Day 187 May 15th 2007, Paper Cranes - Hiroshima


I must have seen many documentaries on Hiroshima but none of them came close to conveying what happened here on Auguat 6th 1945 compared with the sight of the A-Bomb dome (above) I have seen plenty of old burnt out buildings before but it was above this building that the Worlds first nuclear weapon used against man detonated, instantly killing 80,000 people, another 60,000 died shortly afterwards from their injuries.　As you stand and look at the building from across the river its hard to accept that this really happened here.

Hiroshima has been rebuilt into a thriving city and the Peace Memorial Park is surrounded by shinny new offices and accommodation. One of the most moving sites is the Children's Memorial, this is surrounded by thousands of paper cranes dedicated to Sadako Sasaki Sadako was only 2 when the bomb went off, her home about 1mile from the center of the blast. Almost 10 years after the blast she was diagnosed with Leukemia. Whilst in hospital she saw a delivery of 1,000 paper cranes (origami) as a get well present. Inspired she herself began folding them believing that if she could fold a 1,000 she would be cured. Sadako competed 644 before she died, her friends completed the rest and they were buried with her.

The school children lay reefs or paper cranes at the memorial and say prayers for peace. With all the hundreds of school kids around we stood out as a great opportunity for them to practice their English, after asking a set of questions they would ask to take a picture with us and then show us how to fold the paper cranes.

In the picture above you can see the A Bomb dome and the arc in the middle is above a flame that will burn until there are no nuclear weapons left on Earth. The museum at the park is one of the best I have ever visited and tells the story of Hiroshima before and after the bombing.

South of Hiroshima is the island of Itsukushima where the deer are protected as divine messengers from the Itsukushima Shrine The Torii (gate) to which is pictured below. At high tide the gate looks like it is floating. At one time the Island was so sacred that commoners were not allowed to set foot on it, instead they could approach the shrine by boat through this gate.

The gate is a huge tourist attraction and is classified as one of the Three Views of Japan

Highly recommended is the local speciality of Okonomiyaki Pancake Noodles with optional bacon or seafood, incredible and cooked right in front of you, served up with a cold beer. Okonomi means what you like and yaki means grilled or cooked. If you come to Hiroshima you have to try this.

Summary: Anyone visiting Japan should take the time to visit Hiroshima and the opportunity to learn more about what happened here