The Traveling Steve's

Growing up in elementary school in Virginia in the late 1960s, in the innocence of my youth, I didn’t realize it then, but we were going through a world changing time in history; the Apollo Mission to the Moon, the Vietnam War, the counter-culture of the 60s, etc, and among other things we learned in school about the horrors of World War 2, and ultimately the Atomic Bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

I debated on the name of this post, and spent hours researching some of the sights and stories we saw for further information, but my intent is to convey the past, while also showing a positive and ultimately peaceful rebuilt city of Hiroshima today. Hiroshima, like Nagasaki were the two Japanese cities bombed in August 1945, with Hiroshima being the first of the two cities to be bombed by nuclear weapons on August 6, 1945.

Both cities have a Peace Memorial in their epicenters where the Atom Bombs struck. I don’t want to get political or debate the decision to launch the Atomic Bomb in this post, but would like to present Hiroshima (and later Nagasaki) from a modern day tour of the cities, looking back to the atrocities and possibly the Why of the time. There is a wealth of information (and opinions) on the internet, but I’ll link an overall post on Wikipedia for more detailed information, that is beyond the intent or scope of this post. Rather this post is from the point of view of an American couple visiting Japan in their 60s, with a tour of Hiroshima, and a few days later Nagasaki as part of their Princess Cruise on the Diamond Princess. I’ve included lots of links for further information on some of the topics discussed in this post.

This was our first excursion on our 11 night Diamond Princess Cruise, which originated in Yokohama (about an hour’s shuttle drive from Central Tokyo). In this post and others, I’ll write a bit of commentary, and include a gallery of photos for each tour we took. On this Hiroshima tour, we had a petite, younger Japanese lady (motherly-type, meek, polite, and proper) who was our guide for this 3 1/2 hour visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial and Museum. I point out her description here merely as I didn’t know who or what to expect in terms of a tour guide for this perceived grim excursion, possibly a stern military man in a uniform, but not this sweet polite, and unassuming woman. (No offense intended for our guide, whom I did not recall her name; I just was a bit surprised considering all my preconceived notions of who would lead this tour about such a horrific bombing site excursion. She did an incredible job, was not judgmental nor condemning the US, while it was touching to hear some of her stories.)

Along the 15 minute drive from the ship to the site, our guide explained some of the factors the United States had considered in selecting Hiroshima as a target, the immediate impact and later prolonged impact of the bomb, and a city forever changed by the date of August 6, 1945. Most of the buildings and infrastructure therefore, in the core city of Hiroshima, have been rebuilt in the last 80 years due to the destruction of the city from the first Atomic Bomb to ever strike a city.

WHY HIROSHIMA? Our guide explained there were 4 cities chosen by the United Sates to be struck by the Atomic Bomb, in order of importance: Hiroshima, Kokura, Niigata, and Nagasaki. These were all smaller than the huge metropolis of Tokyo, with Hiroshima located some 500 miles from Tokyo, and Nagasaki some 600 miles from Tokyo, while Kyoto was considered off limits due to its history, beautiful shrines, temples and overall beauty. This map I’m attaching below from Wikipedia Commons shows the three cities, and their geographic locations away from Tokyo.

Hiroshima is the most famous of the two cities bombed, as it was the first city bombed on August 6, 1945, while Nagasaki was bombed three days later on August 9, 1945. The city of Kokura was actually the second intended target, however the weather that day prevented the strike on Kokura, so Nagasaki was chosen instead. We will visit Nagasaki on another day tour on this Japan trip.

Hiroshima was first on the targeted list, as well as the most important site considered, due to 4 factors: (Military significance, its location in a delta surrounded by hillsides (mini-mountains that would enhance the effects of the blast), high population density, and strategic location between Tokyo and Nagasaki. Other factors are listed in the volumes of on-line information, but our guide emphasized these as the primary reasons for selecting Hiroshima, with the strong military presence there and munitions factories topping the list.

People Killed by the Bomb: At the time of the bombing in 1945, Hiroshima had a population of approximately 350,000 people. Statistics vary depending on the source, and even the museum itself, but for Hiroshima it was estimated that 140,000 people died from the initial blast shock, and many thousands more in the aftermath months due to radiation exposure, lack of medical treatment available, and other factors. The epicenter of the site decimated anything in its path within over a mile radius with heat, radiation, and sheer wind drafts and structural damage extending for some 3 miles. The now familiar “mushroom” shaped bomb photos are now synonymous with the Atomic Bomb explosion.

