Hiroshima was an hour and a half by Shinkansen from Kyoto/Osaka and we think we may have got on the bullied Shinkansen becuase this was a long hour and a half (there seems to be different trains which stop at different stations). Anyhow after being passed by the big brothers Nozumi and Hikari trains, we eventially got to Hiroshima. Our hostel was near the station and the bunkbeds had curtains surrounding each of the beds! Something we had not seen before but were very impressed about.
So it was off to the Hiroshima Peace park, most travel is done by tram in this city which made the experience even more "back in the day". First stop was the Atomic Bomb dome - a haunting sight, directly underneath the epicentre of where the Atomic bomb detonated in 1945. The structure is still there, not exactly intact but a shell of the former building still stands. It was only saved by being directly under the explosion as the flames and power spread outwards destroying everything else in sight.
Over the river is the peace park, which includes an eternal flame (well until the last Nuclear weapon on earth is destroyed), a memorial to the dead, a mound containing the remains of the dead, a childrens memorial and a very sobering museam. It's exactly as you would think a place like this would feel, haunting and quite depressing. The museam gives survivors accounts and video from that fateful day - in some instances it becomes a little too much as you are actually standing on the deathbeds of hundreds of thousands of people.
Anyhow after our very haunting experience - we also got to visit the little island of Miyajima - just south of Hiroshima on train - which has a beautiful shrine and gates that are surrounded by water. We have some great photos of this place and it rates as one of our favourites in Japan.