Hiroshima

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On the day we caught the shinkansen to Hiroshima, perhaps fittingly, it was raining. We walked past the A-bomb dome, the eternal flame, and visited the Hall of Rememberance and the Peace Memorial museum. I found the whole experience incredibly sorrowful and thought-provoking, but essential to experience at least once. Even though there were so many visitors to the museum, the mood was solemn and respectful. Especially moving were the personal testimonies of those caught up in the tragedy, recorded decades later for the world to share; as well as the personal mementos donated by the families who had lost children - tattered scraps of uniforms, a watch, even a bento box preserved by the radiation, the rice gone completely black. The legacy of grief and loss continues some 60 years on. It's incomprehensible that humans have the capacity to inflict such pain upon each other, and yet, they continue to do so today. Since 1945, the mayor of Hiroshima has written to countries performing nuclear weapons tests, the most recent being to North Korea this year.

Being in Hiroshima we had to sample the local specialty, okonomiyaki with noodles and a LOT of cabbage. There is an okonomiyaki centre in town thats about 4 stories high - each story crammed with okonomiyaki shops...it boggles the mind. You pick a place and sit down in front of the hot plate...they bring out your order and you finish cooking it and garnish it as you like. ^_^

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Photos

Paper Cranes
Today all over the world people fold paper cranes and send them to Hiroshima in memory of Sadako, a girl who died aged 12 from leukaemia - the 'atomic bomb' disease.