Hiroshima

1.
a.z.: kalau kat hiroshima, jalan ke mana yang best?
radz: kat sini orang biasa jalan ke gembaku dome dan miyajima
a.z.: dekat ke?
radz: miyajima tu boleh tahan jauh. kena naik feri, kalau betul-betul jalan, sehari pun tak puas
a.z: gembaku dome?
radz: kalau tak masuk muzium, dalam 2 jam ok kot nak jalan-jalan kat taman tu
a.z.: ooo...

We did not do any study what so ever on Hiroshima beforehand - solely relying on Ghazali and Fiza to give us suggestion on where to go. So off we went to Miyajima in the morning, and then rushed to Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima city before catching the 5.50 p.m. Shinkansen Hikari (had to stand in the train until Okayama before getting seats for both of us ). We took the street car aka tram from Hiroshima eki to Gembaku Dome (A-Bomb Dome), the building closest to the hypocenter of the nuclear bomb released in Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. It has been left how it was after the bombing in memory of the casualties and has been gazetted as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1996.

Apart from Gembaku Dome alone, a visit to the Peace Memorial Park was a sobering experience, especially enhanced by spending some time in the Peace Memorial Museum. It is difficult not to be affected by the exhibits - be it photos, drawings, stories or other stuff showcased in the museum.

Being in the first city in the world to suffer a nuclear attack made me stop and think of those who are currently still bearing the pain and suffering of war...