Hiroshima (Day 1)
Osaka has been fun, but it's time to move on. Back to the JR station to make the trip down to Hiroshima.
Another smooth ride and we are arrive around lunch time and trek to our hotel which is very close to the centre of town this time. We check-in dump the luggage and head back out to the streets (after a quick BBC news fix - what the hell is gonna happen with Brexit!?).
Hiroshima is a massive gear-change after Tokyo and Osaka. The city instantly feels more manageable and we start making analogies of Tokyo=Sydney, Osaka=Melbourne and Hiroshima=Adelaide.
We wander through the town without a real destination in mind yet. We walk down the Peace Blvd towards the Peace Memorial Park. Checking the map we realise that Hiroshima is actually on a delta, hence why there are a number of big rivers running through it. We grab a seat on the edge of one of the rivers and eat our 7-11 lunch (fast becoming a staple of our Japan diet. Cheap, filling, healthy and given there is a 7-11/Family Mart/Lawsons on every corner - convinient).
Across the bridge and into the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum we go. We are probably not prepared for this, but how can you be?
The museum (and the city in general) presents a powerful and consistent message; nuclear war must never happen again. There is no blame discussed, only the reminder of how bad it was. The city itself was rebuilt on the funds donated towards making Hiroshima a "City of Peace". Many laws were passed specifically to this purpose by the Japanese government with further assistance from across the world.
We head out into the park and to each of the monuments. There are quite a few people around for a Tuesday afternoon. A very sombre feel is shared amongst all of them. Some are crying.
The Atomic Bomb Dome is across the water. We take a moment and take it all in before heading across the bridge to it. The bomb detonated about 600 metres above it and much of its structure, including the iconic dome on the top, survived the blast. The only building left standing near the bomb's hypocentre. It wasn't until 1966 that the city officially committed to preserving the building.
We head back to the hotel through the city. There are a few similarities to the other cities we've seen, but it does seem a more relaxed setup here. We notice a lot of red Hiroshima Carp merch everywhere and note that the NPB season starts on Friday night. Jeff secures tickets immediately.
The hotel is a bit fancier than we're used to. It has complimentary drinks at happy hour which we take advantage of as we digest the day. We are feeling like a lazy night in, so we grab a 7-11 dinner (yep, they do pre-packaged dinners as well that they even microwave for you at a great price. There is actually a lot of variety as well, which makes it impossible to choose, but its all pretty good). We settle in and watch some TV and call it a night.