Hiroshima Part 1

My trip to Hiroshima started with my family dragging me in the very early morning to Ebina station.

It was too early in the morning for me to show my face, so here is my sister's instead.

From there, we rode various trains until we arrived at Shin-Yokohama station. It is at this station that we got on to the famed bullet train that took us across across the country of Japan. (After buying bento boxes of course)

Finding the right timing to take this picture was quite difficult.

What I love about riding the Shinkansen (bullet train) is that the view outside is usually quite pretty. Mountains, rivers, rice paddies, cities...and then the occasional tunnel (which on the other hand, is quite boring.) I had looked forward to seeing Mt. Fuji, as it was a beautiful sunny day out, but alas, it was not to be. Japan's extreme humidity allowed clear visibility for a couple miles, but no more than that. 

There MAY be mountains in the distance. Or they could be sleeping giants.

The aforementioned bento box was incredibly delicious. Unfortunately, I had stuffed myself too full with snacks to finish it. (Silly me)

And thus I learned the unfairness of life.

Nagoya and Kyoto passed by in a flash, and I suddenly found myself in the very hot and humid city of Hiroshima. We quickly checked into the hotel, which happened to be a minute's walk away from Peace Memorial Park. Since we were all quite tired already by the long train ride, we decided to take it fairly easy and just visit the park.

Our visit started with the Peace Memorial Museum. It was...intense.

The first part of the museum started with the overall view of the events leading up to the the bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. Around the wall were plaques describing Hiroshima and how it grew as a city. In the middle of the room were two to-scale dioramas of the city. One showed before the bombing, and the other showed after. The difference was stunning. Approximately 90% of the building were destroyed, leaving only destruction. Also in the middle of the room was an almost-to-scale representation of the all that was left of the top of the A-bomb Dome; one of the only buildings left standing after the explosion.

The main part of the museum showed the after-effect on the people of Hiroshima. It showed many incinerated trinkets and clothing that were left behind by those who died. The shocking fact was that most of them belonged to middle school students. For many of them, those items were the only recognizable things ever found by loved ones.

Nothing I say will give it anywhere near the same power as it should. This is something that everybody should go to see for him- or herself.

Elsewhere in Peace Memorial Park was the Children's Peace Monument. Shown at the top holding a paper crane is Sadako Sasaki, the girl who folded paper cranes in the hope that when she folded a thousand, her wish to recover from bombing-induced leukemia would come true. Surrounding the monument are clear sheds full of paper cranes folded around the world, many of them arranged to show the image of 'peace'.

After strolling around the park, we stopped by the (real) A-bomb Dome. The skeletal ruins of the building still stand as they did after the bombing. 

So that this may never happen again.