The Shinkansen got us to Hiroshima in super speedy time, arriving exactly when expected at 18.31. If only English trains could be so efficient! Once again, we dumped our bags and headed out for dinner (it's all about food with us). Max found us a little local restaurant where, after getting a broken version of the Japanese menu from the waitress, Max ordered sashimi and Steph ordered grilled salmon. The sashimi came out as a tiny plate of raw squid, cuttlefish and seabream - Max's face looked slightly disappointed, it wasn't going to fill his appetite! 7eleven it was for some snacks afterwards. We still can't get used to the bowing and politeness of the Japanese; the waiter in the restaurant basically followed us down the road bowing and saying goodbye and even in 7eleven, the cashier bowed so low we could swear his nose hit the counter. Even on the train or subway, fellow commuters bow at you before sitting next to you.

For our first day in Hiroshima (well, I say in Hiroshima), we did a day trip to Miyajima, a small island that has been labelled a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We got up bright and early and had breakfast on the 15th floor of our hotel. The view was outstanding; we ate overlooking the Peace Memorial Park which has 2 gorgeous rivers running either side of it. We got the Streetcar (tram) to the ferry port and boarded a ferry across from Hiroshima to Miyajima.

The island was beautiful even on approach with Mount Misen standing as luscious as ever. We turned right from the port and headed to the Itsukushima-jinja shrine. We were lucky to be there at high tide, which makes the shrine appear to be floating in the sea. It was a really awesome temple, so different from other we have seen before. It was all based on platforms with the clear sea beneath. After exploring the island, we headed back to Hiroshima.

Naturally, we dedicated day 2 in Hiroshima to the memorials of one of the most catastrophic events in history - the dropping of the first atomic bomb which, together with the second bomb dropped on Nagasaki, brought an end to WW2 in August 1945. Set at the south end of the Peace Memorial Park is the Peace Memorial Museum. We made our way around the museum with audio guides, unable to comprehend the destruction shown all around us. The museum largely focuses on August 6, 1945, when the A bomb was dropped. It shows the radius that was affected by the bomb and describes the heat caused by it which incinerated any wooden buildings within 2km of the epicentre. It then goes on to discuss the black rain that fell from the sky after the ginormous cloud mixed with water vapour.

There are clothes and personal affects set out that were found among the wreckages or donated by the families of those that died shortly after. Seeing the damaged caused to the items due to the heat, fire and radiation is astounding. Photos and statutes show how the flesh and muscles burnt away from the bodies of the victims, killing them immediately or within a few days. What is even harder to comprehend is that families who were reunited after the event, and appeared to have no injuries, died months or years later due to radiation. The effects of the harmful radiation are still being suffered today.

North from the museum, the record of all those who died due to the A bomb lies within a Memorial Monument for Hiroshima with a prayer for peace engraved in the stone. Behind that, a flame burns brightly and will do so until the last nuclear weapon is destroyed. Furthest North, at the tip of the park, is the A bomb dome. It is the remnants of one of few surviving buildings close to the epicentre and is a symbol of Hiroshima, covering the horror of nuclear weapons and appealing for world peace. The dome is a metal structure left barely standing at the top of the building. In 1996, the dome was registered a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Hiroshima truly is a place seeking eternal peace among everyone in the world. Let's pray it can one day be achieved.

Currently we are on our last Shinkansen, destined to arrive shortly at Tokyo, the final destination of our travels (waaaa! But what a place to finish!).

Steph and Max x