Detonated in the Air: Both the Atomic Bombs at Hiroshima, and later Nagasaki (3 days later on August 9, 1945) were detonated at approximately 600 meters (2,000 feet) above the ground for maximum impact. The B-29 airplane that dropped the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb originated from North Field, Tinian Island, Northern Mariana Islands, approximately 6 hours flight time away from Hiroshima. The “Enola Gay” plane as it was called, flew at an altitude of 30,000 when it dropped the bomb, detonating it 600 meters above Hiroshima.

The following is a one minute video snippet I took from the Peace Memorial Museum, that shows an aerial map view of the city of Hiroshima, and a simulated blast of the atomic bomb as it’s dropped over the city.

I’ve often wondered what the pilot and flight crew of 12 people thought about as they were on this historic mission as they headed out and over Hiroshima, and living with the aftermath over the years? There are several interviews by the flight crew available on YouTube that discuss the event in the crew’s own words. Although as I write this section, I’m still on the cruise and haven’t had time to go thru the video list on the website, Mental Floss which has an interesting article with links to interviews of each of the crew members aboard, entitled “How 12 ‘Enola Gay’ Crew Members Remember Dropping the Atomic Bomb”

Mostly Civilians Killed: Most of the 140,00 people killed were civilians, although there were 12 Americans killed in a Prisoner of War Camp located at the Epicenter, a fact that was covered up for years, and later admitted to by the US Government, and was eventually made into a documentary film: Paper Lanterns. There were also thousands of woman and children killed and orphaned as a result of the blast, and the Peace Memorial Museum has a child’s memorial shown further down in this post.

Here is a link to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum website that provides detailed information on the Atomic Bomb development, launch, and technology, written 5 years ago for the 75th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing.

Peace Memorial PARK Site and Museum: Our guide walked us first around the site of the blast and eventually to the very crowded Peace Museum itself. The outdoor grounds were busy yet scattered about with many tour groups like ours, school groups, and other curious tourists wandering around. I have some photos of the Museum site further down below, and it was very well done, but unfortunately it was so crowded inside with groups of people you could barely walk around the Artifacts section to see the exhibits. I actually preferred the serene outdoors of the Peace Memorial Park area as we walked along outside, as it was very open and spread out, allowing you quiet time to reflect, really imagine what happened right were you were standing, and perhaps pray for the past victims and families and future world peace.

THE DOME: Perhaps one of the largest and most poignant structures still standing near the Epicenter of the bombing site, is The Dome. Part of The Dome still stands and is a focal point from the area of the explosion site, with an eternal flame located just down from it, as well as the Peace Museum.

We spent a fair amount of time walking around The Dome and surroundings, today a peaceful monument of the horrors of war some 80 years ago. Cherry Trees blossom in the surrounding grounds, while a river passes by it below. The guide explained that when the blast struck, many of the survivors of the initial blast jumped into the river in an attempt to cool off from the extreme heat, but unfortunately drowned in the river. Quite an unimaginable chaos and horror for those who survived the initial bombing.

THE ETERNAL FLAME: Our guide explained this Flame of Peace has been lit since the Memorial was built in 1964, as a symbol of remembrance and honoring of those who perished in the Atomic blast. She did make a point to say “The Flame” is really not an “Eternal Flame”, rather it would only be lit until there are no more Nuclear Weapons left in the world. For a reality check of how many nuclear weapons are actually available in the world today, we would find out later on our Nagasaki tour, which the answer is unfortunately thousands worldwide. Let’s hope and pray they are never used again and the flame can be extinguished one day.

MEMORIAL TOWER TO THE MOBILIZED STUDENTS: On a sad note, our guide said even before the bombing in 1945, many secondary school students (i.e. 12 -15 year olds) were forced by the Japanese government to work in munitions factories and help burn down many wooden buildings and houses around town, due to the risk of air strikes and fire that could encompass the city. It is estimated that some 6,300 of 8,400 students in Hiroshima middle schools died from the initial blast while many others died later from the after-effects. Of those children who survived, most were left as orphans.

