We took the Shinkansen from Himeji to Hiroshima, found a hotel, stashed our bags, and took the tram to Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park. The first thing you see as you step off the tram is the Atomic Bomb Dome, which is the remains of a building that was about 600 m directly below the bomb on August 6, 1945.
It’s a very chilling reminder of the level of destruction that people are capable of, and set the tone for the rest of the day. We went to the museum, which had been remodelled and expanded since I had been there in 1993. So there was even more charred and melted artifacts on display, and more education about atomic weapons.
The mayor of Hiroshima (and all the people too, I’m guessing) is a strong opponent of nuclear weapons, and there are copies of all the letters that have been written though the years to various governments, protesting nuclear tests. Sadly, a new one had been added only days before to Kim Jong Ill.
The park also has a monument to peace and a perpetual flame that will only be extinguished once all atomic weapons are dismantled. Obviously, it’s still burning.
We really didn’t take that many pictures, as seeing it once is horrifying enough. As you can imagine, it was a rather subdued evening.
