Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Museum

After the Mazda tour, we ate at Chikara, which was recommended by one of D’s co-workers. (Others laughed when D told them the recommendation, but the recommender knew we were on a budget). Turns out that a few of the other people on our tour had the same idea. The food was simple, but good. We had udon and bought a roll of futomaki to go.

After returning to Hiroshima station, my sis and her family went back home while D and I caught the trolley to the Peace Memorial Park and Museum.

At the entrance we saw this memorial with water bottles, which I believe were in honor of the earthquake/tsunami victims.

The A-Bomb Dome, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

This was a chilling reminder of the destruction that this city experienced.

Children’s Peace Monument

There were tons of school kids on field trips that day.

1,000 Origami Cranes in honor of Sadako Sasaki

I thought these bush-trees were interesting:

Peace Flame

The flame has burned continuously since it was lit in 1964, and will remain lit until all nuclear bombs on the planet are destroyed and the planet is free from the threat of nuclear annihilation. (-Wikipedia)

Peace Memorial Hall

No pictures were allowed inside and admission is free. It feels modern and somber at the same time.

Our last stop in the park was the actual Peace Memorial Museum.

The exhibits were educational and well done. Talking it over with my sister, we were struck by how the people of Hiroshima do not just see themselves as helpless victims. Instead, they continue to take an active role in seeking to end the possession/use of nuclear weapons around the world. For example, the current mayor of Hiroshima writes a letter to the president of foreign countries each time they engage in nuclear weapons testing, pleading with them to stop (there were copies of all of the letters on display). The whole topic seemed more relevant with the current reminder that even nuclear power that is used for good (energy) can be very dangerous.

After the museum, D bought an iced coffee from a vending machine and we sat down on a bench. A couple of school kids on a field trip approached us and asked if they could practice their English with us. They asked us our names, our favorite animals, etc., and they told us theirs. Then they asked us where wer were from and told us to put a sticker to mark the location on their map. They had a lot of stickers, but we were the first ones from the United States. This was consistent with our observations, since we didn’t run into too many Americans during our trip, except at Narita when we were going home. D, who likes to start conversations with strangers, ended up talking to people from the UK and Canada, but no Americans. Anyway, back to the story, the kids gave us a couple of origami bookmarks as a present. Very sweet.