the viewing deck: Hiroshima Solo Day Trip

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Hiroshima Solo Day Trip

7-days wandering solo in summer Japan
may 28 - june 04, 2013 tuesday to tuesday

Osaka Kansai International Airport arrival at night

Hiroshima was my first destination on my 7-days journey in Japan and my first shinkansen (bullet train) experience for about 2.5 hours in 345 km distance. Bullet train costs 9,980 yen ($99.8) but since I availed the 7-day unlimited JR pass, I passed through the ticketing officer by just showing the JR pass only. I visited Hiroshima because of its Atomic Bomb World War II history, I am curious how did it affect the current situation of this place. scheduled this in itinerary for 1-day tour only with Miyujima Island tour included.

On 6 August 1945 at 8:15AM the American B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb dubbed "Little Boy" on Hiroshima. It is estimated that at least 70,000 people were killed in the explosion and its immediate aftermath. Corpses lay piled in rivers; medical treatment was virtually non-existent, as most of the city's medical facilities had been located near the hypocenter, and the few doctors left standing had no idea what hit them. That evening, radioactive materials in the atmosphere caused a poisonous "black rain" to fall. Automobiles are a major local industry, with Mazda's corporate headquarters nearby. There are three excellent art museums in the city center, some of Japan's most fanatical sports fans, and a wide range of culinary delights — most notably the city's towering contribution to bar cuisine, Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki.
http://wikitravel.org/en/Hiroshima

Hiroshima Castle

Most of the memorials related to the atomic bomb are in and around the Peace Memorial Park. The skeletal remains of the A-Bomb Dome are the most recognizable symbol of the atomic bombing. One block east of the A-Bomb Dome is a plaque which marks the hypocenter, the exact point above which the bomb exploded. The Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound holds the ashes of 70,000 bomb victims who were unidentified or had no living relatives to claim them.

Hiroshima Castle, sometimes called Carp Castle which was the home of the daimyō (feudal lord) of the Hiroshima han (fief). Originally constructed in the 1590s, the castle was destroyed in the atomic bombing in 1945. It was rebuilt in 1958, a replica of the original which now serves as a museum of Hiroshima's history prior to World War II.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroshima_Castle