Hiroshima

In 1945 the USA bombed the town of Hiroshima. It was the first ever use of a nuclear weapon in war.

Hiroshima is a relatively small place and you can see most of the main sights on foot. But we started the day with a run so we thought we would treat ourselves to the city tour sightseeing bus. This initially took us away from the places we wanted to see but looped back after going via the train station. Frustrating when we arrived at the train station, the driver said it was his break time, so everyone had to get off and wait for the next bus. The line for the next bus was at least 3 buses deep 😫. So we made the decision to walk insted, a bit of a waste of an hour and 800 yen.
The walk took us over some rivers and through the city. Our Lonely Planet guide suggested we eat these cabbage based savory pancakes for lunch (the Hiroshima speciality), so we took its advice. Had the food made right in front of us by the chefs. A bit too much cabbage for my taste.
We came to the Hiroshima war memorial, a large building which tells the story of the A Bomb, the devastation it caused and the lives it affected for years afterwards. Quite a harrowing experience.
In the gardens afterwards there is a flame which will keep burning until the last nuclear weapon is destroyed, lets hope it can extinguished at some point.
Only a few buildings survived the blast, one directly below where the bomb went off remained standing. It has got a famous dome on top and will be kept as ruins as a reminder.
If you find yourself in Japan, this is all well worth a visit.
We finished the day by trying to get our money's worth by getting back on the sight seeing bus. Turns out we had seen everything.Baca selengkapnya