It's a shame to say that I didn't have a 'peace pilgrimage' in mind when we decided to include a brief stopover in Hiroshima. It was information about the A-bomb, imprints of people close to the hypocentre or anything similarly sensational that I was keen to see. This might be why the plaques that litter the Peace Memorial Park, informing us in various ways that we should all strive for world peace, started to grate after a while. Self-proclaimed champions of world peace probably need more credentials than having an A-bomb dropped on them and also should probably acknowledge other victims of war more comprehensively.
Gripes and cynicism aside the information in the museum about the A-bomb and events leading up to 6/8/45 was fascinating, comprehensive and as fairly frank. The remains of one of the buildings, left as a reminder of the tragedy, was remarkable too; I thought an A-bomb exploding at a distance of 621m would have razed it to the ground.
There is a reason to come again though. We didn't know it at the time, but we had the best Okonomiyaki of our trip, Hiroshima style; a combination of noodles, omelette, pancake, cabbage and other ingredients and sauces smooshed together into one glorious mound of stomach fodder.
No comments:
Post a Comment