Hiroshima

Our penultimate stop on this never ending journey is Hiroshima. Visiting a place etched deep in the horrors of 20th century warfare is rather like a pilgrimage - to pay homage to those who lost their lives in such horrific ways, to bear witness, to remember and to pray that this never happens again.  And of course, PEACE is what Hiroshima is now dedicated to. 

Arriving from Takayama in late afternoon, we check in and almost immediately walk for 20 minutes to reach the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park - most of the way along the Promenade of Peace. Seeing the Atomic Dome - or Hiroshima Peace Memorial - for the first time stops us in our tracks; the mangled metal framework of the dome miraculously standing above the equally miraculous still-standing walls. There it is, on the banks of the river, all that is left of the city that was destroyed at 8.15, August 6th 1945. 

We cross to the Peace Park - we’ll return tomorrow to visit the museum, but for now we just walk quietly towards the memorial cenotaph, the shape of which is said to shelter the souls of the 300,000 victims whose names are inscribed here. It frames the peace flame that will burn until all nuclear weapons have been eliminated, and directly inline beyond this is the Atomic Dome.

By now the sun has almost set, and the low winter light silhouettes the Peace Memorial, isolating it from the intact buildings around it. Everyone around is quiet and contemplative - even emotional. A group of three young girls put their arms round each other as they read one of the many information boards.  The message of Hiroshima is clear, but not everyone listens.