The Legend of Japan

Ever since I watched the movie “Pearl Harbour” and learning the World War II history in secondary school about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, I have always wanted to visit the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Peace Memorial Park.  A few years ago, I was given the opportunity to visit Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and it was one of my most memorable and touching moment in my life.

The park serves as a memorial to all the people who were killed in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.  When I was walking through the park, a mix of emotions just ran through my mind.  There are several monuments around the park but one of the most touching sight is the Children’s Peace Monument which was surrounded with thousands of paper folded cranes.  At that time, I was told that the paper cranes were sent by children all over the world to demonstrate peace message as well as a memorial for a young girl who died from radiation from the atomic bombing.

Children’s Peace Monument

Besides that, one of the famous symbols in the park is the A-Bomb Dome which was the only building left standing in the area after the atomic bombing were conducted against the cities of Hiroshima in Japan.  It serves as an incredible reminder of the destruction a war can bring to us and also convey the hope for world peace and abolition of all nuclear weapons. 

A-Bomb Dome

From Tokyo Station to Hiroshima Station is four hours and six minutes by shinkansen (bullet train). The Peace Memorial Park, along with the genbaku dome or A-bomb dome is about twelve minutes on foot from the station or you can go by tram. The museum is at the other end of the park and well-worth the visit. The park is a very touching place to visit.  If there’s another chance for me to visit Japan again, I would love to visit the Nagasaki Peace Memorial Park as well.


Reference:

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/top_e.html

Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki. (2003). Retrieved from http://www.wagingpeace.org/articles/2003/08/01_krieger_remembering.html


Wikipedia. (2006). A-bomb dome [image]. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Old_and_New.jpg


Wikipedia. (2010). Date and time of historic bomb explosion in Nagasaki [image]. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Date_mark_of_Nagasaki_bomb.jpg


Wikipedia. (2008). Hiroshima Cenotaph [image]. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HiroshimaCenotaph_2008_01.JPG