Mon 8 Hiroshima

Our morning was spent at the Hiroshima Peace Museum which provided a confronting recount of the pain, suffering and death when the atomic bomb "Little Boy" found its mark at 8:15am 6 August 1945.  Hiroshima was one of 17 target cities considered with topography, population density and military significance taken into account.  The destruction was hard to comprehend with significant damage to both buildings and people extending some 3.5km from the bomb's hypocentre. 

It is estimated between 60,000 - 80,000 people were killed instantly.  The 4500°C heat from the bomb was so intense that people simply vanished in the explosion.  Tens of thousands more died in the following months from burns, radiation and malnutrition.  

It's hard to comprehend the full destructive power of the bomb and I couldn't accept the rationale for its use. 

All of these pictures are from the Peace Memorial Park surrounding the museum, with the Atomic Bomb Dome presenting a powerful homage to the destruction that ensued 80 years ago.

We stumbled across the best restaurant for lunch, mainly because there were long queues of people lining up to go next door.  I can't imagine they had a better meal than we did - this was Japanese food as I remember.  Simple flavours, fabulous presentation and impeccable service. Heaven.

Later on in the afternoon we went up Orizuru Tower for a panoromic view of Hiroshima with the A-Bomb dome in the foreground. Orizuru (ori meaning “folded,” and tsuru meaning “crane”) or paper crane is famous in Hiroshima for its symbolic significance. It is said that folding a thousand paper cranes will grant you one wish.  This became Hiroshima’s symbol for peace because of the efforts of a girl named Sadako Sasaki. She is one of the victims of the historical bombing of Hiroshima, and she became famous for her efforts in completing a thousand paper cranes for her hometown. This ritual folding a thousand paper cranes is called senbazuru, and it eventually became Hiroshima’s symbolic wish for peace and recovery. 

Dropping our cranes to join the million others in a 50m high acrylic wall 

And just a tiny dinner for us from one of these places, fast becoming favourites....