Hiroshima

After a quick and enjoyable ride on the JR line from Kyoto, we stopped in Hiroshima for a brief and important stopover. We dropped our stuff at our hostel in a cute neighborhood right next to train station. It was full of delicious smells!

So we got some food and headed to the A-Bomb Domb, Hiroshima Peace Memorial, and Museum. It was quite moving, especially the Children's Peace Memorial. It was dedicated to the children that died in the bomb. It was based on the true story of a little girl named Sadako Sasaki (佐々木禎子), who died from lueckemia due to the radiation from the bomb. She believed that if she folded 1,000 paper cranes she would be cured. She never got there before she died, but to this day, people (mostly children) from around the world fold cranes and send them to Hiroshima where they are placed near the statue. The statue has a continuously replenished collection of folded cranes nearby.

We also went to the haunting and important museum. The whole area was very important to America and all people to visit. It leads you to evaluate or re-evaluate your beliefs about the existance, use and proliferation of atomic bombs.

We were here for only one day, but it was worth the visit. By the way, Hiroshima is brand new and a rather lively, vibrant city.