Because Miyajima Island is so close to Hiroshima, we felt obligated to visit the location where the world's first atomic bomb was dropped. After battling to find a train station with coin lockers, we embarked on a walk through the city. After a 30 min stroll, we arrived at the central area, where the bomb detonated. We walked through the peace memorial park and visited the museum. It was very crowded to the point that one couldn't really walk. As a result, Nicole and I gave ourselves the abbreviated tour just to get out of the way.
Whether you think it was necessary to end the war or not, it's just absolutely crazy that the U.S. dropped such a weapon on an entirely civilian target. While the museum was historically accurate and truthful (this isn't Vietnam after all), it was lacking some historical context. It's as if everyone was out minding their own business on Aug 6 and all of a sudden this horrible bomb showed up. I noticed this about halfway through the museum and made a point to find some mention of Americans or a war going on. There was none.
While obviously the point of the museum is to display the horrors of using such weapons so that people think more rationally about using them, the Japanese should at least acknowledge that (as crazy as dropping an atomic bomb on a city may be), there was some reasoning behind it. After the museum, we walked by the "A-bomb dome," the only surviving building near the epicenter. There was a local high school band playing some American folk songs along the riverbank across from the dome. It was strange to see this and their dancing mascot with the A-bomb dome in the background, but it was the perfect bookend to the depressing experience of the museum.
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