Goosebumps in Hiroshima

After arriving in Hiroshima on Wednesday evening, we just looked around a bit.

On Thursday, we first took the opportunity of a hop-on-hop-off bus to get an overview of the city.

Then we visited the Peace Park and the Atomic Bomb Dome.

The goosebumps and the oppressive feeling didn't leave us the whole way. In addition, the beautiful weather, which stood in stark contrast to the cruel events that took place here. The feelings I had can't really be put into words.

In addition to the Atomic Bomb Dome, the memorial for recruited students, and the memorial mound, the Children's Memorial touched me the most.

The memorial commemorates Sadako Sasaki. The girl was only 2 years old at the time of the atomic bomb and survived. However, 10 years later, she developed leukemia and died. During her time in the hospital, she folded origami cranes to pray for her health to be restored.

Sadako stands on top of the memorial, holding a giant origami crane in her hands. This has now become a symbol of peace.

People from all over the world place paper cranes here to show their sympathy for the families of the dead and missing children.

I found it very touching that whole classes stood in front of the memorial, sang a song, and then placed their cranes.

In addition, we rang the Peace Bell and saw the Cenotaph and the Flame of Peace. This flame is supposed to burn until there are no more atomic bombs in the world.

After a short lunch break, we walked along the river and visited some parks, temples, and Hiroshima Castle.