The colorful items hanging at The Memorial Tower to the Mobilized Students contains thousands of colorful origami paper-crane bundles called senbazuru, that were sent in from students all over Japan and other places.

TAISHO-YA REST HOUSE: This building is located only 170 meters from the Dome and Epicenter, and had its concrete roof and interior destroyed in the blast, however the exterior structure was left standing. (Most other buildings at the time were wooden and decimated upon the explosion of the bomb.) All but one of the 37 workers inside the building perished in the explosion, but one fortunate 47 year old man named Eizo Nomura happened to have gone to the basement to retrieve some documents and was the sole survivor of the blast. He had several children that survived (not in the bomb-affected area) and lived into his 80s. He later wrote about his lucky story of survival; I can only imagine how he must have felt surviving this man-made disaster the rest of his life, similar to the sole survivor of a recent plane crash in India. 

This building was later restored to its previous 1929 glory, the year when it was originally built as a store, later becoming a Fuel Hall during the war. Here is an interesting link to this Taisho-Ya Rest House Building, which re-opened in 2020.

There were so many stories we heard and read about the aftermath of Hiroshima as told by our guide, and videos told by survivors themselves in the museum, both touching, sad, and horrific that I had never heard about before concerning the events of August 6, 1945. Several of these sad stories included that of the “mobilized children”, which the Japanese government had ordered secondary school children to burn down wooden buildings described above, the water fountain listed below, and so many different survivor testimonial videos in the museum itself.

PRAYER FOUNTAIN: The Fountain of Prayer was built in 1964 to honor the victims of the Atomic blast who initially survived, but died shortly later crying out for Water due to the extreme heat from the bomb. Many of the victims also died in the rivers at the Epicenter trying to cool off. This serves as a memorial to all who perished, seeking Water to quench their dying breath.

Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki Food: Our tour  guide explained many women were widowed after the bombing, and opened their homes as small restaurants in order to survive. People would come to the different home restaurants, and share recipes, which would establish some of the different cuisines seen on Japanese menus today. Here is a link to Okontuko Foods I found that goes into detail about this Japanese Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki  and its origins.

THE PEACE MEMORIAL MUSEUM: The Museum itself sits at the far end of the Peace Memorial Park, looking back at the Eternal Flame and Dome in the distance.

There are two sections to the Peace Memorial Museum; one building to the left features the Historical and planning of the Atomic Bomb, while the second building (connected by a jam-packed long hallway) contains Artifacts retrieved from the bombing.

Most people seemed more interested in seeing the Artifacts Building in the Museum, and unfortunately the Artifacts Building was way too crowded with tours, school groups and others, to realistically see the items on display. It was so crowded with people that you couldn’t reasonably even walk thru it as everyone was stopped in front of you, with no way to pass others should you want to move on. Fortunately Steve DOS was ahead of me and texted me to get out of line and turn back as he knows how claustrophobic I get, and even he was claustrophobic and left the Artifacts Building as well, stopping in the Historic Building and Gift shop and cafe areas.

I did tour the Historical Building, which contained the history and development of the bomb, and while crowded it was nowhere near as crowded as the Artifact Building, and was quite manageable, with interactive videos, photos, and displays. There is so much to see, and especially if time is limited I would recommend the Historical Building, as even there you could spend hours if you really looked at all of the displays. I looked at several, and later went online while writing this post to research some of the things I saw, and I listed links to some of them in this post.

The second building, the Artifact Building contained some of the actual artifacts that survived the blast. I’m sure the Artifact Building would have been very poignant and interesting, unfortunately it was so crowded in the long corridor between the two buildings before you even reached the Artifact Museum, I left before touring it, as it was so jam-packed walking and viewing the displays was not an option there, unlike the Historical Museum.

I walked by the gift shop and browsed at a few things, but didn’t buy anything, however Steve DOS bought a couple of his usual magnets for the fridge, and bought me a Hiroshima cap.

Back outside, it was nice to get some fresh air, while there is a gift shop and cafe onsite (inside the museum) as well. You can enter the cafe via the side entrance if you just want a coffee, soda, pastry etc, which is nice if you don’t want to go thru the busy main Museum entrance. Again, the grounds alone are a wonderful way to see the Peace Memorial and Museum site, with further follow-up research online before or after your visit in the interest of time and convenience. I did take lots of photos which I’m including below in the gallery at the end of this post.

