Hiroshima - a Sombre and Beautiful City

After visiting the small island of Itsukushima (Miyajima) in Hiroshima Bay, it was time to visit the namesake city – Hiroshima.

Hiroshima is known most notably for being the first city targeted and destroyed by a nuclear weapon. However, Hiroshima is a longstanding settlement dating back to 1589 CE.

We stayed in a very central location, overlooking a beautiful park surrounding Hiroshima Castle. The ‘sights’ in Hiroshima are all centrally situated and within walking distance of each other.

Starting our tour at Hiroshima Castle, founded in 1593 CE, we observe a small Castle (compared to Himeji Castle) that was a reconstruction of the original, rebuilt in 1958. The original castle was destroyed in the August 6, 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima. A beautiful wooden castle that holds a ‘Hiroshima museum’ within – it offered great insights into the foundation of the city and the aftermath of the War. Unfortunately we weren’t allowed photographs inside, but I’d recommend everyone to visit this site to gain a greater insight into the history of Hiroshima.

Our next stop is the famous Hiroshima Peace Memorial – Genbaku Dome – or the Atomic Bomb Dome. The structure is a remnant – and reminder – of the destruction of the atomic bomb, which killed 70,000 people instantly and another 70,000 through radioactive fallout.

Across the river from the Dome is the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, which houses several structures dedicated to the victims of the attack. Within the park is the Hall of Remembrance, the Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, the Memorial Cenotaph, the Peace Flame, and many more monuments in honour of the deceased.

Hiroshima Cenotaph

The Children’s Memorial honours the children who were affected by the radiation. In honour of Sadako Sasaki – a two year old who was affected by the atomic bomb ‘Little Boy’ who later spent her time in hospital folding paper cranes – and all the children affected by the bomb, this memorial really showed the true impact such an act of aggression causes. The Japanese legend states anyone who folds 1,000 paper cranes will be granted a wish – Sadako managed to fold 1,400 cranes, presumably wishing that such an act of atrocity will never happen again. She died in 1955, at the age of 12.

Hiroshima today is a thriving city of over 1,000,000 inhabitants, with a rich, bustling down town sector just blocks away from this stark reminder of the devastation of 1945. A truly dynamic city with a history that will forever act to remind us that war is never the answer.