Hiroshima

Nicola Williams Big Adventure, Japan 1 Comment

After a very busy morning in Miyajima, we hopped back onto a JR (Japan Rail) local train and made our way to Hiroshima.

It is a pleasant walk from the train station to the Peace Memorial Park and the first glimpse of the A-Bomb Dome astounds you even from a distance. The building was once the Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall and was used to promote Hiroshima’s industries. It was designed by a Czech architect and built in 1915 and was an attraction in its own right due to its European style oval dome and wavy walls. At 8:16am on August 6th 1945, The Enola Gay dropped the world’s first atomic bomb. The hypocenter of the explosion was only 160 metres away from the Hall but because the detonation was at a height of 600 metres, the thick outer walls and the steel escaped complete destruction as they absorbed the mighty blast and the building just burst into flames with, distressingly, the people inside dying instantly. The A-Bomb Dome has been preserved to look exactly the same as it would’ve done immediately after the bombing and stands as a symbol of peace and of the most catastrophic force ever created by humankind. It was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996 and continues to express hope for world peace and ultimately the elimination of all nuclear weapons.

After you take a while to gaze at the A-Bomb Dome in all its glory, you can then wander freely around the Peace Memorial Park which was built after the war as a memorial of peace. It is a lovely place to reflect considering there was so much devastation here back in 1945.

There are a number of monuments to look at including the Cenotaph which has the names of the people who fell victim to the bombing. It has an inscription on it which reads: “Let all the souls here rest in peace, for we shall not repeat the evil.” and as of August 6, 2015, there were 297,684 names on the list.

The Children’s Peace Monument was completed in 1958 and was dedicated to all of the children who sadly died as a result of the bombing. There are approximately 10 million origami cranes donated here every year due to one little girl who was exposed to the radiation at the age of 2. 9 years later, she was diagnosed with leukaemia but believed folding paper cranes would help her to recover. She made over 1300 in total but sadly passed away 8 months after her diagnosis.

There are a number of smaller monuments located in the park including a monument dedicated to a local poet (Toge Sankichi); a monument for all the Korean victims of the atomic bomb; and a monument for the Hiroshima Municipal Girl’s High School. All making you reflect on the devastating day of the Atomic Bomb.

The Peace Bell was built in 1964 and displays a world map with no borders to symbolise the slogan ‘One World’ which expresses the aim of a world working together without any nuclear weapons in existence. You can ring the bell and show your support of a peaceful world if you wish to which we felt was a really lovely thing to do and it was also voted in the top 100 of the Best Sounds of Japan.

The Peace Clock Tower is 20 metres tall and was built in 1967 by Hiroshima Rijo Lions Club. The impressive tower is made up of twisted pillars which symbolise the hands of the people of Hiroshima, together in prayer for endless peace. It chimes everyday at 8:15am and has the following epigraph:

“With the appearance of nuclear energy, mankind is standing at a crossroads between life or death, downfall or prosperity. Uniting the wide world with one heart, the role of Lions Club members in establishing peace is big. We have built this clock tower and donated it to the city in accord with the perennial preservation of the A-bomb Dome. The chime of the clock tower resounding everyday at 8.15, the time when mankind received its baptism of the atomic bomb for the first time, calls out to the world for “No more Hiroshima” and we pray that the day for lasting peace may soon come to mankind.” – Hiroshima Rijo Lions Club

Finally, we went to the museum (currently under renovation until 2019) and ended our time at the Memorial Park looking in more detail at the tragic events from 1945. The museum holds nothing back and you are shown extremely graphic photographs and items that belonged to victims of the blast. One little 3 year old boy was riding up and down the street on his little tricycle when the blast hit. He died instantly and his family originally buried him with his tricycle because it was his favourite toy. There are remains of burnt shirts and battered lunchboxes found by loved ones which belonged to different victims. The accounts and exhibits are nothing short of heartbreaking and the fact that a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki 3 days later is soul destroying. One can only hope that the accurate picture that the museum displays, helps with the ongoing pursuit to get rid of all nuclear weapons.
After a very emotional afternoon, we left the Peace Park and walked to Hiroshima Castle which is surrounded by a moat and built on a plain. The original castle was destroyed by the bomb but the main keep was rebuilt 13 years later and restoration has continued ever since. We would recommend you walk to the grounds at least as Japanese Castles are always something to admire.

Finally, before we had to jump on the train back to Osaka, we went for the famous Hiroshima okonomiyaki: a pancake shaped dish with layers of cabbage, bean sprouts, pork (you can have other meat, fish or veg), egg and noodles. Absolutely divine and one of the best comfort foods in the whole country! We had a recommendation but typically in Japan, because of the fast pace of life, you can’t really go wrong from a restaurant close to or inside a train station.

And time to sleep…

One thought on “Hiroshima”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *