The previous night I had stuffed my face with Okonomiyaki, did some grocery shopping for junk food, and passed out.

I woke up to another sunny day:

^nice views from the hotel

I found breakfast at a bakery and caught a trolley to Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park

^A-Bomb Dome

^Children’s Peace Monument

Next is a view of the Peace Flame, the Pond of Peace, and the Memorial Cenotaph. The Peace Flame has burned continuously since its initial lighting, in 1964. The flame will remain lit until all nuclear weapons on Earth are destroyed and the planet is free all nuclear threats.

Behind the flame is an arch shaped monument that covers a cenotaph which contains the names of all of the people killed by the bomb. The arch shape represents a shelter for the souls of the victims, and the cenotaph carries the epitaph “安らかに眠って下さい 過ちは 繰返しませぬから”, which was translated as “Let all the souls here rest in peace for we shall not repeat the error.” With “we” referring to “all humanity”, not specifically the Japanese or Americans, and with the “error” referring to the “evils of war”:

Mother and Child in the Storm

After a few hours, I returned to the hotel, checked out, and caught the next train to Tokyo.