All,
Hiroshima is, of course, the site of the first atomic bomb dropped on August 6, 1945. The bomb, which detonated above the ground (I did not know that), leveled much of the city, with well over 100,000 deaths from the blast, heat, and radiation. Today’s nuclear weapons are hundreds of times more powerful. A sobering thought.
But Hiroshima today is a beautiful modern city with over a million inhabitants—living proof of rebuilding and resilience.
We visited the Peace Park and museum, which displayed the damage done to the city and its people. More than the statistics, it was the personal items—clothing, watches, photographs—that hit hardest. Though obviously a very different event, if you have been to the 9/11 site in NYC, it carries a similar somber and reflective feeling.
We also visited Miyajima Island, which has been considered sacred since ancient times. The shrine there was first built in 593 and later rebuilt in 1168. Its famous giant gate sits offshore and appears to float on the water at high tide, while at low tide, you can walk right out to it on the beach.
One thing Japan continually reminds you of is how comfortably the very old and the very modern exist side by side.
Onward! -JB
This building was one of the few in downtown Hiroshima that survived the atomic bomb
This is how it looked at 8:14 on August 6, 1945
And this is how it looked after the blast
More of the city of Hiroshima after the first atomic bomb
Lots of deer roam wild on Miyajima Island
And some of them don’t know their boundaries (look closely – it’s a deer not a dog 🙂
Itsukushima Shrine
The gate seems to float on the water at high tide and is on the beach at low tide
Sundown in Hiroshima