Hiroshima

The devastating impact of the atomic bomb

We weren’t out quite as quickly as we had hoped and there was a 60 minute wait for the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum by the time we parked our bikes.  Whilst Simon queued for the museum, I queued to visit the Hiroshima Victims Memorial Cenotaph, which we had seen yesterday but there were too many people waiting to really appreciate the solemnity of the memorial.  It is shaped like a roof to shelter the souls of those who died as a result of the bombing and is engraved with the words “Let all the souls here rest in peace, for we shall not repeat the evil”

The queue moved quite quickly and it was probably only a 45 minute wait till we had purchased our tickets and audio devices.  The Museum displayed photos and materials showing the devastating impact of the atomic bomb, artefacts that were recovered after the bombing, the stories of those who died and those who survived, and the history of Hiroshima before and after the bomb. The audio helped us to understand the full impact of the atomic bomb and the photos and artefacts were harrowing to view.

It was definitely time for a coffee by the time we emerged some two hours later. As we unlocked our bikes we chatted briefly to a French man who was arriving with a fully loaded bike.  He had cycled from France to Japan and was finishing his 7 month trip in Osaka where he was handing over a recipe from one Michelin starred restaurant to another.  Sounded like quite an adventure and something to aspire to?

We found to another Obscura coffee outlet, though this one wasn’t quite as good.  As it was now lunchtime, we were keen to try another Hiroshima food speciality, tsukumen, a noodle dish where you choose your level of spiciness. Known as Dan Dan noodles, they are derived from Sichuan province in China and topped with a spicy sauce and ground Sichuan peppercorns. We headed to Shirunashi Dan Dan Noodle Masada and parked our bikes at the end of a dedicated bike parking station.  With the help of an English menu attached to the vending machine, I chose a cheese and tomato with a low spiciness rating of 1 (zero being the lowest), whilst Simon had a cheese curry with a rating of 2 (normal).  They were more peppery than chilli based, and tasty - though the servings weren’t very big.   

Our final stop was the Shukkien Garden which dated back to 1620.  It’s name translates to “shrunken-scenery garden” which as appropriate as the tallest point was meant to represent Mount Fuji and there were lots of little islands and bridges.  We took the route around the garden and admired the various garden areas and tea houses.  Whilst the garden was destroyed by the atomic bomb in 1945, one giant ginkgo tree survived the blast though its branches and twigs were cut off due to the blast impact.  It is thought to be more that 200 years old and its seeds have been sent around the world to appeal for world peace.

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped off for dinner provisions, including sushi and sashimi and a bottle of Italian Pinot noir.  Our wine choices are limited as we are not travelling with a cork screw, but it seems that Pinot Noir is typically screw top, unlike other red wines.  We took the scenic route along the peninsula, passing fishermen, people swimming and having fires on the beaches as the sun was setting. 

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