There’s so much to see in Hiroshima it’s hard to fit it all in this blog.  After visiting the Peace Memorial Park we headed off to find one of the popular riverfront cafes. We popped into a nice little place and had our first pizza in Japan.  It had cabbage and chunks of ham on it with a really good sweet sauce.

We also got fresh oysters that were really good.  From here we wandered the streets of Hiroshima.   Through the Hondori Shopping Arcade

where we passed this high end hair salon and a bike shop.

 

As we wandered around the city we came upon subtle reminders of that fateful day in 1945 like this sign next to a bridge.

Streetcar Tracks

The text on the sign reads  1.35 km from hypocenter

The rails of the streetcar bridge were twisted in all directions by the blast from the first atomic bombing in the history of mankind and the rail ties were scorched by the heat rays.  The bridge was used solely for streetcars but since the Yanagi Bridge downstream had been destroyed by fire, many survivors crossed here to escape to the outskirts of the city.  Survivors rushed beneath the bridge in search of water, despite the fact that numerous dead bodies were floating in the river below.

We checked out the Hiroshima Castle which was destroyed in the wake of the Atomic Bomb but was restored in 1958 to mark the 400th year of the castle’s existence. It now also houses a museum of the history and culture of Hiroshima.

Not far from the castle we came upon this site tucked away in the trees.

The plaque nearby reads   700 meters from hypocenter

In and around Hiroshima Castle were a number of military facilities including the partially underground strategic command control rooms and the communication room of the Chugoku Regional Military Headquarters.  In the communication room soldiers were assisted by Hijiyama Girls High School students mobilized for the war effort.  The atomic bomb destroyed telephone and telegraph lines, but the students, using the barely intact military phone system, managed to relay news of Hiroshima’s destruction. Theirs seem to have been the first report of Hiroshima’s suffering.

Back to our wandering the streets of Hiroshima we passed a gas station where the attendant was washing this old car.  Very cool.

Then there was the metered bicycle parking.  Lots of metered spots on this block.

We passed by another 7-11.

After a long day of exploring and a nice train ride back to Iwakuni we stopped at a grocery store on our walk home and picked up some deli food to take out for dinner.  After 1700 they often mark down the prices quite a bit.

What a deal and what a great day of exploring Japan.