Nagasaki - a lesson still not learned.

Had to assemble in the hotel foyer at 7.50 in order to walk to the railway station to catch the trains to Nagasaki. We think our tour manager / guide, Inage (Nugget), was testing our punctuality by leaving a lot of time (1 hour) to get to the station ten minutes away.

We thought today would be quite confronting - visiting the site of the dropping of the second atomic bomb…

We took two trains - an 'ordinary' train and then changed to a bullet train. A coach was waiting to take us to the Peace Park.

The Peace Park focusses on exactly that, peace. From the giant peace statue on, everything is aimed at promoting peace and goodwill. The peace statue is very symbolic.

The right hand pointing to the sky reminds us of the danger of nuclear weapons, while the extended left hand symbolizes eternal peace. The statue's face also embodies peace, while its closed eyes represent a prayer for the repose of the victims' souls.

His folded right leg is in meditation while the extended left leg is rooted to the ground, asking us to stand up and help the world. Take note of serene seated Buddha statues in Japan, and you will see where this posture came from.

The peace bell has offerings of bottled water at its base. This is in response to the many stories told by survivors of how they had raging thirsts and there was no uncontaminated water.

The tree of life statue shows how a tree can provide a wooden bowl so people can share water and food.

The Fountain of Peace signifies the need for water. Its sprays form the shape of wings signifying a dove or a crane. Nagasaki harbour is named after the crane because of its shape.

The park leads on to ground zero or, as it's called here, the hypocentre. This is the point directly below where the bomb exploded.

It is marked by a column, in front of which is a stone chamber. This contains a register with the names of everyone who died in the bombing and have died as a result since. It is updated every August 9th.

Then it was on to the museum…Read more