Monday 13 April Hiroshima

We berth at Hiroshima this morning before breakfast. We have a fairly early start to be on coaches from 7.45. We are going to Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park to go through the Peace Memorial Museum, commemorating the victims of the atomic bombing on 6 August 1945.

the museum was designed by the architect Tange Kenzo to learn about the history of Hiroshima before and after the bombing through pictures, movie and displays. There are a lot of first hand accounts. It was very confronting. 1/3 of the local population died in the bombing. My limited understanding was that the Yanks targeted about 26 sites in Japan to do the bomb. They needed a location that was not already devestated by the war,so that they could see and study all the effects that the bomb had, once activated. Poor old Hiroshima was unlucky enough to be chosen. It had no military value, just a good spot to trial their experiment!

We decide to see the rest of the park on our own, rather than with a guide and big group.

Next up is the Cenotaph for A-bomb Victims.

We then get to the Children's Peace monument where people are welcome to leave their hand made paper cranes.

We cross the bridge to the Atomic Bomb dome. On August 6, 1945 the building was severely damaged and burnt by the first atomic bomb ever used. The remains symbolizes the pledge to convey the horror of the atomic bombing and the call for the abolition of nuclear weapons and eternal world peace. Someone needs to tell that despicable human being in the US of A! In 1996 the domestic was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We then head out of the park to the Orizuro Tower which is 12 stories tall. We have to pay to get to the top floor observation deck (about $20) but are the first ones up there for the 10am opening. The views are lovely, even though we are looking through netting.

We then head down a floor and pay 100 yen ($1) to learn how to make a paper crane (orizuru) which we are then able to drop through the glass floor opening 60 metres down into a bed of about 1 million more paper cranes. Am still waiting for my wish to come true!

Time to head back to the coaches and return to the ship for a BBQ lunch. We depart Hiroshima and head for Miyajima Island which is only a short distance away. We need to use the zodiacs to access the island.

Once on the island, our guide Kao, takes us on a scenic walk to the Itsukushima Shrine. We are warned about the deer rosming freely, that they will try and eat any food you may have on you and they especially love icecream.

The iconic 'floating' gate is interesting but as we aren't there at high tide, we don't get the full effect of the gate looking like it is floating in the sea.

The shrine itself days back to the 9th century but didn't have much wow factor. However we are lucky enough to be there while wedding photos are being taken.

We have seen enough so wander back to the jetty area and wait for a zodiac to get us back to the ship.

Back on board, I head up to the bridge to have a look. We are welcome to go up through the bridge when the ship is in port during the day. I figured that as we were anchored it, it should count as being in a port! As it transpired, I was escorted up onto the bridge by a lovely young crewman and we had the bridge to ourselves. He was really passionate about his work and loved telling me off all the places he had been and ships he had been on.

But soon enough it was time to check out the bar for our pre dinner prandials!

We sit through a briefing for tomorrow and then head to dinner. The wagyu beef was delicious,as was the Szechuan soup. I opted for thy grilled chicken with Rosemary gravy for main. Too full to consider dessert.

I am reminded that J1 hasn't done anything too out of the ordinary so far but I did forget to include her 'blonde' moment the other day when we were first asked to wear our name badges that have a magnet backing. J1 was having difficulty getting the name plate to stick to the magnet backing through her clothing. She complained that she thought the tour company could have provided a better quality magnet. I suggested that she try turning the magnet over ... and amazingly it has stuck perfectly ever since. Duh.... And with that, we are back in our cabin, getting into our jammies and heading for bed.