Hiroshima is like a pilgrimage site for Rosie and The Operator, being in Japan it only felt right to pay homage and visit the sight where the most unthinkable act of violence has happened on the planet. The Operator debates my use of the word ‘violence’ and would like to substitute it for ‘war’, Rosie feels like that term is giving the act a free pass… we will agree to disagree.
Hiroshima today is all about peace and trying to promote a world free from violence, war and nuclear weaponry. Lets hope one day the rest of the world catches on. A good start would be for every world leader currently storing, promoting or actively testing/using nuclear weaponry to visit Hiroshima and see the mass devastation and annihilation that it was done first hand and how sobering, shocking and long lasting it was when these weapons were unleashed.
Hugged by the river on both sides, The Peace Memorial Park is a large leafy space crisscrossed by walkways and dotted with memorials and shrines. Back on that dark day at 8.15am on 6th August 1945 this was ground zero, the atomic bomb detonated overhead this residential and business area, immediately wiping it and 90% of the city out and killing 80,000 people instantly.
Today it is quiet, tranquil and reflective. Its central feature is the long tree lined Pond of Peace which leads to the Cenotaph.
This curved concrete monument holds the names of all known victims of the bomb stored in the concrete casket you can see. A silent line waited patiently in the sun, no one was talking, it really was dead silent. Everyone took turns to stand in front of the cenotaph and either prey or take photos, everyone respectfully waited their turn and then moved on…in silence.
Directly through the curved cenotaph you can see the Flame of Peace. It is a flame that is set to burn on until the day when all of the nuclear weapons in the world have been destroyed.
On past the flame you can see The Atomic Bomb Dome in the background which is across the river.
The park was planned so that these features form a straight line, with the Peace Memorial Museum at its Southern end which perfectly hovers above the flame.
The Childrens Peace Memorial was on Rosies list after hearing the story of Sadako Sasaki who was two years old at the time the bomb went off.
She developed luekemia at the age of 11 years old and decided to fold 1000 paper cranes. In Japan the crane is the sign of longevity and happiness, if you fold 1000 you are granted a wish, Sadakos wish was to end all nuclear warfare. She died before reaching her goal but her classmates folded the rest.
Now, people from around the world make paper cranes and bring them to this monument where you can add to the collection. People are lining up in front of the monument to ring the bell inside – for peace.
This is the Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound, it holds the ashes of up to 70,000 unclaimed or unidentified victims of the bombing. Their remains are interned in a vault below this grassy mound.
Perhaps the starkest most tangible reminder of the destruction visited upon Hiroshima on its darkest day is the Atomic Bomb Dome. Built in 1915 it was the Industrial Promotions Hall until the bomb exploded almost directly above it. Everyone inside was killed, but the building was one of of the very few left standing at the epicenter. A decision was made after the war to preserve this shell, forever, as a memorial.
People were standing and sitting along the river bank, leaning on bridge rails or slowly walking by, all heads are turned towards this building and all eyes are transfixed in quiet contemplation at the meaning of it. It is an ethereal sight, it looks so delicate and fragile amongst the new backdrop of a reborn Hiroshima. This building really does give you chills.
The Museum was next on our pilgramage, it houses a collection of items salvaged from the aftermath of the atomic bomb. The displays are confronting and personal, a dusty wristwatch with a shattered face, arms stopped at exactly 8.15am.
A melted kiddies tricycle and lunchboxes. Photos of the victims of the aftermath 2kms from the epicenter were horrific. Storyboards of victims with clothes melted to their bodies and skin hanging off in ribbons from the burns who made it home and then later died in loved ones arms are just indescribable.
People in the museum were openly weeping and sitting with their heads in their hands, everyone shuffling through this over crowded space is touched at some deep level. This museum is hard hitting and dosen’t hold back on the truth or the realities of the consequences of this bomb and the damage it did immediately and well into the future.
Leaving the Peace Park and looking out over the river to modern Hiroshima, the footprint of the city is exactly the same today as it was then, all I can do is see in my minds eye the blackened wasteland of the aftermath and it sends a shiver down my spine on how quickly and how easily your whole world can be turned upside down in an instant. Why is peace so hard to obtain…..surely even those still at war today wish it…..
Rosie has a wicked blister on her toe and it has been rubbing all day, we are still too early to check into our Hotel so we opt for lunch, as luck would have it, there is a Okonomiyaki restaurant not 50 meters from our hotel.
What you may ask is an Okonomiyaki?…..as Rosie just found out, it is the specialty of the area, a pancake/omelette filled with cabbage and stuffings of your choice. Okay, sounds good….it totally was not that……but what a fun lunch we had!
Sitting at the counter the silver countertop in front of us was a huge hotplate from one end to the other. The chef cooked our lunch on top of it while we watched!
It had a thin crepe like bottom that never seemed to burn….cabbage and sprouts were piled on top then precooked filling, Rosies was bacon and cheese, seasoning was added then an egg was broken on the hotplate swirled around and added on top.
Lastly the top of the mountain was basted in a sweet sticky sauce and voila…..lunch was served in front of us on the hotplate, we had a wee spatula to cut the ‘omlette’ and we ate from that like the locals were. It was delicious.
Toe patched up, and all checked in Rosie and the Operator went for a sunset walk through the park again which was across the road from our hotel.
It was quiet, the tour buses had gone home and the people were thin on the ground, The sunset glowed orange and gave the sights a totally new hopeful outlook. What a beautiful poignant place to visit.
On the way home we walked past evening diners and stopped ourselves for some skewers in a funky wee bar.
Tomorrow is our final train journey and we are leaving the big cities behind for a slower pace in smaller towns. Join us for a look around the Temple Town of Onomichi, on the coast.
