Gonna skip the entry on Okunoshima as most of the pictures are in my sister's camera. I used my camera to take loads of videos so I might post them up if I have the time to edit them. :)
Today we went to Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park (平和記念公園, Heiwa Kinen Kōen), which was a 10mins walk from our hotel. We walked across the Peace bridge and the scenery was so beautiful!
Everyone knows that it is one of the two cities that was bombed during World War II. And not just any bomb, a nuclear bomb was dropped here. Before the bomb was dropped here, it was the political and commercial centre of the city.. that's why it was targeted as the place to drop the bomb. Four years after the bomb was dropped, the city decided to devote the area as a peace memorial instead of redeveloping the place.
The main facility is the Peace Memorial Museum (above picture). It consists of 2 buildings which is linked by a covered walkway.
Construction Notice:
The Peace Memorial Museum will be undergoing major renovations, during which only one of the museum's two buildings will be open to visitors and the number of exhibits will be reduced. The renovations will be in two stages: from September 2014 to spring 2016 the east building will be closed, followed by the closure of the main building until spring 2018.
The first monument that you can see when you walk out from the museum will be the Memorial Cenotaph. It carries the epitaph "安らかに眠って下さい 過ちは 繰返しませぬから", which means "please rest in peace, for [we/they] shall not repeat the error." It is actually in a straight line alignment with the Peace Flame & the A-Bomb Dome. You can see the other 2 monuments if you stand right in front of it.
The Peace Flame is another monument that you can see in the park. It has burned continuously since 1964 and will remain lit until all nuclear bombs on the planet are destroyed.
The A-Bomb Dome aka the Hiroshima Peace Memorial used to be the former Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall. It served as a location to promote Hiroshima's industries. When the bomb was dropped, it was one of the few buildings to remain standing. Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site which serves as a reminder to the history of Hiroshima's past.
Between the museum and the A-bomb dome is the Cenotaph for the A-bomb victims. It is a arched tomb for the people who were killed because of the bomb (by the initial blast or the exposure to radiation). There is a stone chest beneath the arch which has a register of the names of the 220,000 people who have lost their lives. Every year on the anniversary of the bomb, a ceremony is held here in the park. A moment of silence is observed at 8.15am, the exact time the bomb was detonated.
There are many monuments and cenotaphs in and around the park. We did not have time to visit all of them, but if you have the time.. you can visit this website to check out the locations.
The admission to the museum is very cheap. Only JPY50 for adults (SGD0.60). For the latest information on opening hours & admission fees, you can visit the official website.
A replica of the bomb that was dropped in Hiroshima.
Before the bomb was dropped.
After the bomb was dropped.
The red ball signifies where the bomb was dropped.
The impact was so great that almost all the buildings were destroyed.
Interestingly, our textbook is featured here! I think this is a very old version though.
This is the walkway that linked to the other building.
Bring along a small notebook when you go travelling in Japan because there's always stamps like these at all the tourist attractions! I forgot my notebook (yet again), so I didn't manage to get a stamp.
The weather was really warm so we only spent less than 1 hour walking around the park taking photos. I think it will be wonderful to visit in autumn or winter when the weather is cooler. I checked the weather forecast last week which said the temperatures will be around 20degrees celcius, but when we arrived in Japan it turned out that there is an unexpected heatwave so temperatures have been ranging between 30 to 35 degrees celcius. Wah lao damn suay..
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Behind the scenes of #kittychandiaries and #miffyadventures
This is my shot of Kitty-chan! Miffy's picture is my sister's camera.
With the hubby who was trying to keep cool.. but he was kinda grumpy cos it was so hot. Can't blame him cos I was feeling super warm too.
With Le sister and her super chio hair! :)
We are enroute to Osaka now! Gonna stay there for 2 days before heading to Kyoto and ending in Tokyo. The internet speed on the trains are super awesome! Le hubby said he can download email attachments (huge files) at super fast speed even though our train is travelling at more than 300km/hr! Awesomemoesome!!
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