One morning ... bright and early, we were off to the train station:
 

Where we boarded a bullet train heading to Hiroshima:

I was only four when the war with Japan ended but I quite clearly remember the celebration that occurred when it was announced. As a youth, I read quite a bit about the development and the dropping of the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima so I was interested in what I would see, but also a bit unsure of the situation.

The Japanese have created a large memorial site and a very modern looking museum marking the use of the bomb.  A major part of the memorial is the shell of one building that remained after the bomb exploded.  It is as it was immediately after the explosion and is called the Atomic Dome Building:

The museum portion of the memorial had these two scale models built of the city.  The first showed the area prior to the explosion:


And the second, the area, as it looked, after the explosion:


 

Between the Museum and the Atomic Dome Building was a large open space with an architecural sculpture  used to make "offerings."  After a period of 65 years, I was surprised at the activity


Here's the view of the Dome from the bridge across the river (seen in the mode):


And a walk around the building revealed these images:

 

The entire scene was quite sobering.  Particularly when I thought about the fact that current Nuclear Bombs are hundreds of times more powerful than the primitive one dropped on Hiroshima.

With the sun behind the Dome and the blowing leaves from the trees nearby, I captured this last image of the building.  It is my "favorite" of this portion of the trip:

Lastly, I'd like to say that I don't think the pictures convey the sense of absolute destruction nor the loss of lives.  I can only imagine the shock of it.  

Next up is happier story of a neat little island off the coast of Hiroshima ... I think you'll enjoy it!

adam