After sleeping gloriously, I decided to check out my hotel's breakfast.
Clockwise, starting from the top-left corner: some kind of fried noodles, cabbage salad, scrambled eggs, "spicy" noodles (spicy for Japanese, but bland for Koreans), and lotus root with carrots. I really enjoyed them, just that the eggs were a bit runny for my taste.
Off to explore!
Plaque at Hiroshima Station.
Pretty mushroom fountain.
There's a sightseeing bus that starts off at Hiroshima station and makes several stops along the city (2 different routes, but most stops are shared by both). For 200 Yen (less than $2 USD) you can get a one-way trip. For 400 Yen (less than $4 USD) you can ride the buses all day. With the JR Pass, you can ride them all day, every day, for FREE. I LOVE my JR Pass!
First stop: Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park (naturally)
Panoramic shot from the A-Bomb Dome, looking towards the park, just across the river.
A-Bomb Dome.
Most info is in Japanese, English, Korean, and Chinese (Mandarin)--usually in that order, too.
Whoa.
Another angle.
I decided to look for the mark of the epicenter (or "hypocenter", as they call it). I passed by it and didn't see it until I went back and literally bumped into it.
The marker.
Yours truly with said marker.
See how it's kind of easy to miss, especially when this is not what I was expecting?
(btw: all whole-body self-shots were done by timer-mode).
The top has a statue of a girl named Sadako Sasaki. She was 2 years old when the bomb fell on Hiroshima. When she was 12, she died of leukemia, due to the intense radiation.
She made +1,000 paper cranes, 'cause it was believed if you did, you'd be granted a wish. I think that's why you'll see bunches of paper cranes in leis at all these different sites, in hopes of attaining world peace or something like that.
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in the background, with the Eternal Flame in the foreground.
The Memorial Cenotaph
The Fountain of Prayer
You can see the fountain in the middle-ground here.
Statue of Mother and Child (Children?) in the Storm is in the foreground.
Monument to the A-bombed Teachers and Students of National Elementary Schools
Just in case you were wondering, this clearly says to not feed the birds.
I find it rather cute.
Monument to the Korean Victims and Survivors.
Better view of the actual monument.
I've never seen a tree with branches that go straight up like this.
Bell of Peace
For info, click on the photo below.
The A-bomb dome, with a plaque in the forefront of how it used to be.
This gentleman caught my eye. He wanted me to see something . . .
Why hello there!
Wow, only a gentle soul could do that.
This is the way I went in.
There are so many fountains of water.
This is the other entrance.
Where do you want to go?
Let's go into the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
Recreated scene of the destruction, to get you ready for what you are about to see.
Getting into it, yet?
An actual-size replica of the "Little Boy" that was dropped from Enola Gay over Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945 at 8:15am.
A model of Hiroshima.
The red ball represents the size of the explosion (minus clouds) and where above Hiroshima it appeared. As you can see, this bomb was a "mini-sun".
An atomic "shadow" left by a victim who was pulverized by the blast.
yeap, an actual glass bottle.
What are these?
Look at the next picture.
Yeah.
whoa.
Scenes of destruction.
Black rain?
Yeesh.
There's a section that's under construction and is scheduled to open on Feb. 28 2015 . . . but I'd still recommend going. It's the best 50 Yen ($0.50 USD) I've spent in a long time.
A bus stop for the Hiroshima Sightseeing Loop Bus.
So, off in search of lunch at Hatchobori (near my hotel)!
Japanese curry at Curry House CoCo.
This is the chicken cutlet. Very nice.
You can have a table or a booth (the booth section is actually quite large).
Deep-fried curry stick and mango pudding. Soooo good!
Back on the bus to check out 1 more place before the buses stop for the day:
There she is in the distance.
All this is reconstructed, by the way.
Looks nice.
Looks inviting.
Hmm, obviously a foundation of sorts.
This tree was hit by the atomic bomb too.
A shrine before getting to the actual castle.
Hmm, not bad at all.
Play dress-up? Why not?
(this picture was actually taken by a museum staff member)
"I wish I had my sword, but I'll make you think I don't need it."
A view of modern Hiroshima from the top of the castle.
Hiroshima Castle at sunset.
(I ran through it, seeing I had only 30 minutes to go through it all, and the top, and then come back down. Yeah, not a lot of time to really look and appreciate what they had)
Fountain of Prayer again.
The Gates of Peace
International Conference Center Hiroshima
Wait, hold up. Is that what I think it is? . . . .
Yes! It is a giant Korean drum!
Okay, I made it back to Hiroshima Station and I walk back to my hotel.
Bike-parking at a random apartment building.
Oh, traditional Japanese wear!
Wait, how much?!
Ugh . . . nevermind . . .
Hmm, let's see how expensive the produce is . . .
Hmm, what do you think (prices of produce are above the items)?
Back at my hotel and decide to get some tea (free drinks--non-alcoholic--24/7).
The dining area.
Yes, you can take cold water to your room.
It can get quite dry in Japan.
Assortment of teas.
As well as coffees and soft drinks.
What a day! Time to go to bed.
End of Day 2.
No comments:
Post a Comment