Dear Friends and Family,
The bullet train reduced a 4.5 hr train ride to Hiroshima to only one hour. With its picturesque canal bridges, Hiroshima resembles a modern day Paris. We saw lots of Sakura, cherry blossoms, in bloom. With only 2 days here, we spent one day at the UNESCO designated Peace Memorial Park, which includes the A-Bomb (Genbaku) Dome, and Peace Memorial Museum. We spent the our second day on Miyajima Island.
The devastation and horror of the atomic bomb is revealed in before and after photos, video accounts from survivors, and a visual reenactment, depicting the bomb going off, and how it instantly incinerated a wide area. There was no blame placed here, only the horror of it all, with 200,000 dead within one year, and much of the city wiped out in less than two minutes. The A Bomb dome was the only structure left standing within a 2 km radius of the epicenter. The building was eventually reinforced and fenced off, preserved as a memorial to the bombing. The dome, park, and museum exist to promote world peace.
Our next day was a completely different story. Miyajima Island is one of Japan’s scenic wonders. After a train and short ferry ride to the island, we found ourselves in a sea of tourists. There were deer at the seashore, wandering amongst the people, hoping to be fed. We hiked 2.5 km up the steep Momijidani Trail to Mt. Misen summit for a great view of the bay and Hiroshima in the distance. We overlooked a five-story pagoda, built in 1407, the sprawling Itsukushima Shrine, and the famous O-Torii gate. The O-Torii gate, a Shinto shrine, is believed to be the boundary between humanity and the spirit world. It sits in the water just offshore. At high tide, it looks like it’s floating. We took the 2.5 km Daishoin Trail down the mountain. We passed many small shrines and Buddhist statues covered in clothing and coins on our hike.
We are now in Okayama, a 45 minute bullet train ride north of Hiroshima, recovering from our hike. We miss our California fruit and veggies! Apples, oranges, and grapefruit are from $3-7 APIECE, and one dozen strawberries cost about $9.50! (USD)
We miss you too!
Love BnL
bnlmos 
Oh my goodness! What contrast… Hiroshima and the lovely shrines, costumed, etc You must be exhausted! My friends are completing a 2 week tour of Japan with their daughter who teaches English there and you’ve hit a few common places… they spent a lot of time at the lovely shrines. I’m not sure I could handle Hiroshima… I remember when it happened. Rita
Sent from my iPhone
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Yeah! You would have been a little girl at the time! 6000 children aged 12 and under were instantly incinerated. Pretty poignant place to visit. Miyajima was a very nice contrast indeed.
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Sorry i haventbeen responding to ur blog messages. I’ve enjoyed readi g them & especially like seeing ur photos. Hiroshima looks like a colorful & interesting city despite its tragic history. Looking gorward to seeing u in May!Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S8, an AT&T 5G Evolution smartphone
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Glad to hear you’ve been along on our journey! We look forward to seeing you too!
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Bruce and Linda,
Hello !
You had a chance to go to Hiroshima
and Miyajima.
When I went to the mountain in
Miyajima I took a gondola both ways.
The mountain was certainly steep.
Keep on having a great time!
Minoru
Sent from my iPhone
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Thank you, Minoru, for your comment. It was very difficult to climb up, but good practice for our upcoming trip to the Himalayas in October with our adult children.
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Wow I can’t believe fruit is so expensive over there, that’s crazy!
Thanks for the updates, stay safe 🙂
love Jose
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Thanks hon.See you tomorrow! 😍
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