Hiroshima

Last stop for Onions (he left and I stayed on another six days) was Hiroshima. We stayed in a traditional ryokan which is run by this charming Japanese lady.  She takes a photo of every guest and places it on the walls.  Onions and I are now on the wall!

Every room in a ryokan has tatami mats and the bedding is a soft mattress that unrolls directly onto the floor. 

Everyone knows Hiroshima as the sight of the atomic bomb being dropped.  Right there in the heart of the city is where it exploded and a large park and memorial is sited there.  This is looking down towards the museum.

I thought it was touching to see Japanese schoolchildren making a visit to the museum.

So I learned that the bomb didn't actually explode on the ground but was programmed to explode about 600 meters in the air.  This is the scale at approximately where the bomb exploded.

What the city looked like.  That building with the dome actually survived and was standing after the explosion and has been preserved in its post explosion state as a symbol of survival.  It's called the atomic dome.

While we were there, the Atomic dome was under inspection for structural issues and to make sure that it will continue to stand.

This tricycle was found.

So....Onions goes CRAZY anytime he sees fish.  He always stops and looks at fish!

At this site, was located a place where bodies were brought for burial.  So this mound memorializes those who were brought here.

This is the children's peace memorial.  Paper cranes are the symbol of peace!

Every day, the memorial receives cranes from all over the world.