Travelling in Japan is so easy - queuing is orderly, the trains leave on time and even the most complicated metro, as in Tokyo is easy to navigate. Travelling on the bulkier train is a real highlight, as it effortlessly speeds through the countryside and towns. Eater four train journeys we then find ourselves in Hiroshima. Here there is such a devastating history that you have to go to the Atomic Bomb site and the memorial museum. It's a harrowing experience, but one that also leaves you with hope, the spirit of human endurance. Here a whole city was destroyed and hundreds of thousands of civilians were killed either immediately or suffered slow deaths in the following years. One of the last moving things to see at the museum was a watch that has stopped at 8.15 on the 6th August 1945. There is also a display of all the letters that the Mayor of Hiroshima has written to presidents and prime ministers across the globe after having undertaken nuclear tests. Letters to America,the UK, India etc asking to cease all nuclear armament as Japan is the only country to have had an atomic bomb used in war time and the effects were devastating.
Nowadays Hiroshima is a vibrant city by the sea, it has amazing restaurants, bars and museums and so a visit here brings unexpected delights. We headed to a fish bar to have the local speciality of oysters, washed down with beer then headed to the famed food court were over 25 counters all serve the same fried fare, which was delicious. a quick highball in a jazz bar ended the day off well, as we headed back to the bunk beds in our hostel!!!!
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