Hiroshima truly is a tale of two cities. The Hiroshima we visited was a beautiful, modern, vibrant city full of life and energy. There is, however, another Hiroshima– the city that was and might have been. No number of parks, pretty streets, or beautiful buildings will entirely change this for me– the spectre of war, devastation and annihilation of an entire civilian population persists.

I had a surprisingly good sleep in my little box at the hostel (I mean it really was a plywood box)- there wasn’t any A/C which in Hiroshima was a surprise! I must have been really tired. The staff were really friendly and the location was fantastic–right near Yokogawa station and a street car stop. Breakfast was quick and simple- a convenience store breakfast of rice balls and pastries with canned coffee- we had lots to do.

We decided to walk from our hostel towards the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. Google Maps was working it magic and on our way we stopped at Hiroshima Castle–it is a beautiful castle with more exposed ornate wood work than the other castles I’ve seen.  The weather started to get windier and windier and dark clouds were forming in the distance.  There was another typhoon off the East coast of Japan- threatening lots of rain and high winds. I wanted to get to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park before serious rain started.

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park is located on the banks of the Motoyasu River, surrounded by parks and roads with wide sidewalks and beautiful bridges. From a distance, I could see the top of the Atomic Bomb Dome, and I could feel my throat tightening even at a distance. From the gate surrounding the structure you can see the bent rebar and warped cement–remnants of a beautiful building and reminder of a terrible day. Tears streamed uncontrollably down my cheeks–there was a lump in my throat and a knot in my stomach. I was not alone. There was a sombre silence among the visitors viewing the warped and twisted structure. You could see on everyone’s faces that the horror and impact of this monument was shared. No one spoke. There were no words. Kei and I went our separate ways around the building– all you can do is try to find a quiet spot to try to process your emotions. The skeletal remains of the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall was the closest building to the hypocenter of the blast that remained partially standing. The A-Bomb Dome was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Listing on December 7th, 1996, serving as a ‘symbol of horror and nuclear weapons and humankind’s pledge for peace’. I know the history of Asia, and Japan in particular, extremely well and knew this would hit me hard. It did.

To think, at 8:15 on August 6th, 1945 a hundred thousand souls- men, woman and children were snuffed out in the blink of an eye. No time to run to a bomb shelter, no warning. Children in school, mothers at home, citizens going about their day. Tens of thousands to die in the coming months and years of sickness. A civilian target- Hiroshima- forever famous for being the first city to suffer a nuclear attack.

After we circled around the A-Bomb Dome, we made our way past the Memorial Cenotaph and Peace Flame to enter the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. There were renovations going on while we were there, so I believe we only saw about half of the normal exhibit. To be honest, half was sufficient. Photographs of Hiroshima before the atomic bomb attack starkly juxtaposed images after December 6th, 1945. Charred and burnt clothing, melted and misformed toys and everyday utensils are on display, and horrible, horrible photos of the survivors suffering are on the walls. This is not a happy place.

We made our way over to the Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall, an extension of the Peace Park. Stories of survivors of the blast were heart wrenching– children talking of blindness, burning, clothes melted to their bodies, flesh hanging off arms ‘like the sleeves of a kimono’. Frankly, it was shocking in it’s horror.

We pointed ourselves towards the town center and continued to walk through the Peace Park– ringing the one of the three peace bells and stopping at the Children’s Peace Monument which is dedicated to the children who died as a result of the bombing. The statue is based on the true story of Sadako Sasaki, a young girl who died from radiation poisening; she believed that if she folded a thousand paper cranes she would be cured- today, people from around the world send folded cranes to Hiroshima where they are placed near the statue- hoping for peace.

Seeing the Atomic Bomb Dome, witnessing the images at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum , hearing accounts of the survivors stories at the Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall, and experiencing the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park with other visitors changed how I see things in ways I am having trouble putting into words.

We left the Peace Park, intent on walking to the JR Station, and happened upon a neat little Okonomiyaki shop where we stopped for lunch. This was probably the best Okonomiyaki of my life and helped lift our spirits immensuly. I think I prefer Hiroshima Okonomiyaki over Osaka Okonomiyaki… For those not in the know, the two regions in Japan consider their version superior (I probably shouldn’t have tipped my hand!).

It was around 2 pm, and with a JR rail pass we can hop on the train easily, so we took off on a short Shinkansen ride to Fukuyama to see the castle in this town – it might have been one of my favourite castles so far – it also had a terrific museum with old katanas, and Samurai armor with helmets and other cool artifacts. Fukuyama Castle– you need to go!

The typhoon was gathering strength and the wind actually caused our Shinkansen to be delayed and it stopped several times on the way back to Hiroshima. We were worried that we might get stranded on the tracks- my son was not impressed! Thankfully, the Shinkansen started rolling again and we arrived back in Hiroshima without incident!

We had planned to go to a Sake Festival, but it was cancelled as the typhoon started to close in. At the recommendation of the hostel staff, Kei and I went to see a Kagura performance at a local art centre. This Kagura story involved a hero and his helper and a monster (don’t all good stories?) – with colourful, traditional costumes and masks- it was really fun.

On the way back from the performance, we stopped again at the same restaurant and ordered other items on the menu that we didn’t try at lunch- who knew wasabi and steak go together, how about uni and cream cheese? Kei took photos and made notes while the chef was making our dishes.

Back at our hostel, Kei ended up cooking a small meal in the hostel kitchen for the hostel staff and guests – it was really good- and we chatted until midnight with several guests.

Hiroshima is a beautiful city; it’s rivers, parks, wide roads, excellent transportation, and great food make it a terrific destination. It is an easy city to bike and walk, something you can’t always say about Japanese cities. I am glad I went to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, even though it was really difficult- I think everyone should go at least once. I can’t help but think about what sort of city Hiroshima might have been if it hadn’t been destroyed in World War II. There are also several excellent day trips from Hiroshima as well. The people were welcoming, warm and friendly.

Post was originally written in 2018.