Rihga Royal Hiroshima

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Through Tomoko I asked him what the building meant to him.

"Never again," he said.

WOW!

It was quite emotional, as you can imagine.

I told him I hoped for peace, and he said, "You good man."

I said, "Doumo arigatou gozaimasu," ("Thank you very much.") and bowed a deep and long respectful bow.

Not sure what he might say, but unable to resist the opportunity, I asked if I could get a picture of the two ...

... I would be happy to."

It was quite short and to the point. After some general questions about name, address, and country, the "real" questions came... "Do you think the atomic bomb was the right decision?"

I looked at them and thought about it... I really didn't have a solid answer. All I could think was, "I don't know." I wrote that down and tried to explain it to them. "Muzukashi" was the best I could do. "Difficult." I will have to meditate on this question some more ...

... The "after" house had a drop-down range hood, a dining table that folds up, benches that you can store in the floor, sliding closet hardware, and, most amazingly, electric tatami mat units that open up to reveal storage space!

GRAPHICS EVERYWHERE

I've spent much of the day photographing mundane signs, ordinary buildings, and manhole covers. Attentiveness to design and graphics is ubiquitous in Japan.
Hiroshima, Chugoku, Japan rbfromnj

... all mixed together as is the habit in other cities. Oh...and they're a bit mad. I challenge you to try get a photo of them where they're making normal expressions! Anyways, great banter, along with some more beers was had before we prepped for sightseeing the next day.

This started by taking a tram to Hiroshima's peace park which holds several monuments and a museum dedicated to the Atomic bomb that was dropped here. For me, the most notable monument was the ...

Cette ville tristement celebre ressemble a toute autre ville moderne japonaise aux 1er abords. Au centre ville, sur une presqu'ile formee par 2 rivieres se trouve le parc du memorial de la paix comprenant divers monument a la memoire des victimes de la bombe, pour les enfants, pour la paix a travers le monde... On peut aussi y voir un batiment renomme "Dome de la bombe A", du moins ce qu'il en reste. Ce sont les ...

... bridge we came upon the Hiroshima City Zero Milestone which marked the spot directly below the blast. After we crossed the bridge we came upon the Children Peace Memorial that was dedicated both to the children that lost their lives in the blast and all children that have or will lose their lives in war. There was a bell that you ring in remembrance. We rang the bell and remember. Walking the few steps just past our destination led us to the Peace Cairn that had a large ...

... 10 years later of leukaemia and whilst she was ill, she believed that if she made 1000 origami cranes it would cure her illness. It didn't, but the origami crane remains the symbol of peace for children visiting Hiroshima. We then embarked on the search for the sister statue to the 'Reconcilliation' statue at Coventry Cathedral which Yvonne had seen earlier in the year on a school trip. Disappointingly, we ...

... bonico. Desesperados, sin agua, hechos polvo... y de nuevo aparece él para guiarnos... el abuelo del pito se levanta, camina hacia un poste... y abre una nevera repleta de bebidas! Descojone gerneral con los ojos como platos, allí nos acercamos y nos servimos unas aguas. Qué grandes son los japos, dejan un cubito al lado para que pagues la bebida, sin duda este método sería un rotundo exito en España. Nos vamos para abajo, esto será mas relajado que subir ...

... On the train to Miyajima, Phil and I played 20 questions (he had never played before). Kilimanjaro was the real stumper. A quick 10 minute ferry brought us to the beautiful Miyajima. Even from the boat, we knew that this was a special place. The island consisted of a quaint coastal village with sprawling mountains in the background. A group of friendly deer greeted us at the ferry terminal. Our first stop was the five story pagoda and ...

... on our visit to Hiroshima. The first was the surprising degree of honesty and openness exhibited by the Japanese people through the presentation of the museum's exhibits. Without exception the facts and information seem to be presented in an objective and unbiased manner. The museum recognizes the lead role the Japanese empire took in dragging the nations of the world into global war and it almost goes so far as to defend the US decision to use the bomb. The candor and ...