We’re back. I decided to leave the computer in the suitcase in the end and simply enjoy the time away. Good choice on my part. It’s been an amazing trip and I’ll never forget it. Also, I’d like to go back!
So, let’s see where was I?… Hiroshima. Yes. Wow.
What can be said of this place? I remember studying the events of August 6, 1945, 8.15am, when I was a little girl and they really made an impression on me and are still vivid in my mind, unlike a lot of the other things learnt in school!
Hiroshima these days is a big, vibrant, modern city… but standing right underneath the spot where the first atomic bomb exploded… is quite a chilling feeling. Our guide Nebu was brilliant and knowledgeable, her grandmother is still alive and was near the city when it all happened, making the whole experience even more real.
The museum is extremely well done and informative, we spent hours there and could have spent more if our day itinerary had allowed it. (It is also housed in a gorgeous midcentury modern building, and you know how much I love those…).
It traces what happened on that faithful day with photographs and objects and testimonies of the people who survived it… not an easy place to visit.
They kept one building as it was left after the bombing as a reminder and it’s more effective than any memorial that could have been built:
After a slightly surreal Italian lunch (they boys were left slightly traumatised by the previous night dinner and needed familiar flavours), we took a ferry to Miajima Island to see the famous floating ItsukushimaTorii and Shrine. Unfortunately the gate was under wrap but the shrine was glorious in all its red glory.
It was a fabulous day. Tomorrow I’ll show you the amazing place we stayed at and the incredible food we were served.
while you're ahead... 