Downstairs we approached the desk and checked out. Our visit to Hiroshima was almost over. We were pleased that we travelled to Miyajima the day before, as we had plenty of time to take in the shrines, temples and five layered pagoda. We had a small breakfast and made our way to the trolley station a few blocks away. Adam bought our tickets, and we boarded the trolley headed for the Atom Bomb Dome. The Dome was originally called the Hiroshima Prefecture Industrial Promotion Hall, but is now referred to as the A-Bomb Dome. It was originally scheduled to be destroyed with the rest of the rubble of the city during reconstruction, but since the building was pretty much intact, the city rebuilt around it. It was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996, and will be preserved as a memorial to those killed in the attack which was the first use of an atomic bomb in war. Over 70,000 people were killed and 70,000 injured.
The trolley reached the stop in front of the Dome. We exited the car, and approached the Dome. It is an eerie feeling to stand in front of this legendary image of conflict and destruction. We slowly began to take pictures of the Dome and its surroundings including the T Bridge which was the actual target of the bomb. As we stood there we were approached by an older Japanese lady that spoke a little english. She was carrying a large three ring binder and explained apologetically that she was just learning english and wanted to know if she could have about ten minutes of our time. At this point I assumed that she was going to try to sell us something, but we told her that she most certainly could share with us. We sat on a cement bench at the edge of the river, and she stood and opening her binder displayed black and white pictures that were taken before the bombing, and began to explain the history of Hiroshima and the Dome. The Dome originally had a roof covering made of copper, which liquified from the intense heat from the blast. The copper melted and came crashing down within the building blowing out all of the windows. The pictures became very graphic with the destruction and injuries of the citizens of Hiroshima. It was interesting to hear the Japanese side of the bombing. She said that prior to the attack, Japan was on the verge of capitulation, that the monitoring devices that came down with the bomb were from a Japanese design, and that the United States picked Hiroshima as the site for the first Nuclear Bomb attack as an experiment to see what it would do. Neither one of us fully agreed with these sincere assertions, but we merely nodded and thanked her for her time when she was finished with her talk. We noticed that since she began speaking with us, quite a large crowd had come to listen to her presentation. Curiously, Adam and I found that whenever we did anything a large crowd would appear to observe whatever we were looking at. The woman was asked how the Japanese felt about the Americans following the attack. She said that they were frightened of the Americans, but then they saw the soldiers giving water, gum and candy to the children, and they discovered that they weren't predatory monsters, but caring young men.
Adam and I toured the Peace Memorial Museum, and was greated by a young man with Down Syndrome that was the ticket taker for the Museum. We scanned the exhibits in the museum, which included a full sized replica of the A-Bomb Dome, and a section of wall that had a man's shadow burned into it by the blast. Near the exit on the second floor was the guest book, which Adam and I signed along with our impressions of the museum, and which country we were from. It was a very impressive experience.
Once outside, we toured the Peace Memorial Park, and took more pictures. A nice Japanese fellow took a picture of me with my son Adam with the A-Bomb Dome in the distance across the river. A beautiful park, and a wonderful time liesurely hanging out with my son. We sat for a while on a bench near the front of the Dome as we were preparing to catch the trolley back to the train station, and stopped to read a sign that spoke about the history of the area. No one was around or paying the slightest attention...until they saw us reading the sign. Then we had a large group of people around us doing the same thing.
The trolley arrived, and we road about thirty minutes back to the train station. Had dinner at a small restaurant inside the station, and caught the Shinkansen Bullet Train back to Tokyo. We transferred over to the regular JR train in Tokyo which returned us to Fussa Station. We were met by Megan and taken back to their home. It was an incredible three days. Thank you Megan for making the arrangements, we had a wonderful, meaningful time.
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