Hiroshima, A Tourism Oasis

Above, the A-Bomb Dome. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Hiroshima was an interesting Japanese city to visit. Going there now one would not know that an atomic bomb was dropped there in August 1945 leveling the city. I visited Hiroshima in 2004.

Today, Hiroshima is a thriving metropolis with few reminders of that August day.

The National has posted an article on Hiroshima, "Its Grim Past Left Far Behind, Hiroshima A Welcoming Tourism Oasis."

The article begins with:

When an event of the magnitude of August 6, 1945, happens, it's hard for a place to ever shake off the association. But a visit to modern-day Hiroshima shows that even if the name evokes images of nuclear annihilation, it's possible to not only survive catastrophe, but thrive into the future. The city, located at the western end of Honshu, Japan's biggest island, is today as healthy and happy as any in the country, famous for its food, scenery and love of sports. In truth, unless they wanted you to, you'd never know that the world's first nuclear bomb was dropped here. And for many people in today's Japan, the city's ability to rise again gives hope to the rest of the country after the great earthquake last year.

The article then highlights some of the features of Hiroshima, including meeting the locals:

Hiroshima's residents are famously gregarious, and if you don't mind fighting for elbow room, then the best place to meet them is Okonomi-mura (www.okonomimura.jp), a hodgepodge of 25 food stalls spread over three floors. As well as having the chance to chat to the locals - those under 30 will generally speak more English - you'll have the chance to try Hiroshima's famous okonomiyaki, often misleadingly referred to as Japanese pizza. It's actually more like an omelette with almost a dozen ingredients, all fried together in layers and served hot from the communal grill in front of the diners. Hiroshima and Osaka constantly bicker about whose version is best, but the former has a good deal more vegetables and less mayonnaise, so is at least comfortably more virtuous.

Besides the features that the article mentions, there is also nearby Miyajima Island to explore.

Above, the famous torii gate at Miyajima's Itsukushima Shrine. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan devotes a page on Hiroshima due to its inspiration for Godzilla (it was also featured in 1991's Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah).

I consider Hiroshima a must-see Japanese city.

To see the full article, go here.

A-Bomb Dome: Before and After

Before the atomic bomb blast in August 1945, the A-Bomb Dome was known as the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall.

I visted the A-Bomb Dome in August 2004 (almost 59 years to the day of the bombing).

I came across a photo of the A-Bomb Dome, taken in 1933, from roughly the same vantage point as a photo I took during my visit.

As the photos have almost identical vantage point views, I thought it would be interesting to post both of them here.

Here's the photo of the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall from 1933:



And here's the photo I took in 2004 of the A-Bomb Dome from almost the same vantage point as the one above:



As the atomic bombing of Hiroshima was one of the inspirations for Godzilla and, also, the A-Bomb Dome was shown in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991), the A-Bomb Dome is featured in The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan.

For more information on the A-Bomb Dome, go here.