It‘s day four of our spring break holidays and after spending three cold days in Fukuoka by the sea, we finally arrived in beautiful, sunny Hiroshima.

On first impression, it had already surpassed my expectations and charmed us with beautiful tree lined streets. Those streets that many people thought would not grow any plants again for a long, long time after the nuclear bomb hit Hiroshima in 1945. The river across the historic city is beautiful and filled with life – water taxis on the river and romantic cafes with outdoor seating along it with mountains in the background.

We walked through the Peace Boulevard and Peace Memorial Park, where we read about many tragic stories along the way. One of them was about a girls‘ school that was near the center of the bomb and was completely burned and all students and teachers died during this event. Even though there were some survivors in the attack, there was a famous case of a girl who died of leucemia 10 years later and her class mates were so sad about this that they founded a children‘s peace monument remembering all the children that died because of the nuclear bomb.

Seeing the Atomic Bomb Dome was quite spectacular – a sad peace of history left as a reminder for future generations.

After seeing this, my mum remarked that they are the first generation living in peace in central Europe, as they grew up after the second world war. We hope that it will stay like this for all future generations!

– Her

P.S.: To round off our trip to Hiroshima and capture the city’s beauty, we visited Hiroshima Orizuru Tower just opposite the Atomic Bomb Dome. The open and spacious observation deck feels like a picnic area and you can sit down and enjoy the landscape and atmosphere over Hiroshima while enjoying a beer or dessert, taking in the sunset and beautiful mountainscapes.

Are you interested in further Japan travel itineraries near Hiroshima? Then these blog articles might also be of interest to you:

• Miyajima Island
• Art & Architecture on Naoshima Island
• A perfect day in Fukuoka: Nokonoshima Island and Fukuoka Tower