Trains schedules can be interesting to interrupt
The bullet train
Info on the A-bomb dome
Picture of devastation
A-bomb dome
Peace Memorial Park
Picture looking through the Memorial back to the A-bomb dome
Close-up pic
People effected
Exposure zone
One final look
Hiroshima Castle
Hiroshima Castle - going through the front gate
The palace inside the Hiroshima Castle
Shukkei-en Garden
Today was one of those days that I will always remember in my travels. I really enjoy history - and World World II is right at the top of the list when it comes to interesting topics. Therefore, a day trip to Hiroshima from Kyoto was an excellent choice.
We took a bullet train from Kyoto to Hiroshima around 8:30am. It was around a 100 minute train each way. Just the right time for a mid-morning nap for me. (I'm a fan of the nap - specifically when it comes to trains and planes).
Arriving into Hiroshima - we decided to walk across town to Peace Memorial Park. About a 25-minute walk across town led us to an AMAZING area. The first thing we came upon was the A-bomb dome. This was one of the very view partial buildings that was not completely burned/demolished in the attack on August 6, 1945 (see above photos)
So - at 8:15am on August 6th, 1945 - the first ever atomic bomb was dropped on the very spot we were now standing. Wait - what happened here? Sometimes when I'm touring in certain areas (site of crucifixion in Jerusalem, Auschwitz Concentration Camp, Hitler's Bunker) --- it doesn't seem real. Did this really happen right here?
The photos and descriptions while walking around Peace Memorial Park told a dramatic story. Then, we went into the Peace Park Museum. Very explicit photos. Details leading up to the events, the actual day of the bombing, and than the after effects. 2 things I did not know (or at least had forgotten), were the size of the area effected by the bomb and then how many people were killed. The bomb basically killed anyone withing a 2km radius of the blast and those within a 4km radius had long term effects and many perished. 350,000 people were directly exposed to the blast The number that died is not known exactly - as many deaths came months later due to cancer, etc from the radiation exposure. Death numbers were estimated around 200,000 people.
We spent quite a bit of time touring the museum. Extremely interesting! After taking in the sites 1 last time, we decided to walk across town to the Hiroshima Castle. We toured the area, took pictures of the temple, and walked the vast grounds of the castle. The castles and temples we have visited so far in Japan are now telling a pretty similar story. Interesting for sure - and different from China. I'll have more on that in the coming days.
Our last tour of the day was actually a fly-by. Shukkei-en. A historic Japanese garden in the heart of Hiroshima. It was raining hard about this time of the day, so we decided to take a couple photos from the outside but not pay the entry fee to do the walk-about. All good stuff however.
A train ride back to Kyoto. Then, a $10/beer at our hotel. 1 beer that is. We got a really good price on a hotel room in a pretty nice place. The restaurants inside the hotel are a bit pricey. The beer we had came with a warm, scented towl, and a small bowl of mixed nuts. We savored this over some great conversation.
Calling it a day --- tomorrow we end our tour of Kyoto. Good night from the Far East!
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