After arriving in Hiroshima, I was able to get a map of the city and directions to the Peace Park memorial from a tourist information booth. Where Tokyo excels at subway and train coverage, Hiroshima excels at streetcar coverage. For 150 yen (less than $1.50) you can travel any distance you would like on the streetcar. Unlike buses back home, you get on the streetcar at the back door and pay the fare as you exit the front door. There are even change machines on the streetcars in case you don't have any coins with you.
I hopped off the streetcar at the A-bomb dome, the ruins of a building left over from when Hiroshima was bombed. Walking around the building and the Peace Park next door I noticed that there were lots of statues and memorials and little shrines all over the place. The city of Hiroshima has made a commitment to ensure that the world never forgets the destruction that occurred on August 6, 1945.
All of the paper cranes in the display cases were made by people from all over the world.
The hypocenter of the explosion. The pilots of the Enola Gay were aiming for a bridge near what is now called the A-bomb Dome building but the bomb exploded a few streets over above a hospital.
I also visited the memorial museum. The displays were all about the history of Hiroshima from the time of its founding to World War II and the atomic bombing. I found it interesting that there was no attempt by the museum to make Hiroshima and the Japanese people out as purely innocent victims. The displays were quiet forward with Hiroshima's military past, including its role in the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese wars. There were displays toward the end showing the remains of clothing and everyday articles worn and used by the civilian casualties, unfortunately many of whom were children.
After visiting the museum I headed to my hotel which was a short 5 minute walk away. I had heard about the tiny rooms in hotels in Japan, tiny is right!
For dinner I found a shabu shabu restaurant near the hotel. With shabu shabu you are given a plate of very thinly sliced meat, in my case beef, and a plate of vegetables. You then cook the meat and vegetables in a pot of boiling water. Sauces are provided for dipping the meat and vegetables into before eating. I was given a sesame sauce and a soy-vinegar sauce. Both were great. When I was done, one of the staff took some of the water from my pot and made a small bowl of beef broth soup for me. It was great, especially since Hiroshima was a little cold and windy that day.
The copper pots contained the boiling water for cooking the meat and vegetables.
