Hiroshima's clear skies after the rain

Witnessed the clear blue skies of Hiroshima when I walked out of Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall — a sight impossible in Singapore due to our constant pollution. Sigh, Mother Nature sure is beautiful.

Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims

Built in 1951, the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims was one of first memorial monuments of the atomic bomb. The Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims holds the names of all victims of the atomic bomb.

Hiroshima Pond of Peace encircles the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victim

安らかに眠って下さい 過ちは 繰返しませぬから
Let all souls here rest in peace, for the error will not be repeated.














Stood around Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park for a while, considering whether I should enter the Paece Memorial Museum because only the main building was opened to visitors since the entire museum is under complete renovation till 2018. Besides, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum's entrance fee costed ¥200 but there was a hig probability tht I would run out of yen before even reaching Tokyo. Damn my inability to do proper budgeting!


In the end, I decided to go ahead anyway because I wasn't sure of the next time I'd be in Hiroshima and I thought the museum would be an essential highlight of my trip considering how much I enjoy war history. Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park actually have a student price and I had my student card with me, but Japan's student fares usually only apply to individuals below 16 years old so I couldn't enjoy that discount.

View from Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum

Address
1-2 Nakajimacho, Naka Ward, Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture 730-0811, Japan

Opening Hours
Opens daily from 8:30am to 6pm

Admission Fee
Adults: ¥200
Students, elderly aged 65 and above: ¥100
Children: Free

Renovation
East building closed from September 2014 to April 15 2017 for renovation.
Main building closed from April 15 2017 to July 2018 for renovation.


Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum spared no mercy in showing visitors the horrors of nuclear weapons. Destruction was the first sight that greeted me upon setting foot in the museum. Every exhibit provided detailed explanation in Japanese and English, with some exhibits also having international language like Chinese, French, Italian etc.

How victims closest to ground zero look like immediately after the atomic bomb set off

Clothes were torn right off the victims

Most victims even lost their skin and developed huge blisters

Area of Hiroshima directly affected by the atomic bomb

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum displays keepsakes of the aftermath of the atomic bombing

Life sized replica of Little Boy, the atomic bomb that hit Hiroshima. Little Boy, ironically, turned out bigger than expected.

To prove the point that most objects near ground zero were destroyed beyond recognition, we were allowed to touch some exhibits

Hands-on exhibit for visitors to calculate radiation

There was an entire section dedicated to Sadako Sasaki, where I expectedly spent most of my time in.

The book on the left was the Sadako Sasaki book I read that left me a deep impression of Hiroshima

When standing at the correct angle, you'll be able to see all major landmarks of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park

The perfect view of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park (save for the Flame of Peace that I accidentally missed ugh)

A message left by Mr Obama during his visit to Hiroshima in 2016

Mr Obama was the first standing US president to pay Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park a visit. During his visit, he addressed the horrors of nuclear weapons, donated paper cranes and wrote a letter promising to spread peace.

Ended my visit by signing in the signature boo

My handwriting got ugly after secondary school T_T

I bought a pair of paper cranes earrings made with real pearls at the souvenir shop for about SGD $30 — an exorbitant amount for a frugal person like me but paper cranes mean a lot to me so I splurged. I got the shop keepers to put in the earrings for me because I'm a #noob. Being typical excitable and hospitable Japanese, the shop keepers started exclaiming kawaii kawaii. I thought their declaration further reaffirmed that I made the right decision to spend.

Except that I dropped one side of the earrings within an hour when I fell asleep on the Hiroshima Electric Railway and woke up to one side of my earrings missing -_- I could write an entire storybook on the (mis)adventures of my pierced ears -____-

Earrings aside, I loved that you the souvenir store — named Rest House of Hiroshima Peace Park — was opened to public, even if you didn't pay a visit to Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. I darted in and out of the rest house for a comforting burst of warmth during Japan's bitter winter. Thank god for warmers!

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Japan Solo Travel (January 2017)

Tokyo Summary and Getting Around Tokyo | Tokyo Imano Hostel Review | Tokyo Pokemon Centre & Shibuya Crossing | Tokyo Lockers and Shinjuku Gyoen Garden | Tokyo Harajuku (Shopping, Food, Daiso) | Tokyo bills Omotesando (Tokyu Plaza)

Hakone One Day Itinerary | Hakone Tozan Railway and Cable Car | Seeing Mt Fuji at Owakudani | Hakone Ropeway and Sightseeing Cruise | Trekking to see Hakone Shrine and Mt Fuji

9 Hours Narita Capsule Hotel Review | Tokyo Narita Airport