Japan: Hiroshima
Hiroshima
20.07.2010 - 21.07.2010
32 °C
We arrived early evening, again staying in a Japanese style hostel where you remove your shoes on entering the building and you sleep on futons on the floor etc. Having read the guide we headed for the 'lively' nightlife which was said to be excellent. We walked passed a number of Japanese Karoke bars and saw a quiet a few interesting sights of large numbers of Japanese buisness men leaving buildings while Geisha's and younger girls dressed in long Summer dresses, stood outside smiling and bowing as they left (literally until they got into taxis and drove away only then did they walk back inside). On the way back to our hostel we stopped for a couple of drinks at an outside bar by the river and enjoyed watching the world go by.
The next morning was a packed one involving a trip to the Atomic Bomb Dome, which being one of the very few buildings so close to the drop zone (6th August 1945) to remain standing - albeit damaged, clearly providing a stark reminder of the impact the A-Bomb had on the city and the thousands who died. Having walked through the Peace Memorial Park with the Cenotaph, Flame Of Peace and the Children's Peace Monument we visited the Peace Memorial Museum and the Hall For The Victims Of The Disaster. It is remarable how much Hiroshima has rebuilt itself in the 64 years since the end of WWII. The museum and its surrounding area were indeed very informative and moving. Obviously the city will be forever remembered for the A bomb attack, however Hiroshima is recovering rapidly and is already a prosperous cosmopolitan city that continues to develop. Before leaving for a Bullet train back to Tokyo we had a local speciality Japanese lunch with the locals which involved a lot of shouting and loud talking and much fun as several cooks prepared our pancake/egg/pork/vegetables 'thing' (actually called 'okonomi') infront of us on a hotplate!
Posted by NicChris 24.07.2010 03:20 Archived in Japan Tagged backpacking
