As for today's entry, we took a trip to Hiroshima as part of a class activity in the area. This field trip would encompass some of the most moving experiences I have had within any museum yet, moving multiple other people tears, and forcing myself to take a break from looking at the exhibitions, lest I be overwhelmed.
In order to make a scheduled guest speaker, we would have to get up extremely early and take one of Japans's famous bullet trains, also known as the shinkansen trains. These trains move extremely fast, and are an extremely viable method of intercity transportation.
Our first stop was a visit of the only structure left standing near the hypocenter of the first atomic bomb which exploded on 6 August 1945, and it remains in the condition right after the explosion. Through the efforts of many people, including those of the city of Hiroshima, this ruin has been preserved in the same state as immediately after the bombing. This building later became the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While we were there, a Survivor In-Utero spoke to our group about what his living family had seen immediately after the bombing, and what they experienced in the after effects of the radiation.
After this, we got to the reason we had left at the break of dawn: the guest speaker. This person spoke about some more survivor stories, as well as the aftermath of the bombing, what Hiroshima was before the bomb, and the effects of the bomb were on those who experienced it.
Next, we visited the most moving place of the entire trip: the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. The museum’s objective was to be a remembrance of all those who suffered from the bombing, and a bastion of knowledge regarding the horrors of nuclear warfare. This museum is thorough in its accuracy of the bombing, containing many artifacts of survivors and victims. The artifacts were accompanied by a description regarding how they came to be, and what had happened to their original owners with many including the owners last words or a history of who the owners were. The museum also included numerous moving descriptions of what happened to the victims of the bomb’s radiation, heat rays, with many accompanied by photos of their disfigured bodies.
Lastly, we visited the Yamato Museum and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Kure Archive. The Yamato Museum was focused on a more general naval history of Japan, with it’s main showcase being the 1/10th scale model of the Yamato battleship. The rest of the museum featured retired submarines, ammunition, and models of other ships. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Kure Archive was focused mostly on submarines, with a full-size explorable submarine as the final exhibit.
Lastly, we stayed at one of the most upscale hotels that I have ever seen, the Grand Prince Hotel Hiroshima. This hotel was amazing, featuring multiple in-house restaurants and an onsen, or hot spring. This hotel had even hosted this year’s G7 Summit, and had a framed photo of those countries leaders and their signatures!
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