The Hiroshima Experience: Part 2

If you recall, I went to Hiroshima earlier this month – in the last post, I talked about Itsukushima and delicious Hiroshima style okonomiyaki. After lunch, we headed to the peace memorial park. I didn’t really have any idea how much it would impact me. My aunt had been telling me since I moved here back in March that she wanted me to see it firsthand because it was a huge part of my history – being that both sides of my family fought against each other in this war. When we got to the park, it hit me all at once. Before I even went into the museum, this view of the dome through the monument almost brought me to tears.

A great promise.

This mockup of what the bomb did to Hiroshima.

A watch found afterwards, stopped exactly when the bomb exploded.

Peace cranes made by Sadako herself. This little girl was affected by radiation when the bomb dropped at the age of three. She lived a few years as a seemingly healthy little girl, but was then plagued by different types of cancer and ultimately passed away at the age of 12. She made it her mission to fold 1000 cranes while she was in the hospital, to make a wish so that she could get better. She never ended up completing her 1000 cranes, and there’s a memorial for her in the peace park where kids from around the world fold cranes and send them so they can be hung in honor of Sadako.

It was an intense afternoon, and it made me think a lot about people and how we treat each other.

Tell the ones that you love that you love them, forgive those who have hurt you, and live each moment to it’s fullest.