If I had an appetite for savoury foods in the morning, then I would have had a feast for breakfast, as this hotel supplies so many options, including hotdogs (already in their rolls), fries, and salads, as well as the usual array of egg dishes, rice, and pastries. On top of all this, they have a soft-serve ice cream dispenser -- you can serve yourself in either a cone or a bowl! But, honestly, who needs/wants ice cream for breakfast? If only we could come back here for free ice cream at about 2pm!

As Dad had advised us to get to Peace Memorial Park, the park built to commemorate those who lost their lives in the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima in 1945, as it can get quite busy as the day wears on . It was just a 10-minute walk down the street from our hotel...we were on our way by 10am. Luckily, there was no queue to buy tickets (200 yen each - about $2.60), although there were already a lot of people inside the museum. 

The atmosphere was very sombre as we filed slowly past the exhibits -- samples of clothing worn by some of the victims, showing how the bomb had shredded the fabric of their clothes; items such as bags, hats, spectacles -- personal belongings that had been all relatives were able to find of their loved ones; information boards detailing individuals' personal experiences in the immediate aftermath of the bombing (many 12- and 13-year-old school students had been in the city on that morning to help construct 'demolitions' (demolish buildings to construct defence walls for the city) - some had made their way home where their parents nursed them until they died hours or days later); distorted objects that reflected the force and heat of the bomb; stones from buildings showing the 'print' of the radiation exposure; photographs and a large model showing the utter devastation of the entire city; photos and descriptions of the injuries and/or the shocking effects of radiation on human bodies; models of two people with their clothes and skin hanging off their bodies; and even an actual tongue and throat of a person whose tongue showed some growths that resulted from radiation poisoning . Room after room of personal stories of horror, pain, and immense grief and loss. 

I had to fight back my tears at times, particularly when I read the familiar story of Sadako Sasaki, the little girl who believed that if she made 1000 paper origami cranes, then her wish to live would come true. She had been 2 at the time the bomb fell. At about 10, she developed leukaemia. She made well over 1000 cranes, making smaller and smaller ones after she'd reached her goal of 1000. She died at the age of 12.

What a dreadful, dreadful thing for human beings to have done to other human beings. I know that some will argue that the A-bomb ended the war, but you have to ask yourself if it was really worth the cost. 140,000 people were killed instantly or within a few days...and many more subsequently died of illnesses related to the effects of being exposed to the exceptionally high levels of radiation. 

The bomb exploded 600m above Hiroshima in order for the impact to be as far-reaching as possible . Amazingly, the outer walls and dome of the building at the identified centre of the blast remained standing, and is today known as the the A-bomb dome. After spending about 90 minutes absorbing the information and personal stories of the atomic bomb, including watching a couple of videos of survivors telling their stories, we wandered past the Flame of Peace, the Children's Peace Monument (a statue of Sadako and her paper crane, surrounded by thousands of paper cranes enclosed in glass cabinets), down to the Atomic Bomb Domb (the remains of the building at ground zero). 

It was time to move on. From the Peace Parl, we headed north, choosing to walk through the areas on the map that were shaded green, anticipating that we might find more shade along this route as we wound our way up to the Hiroshima Gokoku Shrine and the Hiroshima Castle. The parks, including one small walled Chinese garden (yes, Chinese), were in need of some tender loving care. The pool in the garden was empty, and the garden beds desperately needed weeding! We passed a children's playground that consisted of the sort of equipment one would have found in playgrounds when I was a child - a jungle gym and swings. The equipment was located on the side of a large barren yard - in full sunshine. No wonder there were no children playing there.

We crossed the bridge over the moat, saw the entrance to the bunker where a young student had managed to get the message out about the bombing of the city, passed the Gokuku Shrine, and then climbed up the steps to the reconstructed castle . Neither of us were particularly interested in going inside, having already investigated the interiors of Himeji and Osaka Castles, and so we kept walking...slowly. It was HOT! I used my umbrella to shade us much of my body as possible, seeking any shade I oould find along the way to Shikkeien Garden (260 yen each). It is a reasonably pleasant garden with some lovely aspects to it. We sat for a while, contemplating our earlier experience in the Peace Memorial Museum, and trying to revitalise ourselves. As we continued our cirumnavigation of the garden, we observed the giant fish and the inquisitive turtles, and then Michael almost stepped on a very long snake that slithered across the path in front of him and then disappeared into the shrubs! Quite an unexpected encounter!

From the garden, we headed back towards our hotel, hugging the shaded side of the street, and relishing in an ice cream sandwich (at least I did) along the way (I have given up on trying to eat my ice creams discretely in one place, instead accepting that I will be viewed as a barbarian for eating whilst walking!)

By the time we were back in our hotel room, it was about 3:30 or 4pm . Michael had a little nap whilst I soaked in the bath, elevating my legs to help get the slight swelling down. (The rash isn't as bad, now that I've slowed down a little, but there's still some slight swelling.)

In the early evening, we caught the JR bus from the nearby shopping area to the station so that we could reserve our seats for the trip to Iota the next day. This was achieved without any bother, and so we were able to board the same bus back into the city centre. (The driver still had to photograph our train passes again.)

Michael suggested we wander around the 'entertainment district' to look for somewhere to eat. It soon became apparent that the 'entertainment' was more about show girls and massages, rather than theatre or what we would think of as 'entertainment'! And so we headed back a few streets towards the shopping area where we'd eaten the night before. We found an inexpensive 'restaurant'/eatery, and ordered our dishes along with some miso soup. Of course, Michael followed this up with his usual ice cream! 

Although I was busting (is this too much information?!), I was eager to see the Peace Memorial Park by night, and so, not recalling that it was a good 10-minute walk away, we walked to the park again for a last look. By the time we got back to our room, well...I just made it in time!
:-)
Lights out just after 11pm last night - so much for an early night!