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After arriving at Hiroshima
station we jumped on the tram to get to our hotel. The hotel
for this night’s stay was very very posh. All a bit too much
for us really in our grungy trail shoes and backpacks in tow but
it sure was a room with a view over the city. We had no time
for a nice hotel, so we quickly dumped our bags then headed out
to see the local sights.
We all know what happened here
all those years ago during the Second World War and what
devastation was caused but you could feel it in the air
especially when you saw one of the few remaining buildings that
didn’t get flattened. The A-bomb dome was one of the original
Hiroshima buildings that was almost directly below the bomb
blast, so it didn’t get completely destroyed. The city decided
to leave the remains there as a monument and reminder of the
terrible destruction caused…
So after a walk around seeing
the A-dome, the memorial and fountain we headed back to our posh
hotel. More sushi to go and some more website things to be
done.
Next day we headed over the
road to the Hiroshima castle. At the top you had some good
views over the city. Today was a national holiday so we saw
lots of Japanese people all dressed up, and lots of Japanese
kids in traditional geisha costume, very cute. There was also a
flower show going on as there were some huge displays of flowers
around.
We then visited the National
Peace memorial. This sure is a must as it’s an amazing set up
to see. The have a huge circular room with a 360 degree
photograph on the walls showing the city after the blast. The
walls are made from tiny tiles, each one representing the number
of people who died in the blast. It was very moving and
calming, a very humbling experience. They had another section
where you could read first hand accounts from the survivors
about what they suffered that day, truly terrible. Afterwards
we went to the Peace memorial museum which had lots of info
again, lots of photographs and details on what happened. It was
really well put together and again really brought to life the
horrors of the blast and how it affected the city.
Afterwards
we wanted to go and see the Itsukushima shrine (a shrine in the
sea off the coast of Tokyo) which was a long tram ride away,
followed by a quick boat ride over to an island. Well we got
there but only had time for a very quick walk to see the shrine
on the island to take a couple of pics and then back on the boat to grab the tram again
back to the main station. We just managed to grab some food in
time to then catch the bullet train back to Tokyo ready for our
next trip the next day to Mt Fuji, what an exhausting trip… |
