Day 15 - Hiroshima

Today we left Tokyo to go to Hiroshima.  We just made it on to the first train, which was a little scary.  The first train ride was over two and a half hours then we got on another train for a little more than an hour.  When we got to the hotel we dropped off our luggage and headed to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.  We first saw the T bridge (the target) and the A-Bomb Dome.  We then walked around the Peace Park and to the actual museum.  Tiffany and I purchased the $3 audio guide tour.  At each picture, object, or display they had signs in multiple languages.  The audio tour gave more in-depth background to each display.  Hearing the audio tour was a more vivid experience with the incorporation of poems and detailed explanations.  The museum described what Hiroshima was like before the Atomic bomb was dropped, before and during war, the nuclear age, Hiroshima in ruins, and the path to peace.  It was really hard to hear about as well as see all the material possessions from the aftermath.  They had an exhibit of two children and a mother walking out of the ruins with their flesh melting off their body.  I had to stop listening to the audio for that exhibit.  Many of the people killed were children working in the city that day.  They shared stories of how some children made it home, their faces and bodies were unrecognizable, their parents could only recognize them by their voice, and all the parents could do was watch them pass.  It was heart breaking.  I almost lost my lunch hearing of all the effects of radiation and seeing some photos of what happened to people affected.  I hate politics and who knows what would have happened and what the world would be like today if we did not drop the bomb.  I hope everyone has learned from what happened and agree with Japan's path to peace way of thinking.  After the museum we ate dinner and explored the city of Hiroshima.  It was strange to think how everything was completely destroyed and now is back to being a thriving city.