This weekend I had the incredible opportunity to take a school trip to Hiroshima. As a person passionate about learning about history, I was over the moon about this once-in-a-lifetime chance to go to such a historical place.
As a group, we took the Shinkansen from Osaka to Hiroshima and headed straight for the Atomic Bomb Dome. This was a place I have always wanted to visit in person, having always seen images of it in history classes and in the History Channel. It was a awe-inspiring sight to see in person.
After the Atomic Bomb Dome, we walked around the park that had been built in honor of the tragedy and were able to take in all the views. A huge fountain had been built in the center and a long pool had been built in honor of all the victims desperately seeking water after the bomb had dropped, highlighting just how important water is.
A monument was erected in honor of children who had lost their lives to the aftereffects of the radiation. A movement to build this monument was started by the classmates of a young girl named Sadako who had passed away from leukemia and has inspired many novels including Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. The legend goes that if you make a thousand paper cranes, you will have your wish come true and so while in the hospital, Sadako folded over a thousand paper cranes, wishing for nothing more than to live. On the top of the monument is a girl holding up a paper crane.
I also went to the Hiroshima Peace Museum, which had many objects donated by the families of victims, such as clothing and even real skin. It was a moving museum visit and I am so glad I was able to go there. To get this up close and personal with history was absolutely amazing. If you ever have the opportunity to visit Hiroshima, I highly recommend it.
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