This photo will be instantly recognisable to many of you as the Atomic Bomb Dome - the old industry Promotion Hall, one of the few buildings near Ground Zero to survive the blast at 8.15am on 6th August 1945, although its glass dome was vaporised. Renamed, its gutted walls and skeletal dome stand as a silent icon and a testament to the weapon’s destructive force, hopefully never to be used again.
Our first rendezvous was not with the Peace Memorial Park in which the A Bomb Dome stands but with lunch at a nearby hotel. We sat down to salmon trout with a delicious teriyaki sauce followed by green tea cake accompanied by fresh fruit salad.
Not only was the food a delight but also a group of primary school children, immaculately dressed in sailor type blue suits filed into the restaurant; all perfectly behaved and full of smiles and waves for an enthralled audience. I hasten to add that they were not there to entertain but for lunch and I suspect they were from a private school since I’m not sure even Japanese school lunches run to those provided at a 4* restaurant!
Whilst one reason for choosing to come to Hiroshima today was to take the maximum length of ride on the bullet train available, another was to see for myself the devastation caused by the explosion of the first Atom Bomb some ten-an-a-half months before I was born. I must admit that having seen this for myself I now face the conundrum of how to convey the impression that it made on me.
As usual I will attempt to do so through a series of photos with some additional words of explanation many of which have been summarised from the simple but very well illustrated free pamphlet of the Museum’s layout and exhibits.
If you would like more information then you can visit the Museum’s website: http://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp
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