“Let all the souls here rest in peace,
for we shall not repeat the evil.”

Again a little travel diary about my holiday in the land of the rising sun! After the post about Miyajima, I would like to introduce you another beautiful place in Japan. My visit in 2007…

Hiroshima is one of the most well known places in Japan. With its historical background from the Second World War in 1945 –the Atomic Bomb Tragedy– it has been immortalized in just about every history book.

The Genbaku Dome

Now after 56 years, the city has been rebuilt as a peace memorial city and has become a famous tourist attraction. Some of the destroyed buildings from 1945 are still left and can be explored in the peace memorial park and vicinity.

The Children’s Peace Monument

A bronze statue of a young girl holding a huge golden crane stands atop the monument expressing the dream of a peaceful future. Paper cranes offered by children all over the world (see the picture below) are presented continuously at the foot of this monument.

Paper cranes everywhere The Cenotaph for the A-bomb VictimsWhen you look through this monument,
you have a nice sight to the Genbaku Dome

Sun umbrellas – so typical for Japanese

For people who would like to know more about the tragedy, which happened in Hiroshima, it is possible to visit the Peace Memorial Museum. It is just next to the Cenotaph. The Museum offers a historical insight into the terrible period during the Second World War. You can marvel at original items, pictures and documents.

before the bomb and after.
The red ball illustrates the Atomic Bomb

Beside the historical attractions you can enjoy various traditional Japanese seafood dishes. Hiroshima is known for its largest harvest oysters. Whether broiled, stewed, fried or broiled, you can choose a great variety of oyster dishes. Seafood and fish is probably not everyone’s delicacy, so for those who like a fishless dinner I suggest to try the Okonomiyaki (a flour pancake grilled with noodles and generous portion of chopped cabbage). The selection of toppings and ingredients can vary greatly from meat to vegetable to cheese and egg. You can chose different flavours for your Okonomiyaki, so I am sure this makes it easy to find something to suit every taste.

If you have the chance to visit Hiroshima someday, I strongly recommend to combine your day trip with a visit to Miyajima, a little island with a world cultural heritage property (I already posted an entry about Miyajima, so please click here, if you like to know more about the island)

Hiroshima and Miyajima are two totally different worlds. On the one hand, Hiroshima brings you closer to the town’s tragic history; on the other hand, you can become inspired by a lively Japanese atmosphere on Miyajima. Don’t miss the chance to visit and discover the allure of Japan in these two unique places!