Day 11 was the heavy one. Coffee and a sandwich from the convenience store, then the tram to the Peace Memorial Park.
The A-Bomb Dome
At 8:15am on 6 August 1945, the atomic bomb exploded almost directly above this building, then the Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall. Nearly everyone inside died instantly, but the walls and the steel frame of the dome stayed standing. It has been kept exactly as it was left, as a reminder.
Seeing it in person, on a sunny morning with joggers going past along the river, is a strange feeling. It’s a lot smaller than you imagine, and a lot quieter.
The Peace Park
Across the river is the Peace Memorial Park. The Children’s Peace Monument is for Sadako Sasaki, who got leukaemia from the radiation and folded paper cranes hoping to get well. She died at 12. Schools from all over Japan still send strings of paper cranes here.
The Cenotaph is lined up with the Flame of Peace and the A-Bomb Dome, so you see all three through its arch. The flame will be put out only when the last nuclear weapon is gone.
The Museum
The Peace Memorial Museum starts with Hiroshima before the bomb, then the moment itself, then the people. Watches stopped at 8:15. Burnt clothes. Letters. Photos of the injured. It’s hard to look at, and you should.
We came out quiet and needed a while.
Then a walk to Hiroshima Castle.
Information About the Peace Memorial Park
The A-Bomb Dome, the park and the museum are all together by the river, a short tram ride from Hiroshima Station. Give the museum at least an hour and a half.