After Hiroshima made a warm welcome with its meibutsu, it was time to switch to a more somber tone. Anxious we walk towards the direction of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. Not only is Hiroshima a very walkable city, but I recommend exploring by foot as it is a beautiful city. On the way to the memorial you will cross a couple of canals, parks and Shin-Tenchi, the central shopping area.
On the Motoyasu River is the hollowed out remains of the Genbaku Dome. It is breathtaking to turn the corner and see it, now surrounded by green. It still stands because it was directly under the hypocenter of the nuclear blast which pushed at it directly down into its foundation instead of knocking it over completely. It is a sign of the city’s resilience after such horrific devastation and hope for the future.
In between the Motoyasu and Ota rivers and right across from the Genbaku Dome is the Peace Memorial Park, which is home to the Memorial Cenotaph, the Children’s Peace Memorial, Peace Bells, the Peace Flame and more all leading up to the Peace Memorial Museum.
The Children’s Peace Memorial is dedicated to the children who died in the disaster and in particular there is the story of Sadako. Sadako Sasaki was a child, only two years old during the bombing, who died of leukemia do to exposure to radiation. As she was sick she worked to fold 1,000 paper origami cranes. As the legend goes those who fold 1,000 cranes will be granted their wish. Her wish was to rid the world of nuclear weapons. She did not complete this before her death in 1955, but since then thousands and thousands of paper cranes have been sent to Hiroshima from all over Japan and the world.
Through the Memorial Cenotaph is the Peace Flame, a fire that will burn until all nuclear weapons are dismantled, so that no other country may suffer the devastation that Hiroshima did. Right behind this is the Memorial Museum which houses artifacts from the infamous day. From diagrams of the blast radius to photos of the aftermath and its survivors to glass bottles, roof tiles melted together and other everyday objects burnt and scarred it is a lot to take in and process. It is a humbling experience that everyone should visit.
After paying our respects, we walked back up towards the Genbaku Dome and found a small cafe that felt like a place you may find by the Seine in Paris. The atmosphere in the area surrounding the memorial is very positive and very welcoming, so it felt appropriate to take a break and take it all in amongst fellow travelers from all over the world. We sat here for a while enjoying the waning afternoon light and enjoyed local steamed oysters.
Oysters, local and fresh steamed in white wine just a block away from the Genbaku Dome. Right next to the cafe on the wateris the boat launch which takes guests for river rides. There is a ferry that leaves from there and goes directly to Miyajima, which we would be visiting the next day.
By the time we left the riverside cafe the golden light lit the memorial beautifully.
Despite being anxious about visiting the site of such terrible destruction, it resounds with a message of peace. I was really impressed, how the people of Hiroshima and to a larger extent Japan took something so awful and took a stance of we don’t want this to happen to anyone else again. It is a man-made disaster and as such is preventable. It is a harsh and sobering lesson, one that deserves a visit. And seeing the people here, the travelers paying their respects it gives hope that we can work together.
We can work towards peace.
One thought on “Hiroshima Peace Memorial”
What a sobering reminder of that horrific event. You have to think that innocents were affected by the dropping of the bomb. The story of Sadako is tragic but also inspiring. We can all hope that it won’t happen again.
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