I am feeling a bit better today. I had a big sleep in and did not leave my room until 10am. I found a cafe and had breakfast and a coffee. My hotel is about a 2 minute walk from the A Bomb Dome so I made my way over there for a visit while it was light out. Just as profound in the light. I crossed over the river on the Aioi Bridge that was the intended target of the bomb and entered in to the Memorial Park from that end. I made my way to the Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound. The ashes from tens of thousands of victims are in this mound. Next I made my way to the Children's Peace Monument. This monument was originally inspired by the death of Sadako Sasaki who died ten years later from Leukemia a result of exposure to the radiation from the bomb when she was 2 years old. Believing that folding a thousand paper cranes would make a wish come true Sadako folded paper cranes through out her sickness but her wish did not come true. There are millions of paper cranes around the monument today and when I was there a school group was giving a string of paper cranes they had made. It was a very moving moment for me. Seeing these children and hearing them sing and watching them give the paper cranes to the monument knowing that we need peace in our world for these children and all the children in my life...for children everywhere. I continued on the flame of peace and to the cenotaph. You could see the flame and the A Bomb Dome through the cenotaph. I made my way over to the Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb victims. I entered the hall and it went a round the outside going down. Once at the bottom you enter in the hall and on the walls all the way around the circle was a mural of what the area looked like before the bomb. I found myself alone in this hall and it really hit me at that moment. I sat there for a while in silence. On the way back up there were pictures of the victims and you could research names in computers. I walked over to the Peace Park Memorial Museum. I got myself the audio set and went in. I took my time going through each display. I cried hearing the stories of the children. I do not have children of my own but my heart broke hearing the stories of the mothers going in to the city searching for their children who had not returned. Finding articles belonging to their child, writings on the walls as messages so families could find each other or learn who had died. It was heart breaking. After the museum I was headed out to Miyajima Island. I had intended to take a bus to a train station but just felt the need to walk. So I walked the 2 Kms. I got on a train and then a ferry, again the train system is very easy and the Japan Rail pass is awesome! Arriving at the island I was able to see the Itsukushima Shrine in the water. It appears to be floating in the water but it is a huge structure that is sitting on the floor of the ocean. I made my way through the market and ate street food for lunch. Chicken on a stick and steamed bun with beef in it. This area is famous for oysters and there were people selling them and cooking them up every where along the way. I stopped and got some pictures of the shrine from the land which were closer up. Then I headed up about one kilometer up hill to a tram that goes up the mountain. I took the tram up only to learn that wasn't the top of the mountain!! So I hiked another km pretty much straight up or so it felt. I was beat by the time I got up to the top of Mt Misen! I spent some time up there, mostly resting and reflecting on my day. Then I went down. I made my way back to the ferry after doing a bit of shopping. Lots of great little shops and not much room in my luggage! I got back to my room around 530 and put my aching feet up! Now I am not going to complain about my feet or ankles because there were 80 year old woman I saw hiking up that mountain and crazy 25 year olds with crazy weird high heeled shoes!! I decided to head out for dinner and got completely lost in the alley ways full or restaurants. I did however find the best Ramon noodle bowl yet!! It took me a while to get myself out of there but once I found the river I was able to get back to my hotel.... Phew crisis averted!! Tomorrow I head to Osaka!