Miyajima Island

After our brief stop at Hiroshima, we headed out to Miyajima Island — an island off the Sanyo Coast about 30 minutes from Hiroshima. It’s famous for its floating torii gate, which is celebrated as one of Japan’s three most scenic views. Unfortunately we got there at low tide so the torii was less floating and more just hanging out in mud. Here is the view of the gate and the island from the ferry:

Hiroshima – A Brief and Sobering History Lesson

Sunday morning took us to Hiroshima. Hiroshima needs no introduction, notorious as it is for being the site of the first dropping of an atomic bomb in WWII. It was a sobering experience to say the least. Mark had been here once before so we were really going for me. The three of us walked into the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and started watching their introduction video. They showed footage of nuclear weapons being launched at which point Noah very excitedly cried out, “Oooo! Rockets! Look at the rockets Mommy!” We took that as a bad omen and Mark was nice enough to take Noah outside to play in the park so I could browse the exhibits at my leisure.

The museum was very well-laid out and was very thorough in what it covered. Among their many exhibits, it covered the history of Hiroshima leading up to the war, the development of the atomic bomb, the decision by the U.S. to bomb Hiroshima, the effects of the bomb (both immediate and delayed), the city’s recovery and its efforts to speak out against further nuclear testing.