adults around the world, origami cranes are still sent to Hiroshima to this day. It is a wonderful story and you can go and click on the link Sadako to find out more.

The afternoon was spent traveling by tram, train and ferry to the island of Miyajima. This is home to the iconic O-torii Gate. The town is known for its oysters and of course lunch included a sampling of fried oysters as fresh ones are out of season. Other tourist locations of note were the Toyokuni Shrine and a five storied Pagoda.

The view from our hotel room is fabulous and I would have been happy to order room service and just take in the view but we ventured out once again in search of a menu we could understand and nourishment we could consume without too much fuss.

Sayonara