Later before we headed back to the bus, our tour guide asked for feedback, and we told her while the Museum and Peace Gardens were exceptionally well done, the Artifact Museum wasn’t practical or even viewable with so many people touring at once; there should be a limit on the number of groups, and perhaps separate times for school groups, tour groups, and wider corridors to bypass people going at a different pace, rather than just everything at a total standstill, which it was. She agreed, and said she along with some of the other tour guides belong to the nonprofit Peace Memorial group, and she would pass our comments along to them. It wasn’t just DOS and myself saying this, rather it was most people on the tour mentioning how crowded it was, “like New Year’s Eve in Times Square, and nowhere to roam to”.

PHOENIX TREE, CHILDREN’S PEACE SONG: Finally, one of my favorite moments of visiting the Peace Memorial wasn’t even mentioned on the tour (or I missed hearing about it in the crowd mix), and was a bit removed from the gardens, even though it was near the museum’s cafe exit and entrance.

As I was walking back from the beautiful tree lined pathway thru the Peace Memorial Park, I heard what sounded like a small children’s choir singing. As I drew closer, however, I realized it was a recording of some children singing, emanating from a speaker near a tree with only wooden (no blossoms) branches. Apparently the tree had survived the bombing, and it inspired an 8 year old girl student to compose and record a song about it.

I copied this paragraph from a Google AI search to provide a bit of clarity, as I wanted to know more about this. I read elsewhere that the student was an 8 year old girl student at the time this was written.

“The song played near the A-bombed Aogiri (phoenix tree) in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park is called “Aogiri no Uta” (Song of Aogiri). It is a hopeful tune written by student Nanase Morimitsu, focusing on the strength of the trees that survived the 1945 atomic bombing and the importance of peace. “

Below is a link to the video of the child’s song, including the English translation captioning below on YouTube.

REBUILT CITY: Today, 80 years later, Hiroshima has basically been rebuilt and is a booming city of approximately a million people. There are numerous Cherry Trees that have been planted and were actively blooming during our visit in late March/early April, and many highways, railways, and buildings hide the past of this once prosperous military city that was all but destroyed on August 6, 1945. There are various groups connected to the Peace Museum, including a survivors group, which due to the 80 years since the bombing, has members passing away each year, dwindling to less than 100,000 survivors today, (combined survivors with Nagasaki included as well) with the average age of 86.

Here are some of the beautiful Cherry Blossom Trees along the pathway leading away/towards the Peace Museum. Today it truly is a peaceful setting for locals, families, and visitors from around the world to share and contemplate.

FINAL THOUGHTS: What are our final thoughts on the tour and Hiroshima itself? Our tour excursion from Princess Cruises, was basically a drop-off point to the Peace Gardens Park and Museum, with a nice outdoor walking tour by our guide, but extremely crowded indoor Artifacts section of the museum. The Historical Building of the Museum is much easier to navigate, and woefully less crowded, so would recommend going to that; plus it provides a wealth of background, and post-war historical information as well, especially if your time is limited.

Just exploring the Peace Memorial Garden park itself, however, offers solace and a feeling for the time and moment, just by being there. Even as I finish writing this post from back home over a week later, far removed from the Memorial site, I get chills thinking of this horrific event, yet am happy that the Japanese culture has chosen to move forward with life by honoring and memorializing the past, yet looking to a peaceful future, reflected in the beautiful gardens that stretch for blocks.

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial and Park allows the modern day visitor to imagine a world living in peace and harmony, and move on from the past however painful it may be, but also realize the realities of the world and it’s instability, while providing a peaceful moment there to reflect.

The overall take-away, however is this a must-see for everyone, regardless of your feelings about war and politics. The Hiroshima (and Nagasaki sites) are not only thought-provoking, they stir your inner emotions and soul, as you ask yourself the Why, and “How could this happen” questions, and as one lady on the tour asked me rhetorically while viewing museum exhibits “Do you think this will ever happen again?” A quite chilling question indeed.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Garden aims to soothe and heal the gap between war and peace. The Hiroshima Peace Gardens look to the future, while remembering the past, but offers hope for a peaceful world, so that one day that “Eternal Flame” can be extinguished. Amen!

Finally, here is a full gallery of photos I’m attaching from our day in Hiroshima, including many I have already posted here.