Japan 2018 Day 18 - Hiroshima

Hiroshima A-Bomb Dome and Peace Memorial (including Park)

First stop was our breakfast bakery where we stocked up on pastries for our train trip. The bullet trains are very comfortable and rock steady.  You can also eat and drink on them and our breakfast didn't last long.

We planned to go on the Hiroshima sightseeing bus, which you can get on and off as often as you like with a JR Pass.  The plan was to do the A-Bomb Dome ("A" standing for Atom, but I am sure you figured that out already).  The Dome was pretty much the epicentre of where the bomb was detonated and is now a world heritage sight promoting peace.  At the Dome was an "in-utero" survivor who was unborn at the time but was affected by being in the uterus of his mother.  He had a great historic collection from his viewpoint.

I cannot describe what I felt visiting the Dome, Peace Park and Museum.  You must visit yourself to understand the enormity of this devastating event.  All I can say is that it reminded me of a saying that I heard when I was a kid: "What if there was war and nobody went".  I know it sounds inspirational, but if everybody thought that, we would ensure that Hiroshima wouldn't happen again. Anyone visiting surely must condone nuclear weapons and wars in general.

Before

 After

"Fat boy" (Nagasaki) and little boy "Hiroshima"

 Finally, Kerrie gets to ring a bell.  It is a peace bell that everyone is encouraged to ring.

Memorial for the children that lost their lives.

 It took us more than three hours and we could have spent more, but we were running out of time and we were getting drained emotionally.

It didn't leave us time to do anything else and it took a nice cup of coffee (for me), chips and some chicken pieces, at the train station, to cheer us up a bit.  This certainly was a visit that will stay with us for the rest of our lives.

It is interesting to note that the only sitting US president ever to visit this site was Barrack Obama.

But on a brighter side. The railway stations in Japan are huge. They even contain shopping centres and span several floors.

 Smallest post office I have ever seen.