Day Nine- Hiroshima

When we got to Hiroshima, it was suddenly sunny!

 The hostel was really nice and within walking distance of all the interesting things in Hiroshima. I'm not sure if it's weird to say I enjoyed our trip there, but I kind of did. At 8.15am on 6th August 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped over Hiroshima. Everything was destroyed. The only building left standing was the Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, which today is knows as the A Bomb dome as it has been kept as a memorial.

 The area around the dome is the Peace Memorial Park. The atmosphere is very strange. It seemed somehow sombre yet also as though it were just part of daily life. There are lots of statues commemorating the horrific events of 1945.

 This one is for the Mobilised Students. They were 1000s of high school students who were taken out of education to help clear fire lanes in the city. Most of them died in the blast as they were working outside.

Everywhere in Hiroshima there are origami cranes. An ancient legend has it that if you fold 1000, you will be granted a wish. 

 Sadako Sasaki contracted leukemia as a result of the bomb. This memorial was built in memory of her and all of the other children who were victims.

 Some of the cranes are unbelievable. There is even a form you have to fill in if you want your cranes to be displayed!

 We decided to go for lunch before going to the museum, so we found somewhere for Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki (pancake with noodles, cabbage, various other ingredients, topped with brown sauce and mayonnaise) It is definitely my favourite food that we had in Japan.

 This is the cenotaph in the Peace Park. You can see the A Bomb dome through it. In the park there were hundreds of groups of school children. They all wanted to practise their English, so we spoke to quite a lot of people. The cutest were definitely the 5 year olds who all wanted their own individual "hello" and "goodbye".

 The Peace Memorial Museum is HUGE. It costs 50 Yen (about 30p) to go in and it is fascinating. I think we were there for about three hours.

 Obviously it is very sad, but I'm really glad we went.
Afterwards we decided to explore the rest of the city.

 Apparently whenever I am walking somewhere with the Parents, I end up walking in between them. I don't think I do but it has become a long running joke.
Somehow I think My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding would go down very well in Japan. Most of the wedding dresses are very extravagant and totally disgusting.

 Hiroshima is just like every other modern city in Japan- huge and a little bit strange:

 This was the advert for a "Girls Bar". As far as I know, this is where men can go to meet women who are basically obliged to talk to them.The entertainment type district is huge and mostly full of kareoke bars. We had some tea then headed back to the hostel to drink some beer and make some origami cranes, like the cool kids we are.