It would have been lovely to spend a few days at Omishima, it was truly beautiful, and there was definitely more to see. The story of our lives! We left the dock by 0800 and the other yachts had already left. It was a quiet morning with not a skerrick of wind.
Out of the protection of the harbour, it got colder. I tried sitting in the bean bag in a patch of sun, but it was way too cold.
This end of the inland sea is really picturesque with lots of islands and pretty bridges. The wind did pick up and we were able to get in a good sail. And with the current pushing us on, we made very good time.
We had a very narrow channel to go down between two islands, and under two not so pretty bridges. These are the lowest we’ve been under so far and we needed to drop the sails so we could negotiate the channel safely. You know that you have clearance but it is always a bit nerve wracking looking up as the mast goes under.
Hiroshima Bay is extremely industrial and very busy. Ships, ferries, fishing boats, barges being pushed by tugs, going all over the place. This strip of land looked like something out of Mad Max.
It was either foggy or smoggy, and the air smelt from the factories. We did pass this pretty little island with a light house on it.
We had to go under our absolute lowest bridge to date to enter the Itsoukaichi Maple Marina. Although we knew we had clearance we still approached it extremely cautiously. And we were through. We knew where the visitors wharf was, but the staff were expecting us and someone came out and gestured to us where to go and helped tie up. This is quite a massive marina, and we are by far the largest boat. Most are smaller motor boats, and some yachts. There are many many empty spots. But we had to sit on the end because we were too long for a berth. We would have been allowed in other countries but in Japan you cannot stick out the end at all. The walkways were a bit rickity! But we had water to use.
There are also a lot of boats on the hard. The system is a little different to Australia. The travel lift only brings you out of the water and deposits the boat into a frame. This frame is then wheeled into position.
My exciting news is that I am having a dashing visit to Australia while Dean looks after the boat and gets it hauled so he can fix our bent prop. And we only had one day to take a look around Hiroshima before I flew out.
We caught a tram into town and then had a stroll through the peace park and museum. You walk into the museum, following a line of people and look at the exhibits. I have never been in something so eerie. It was almost completely silent, apart from some muted whispers and sniffing from the tears that people like myself couldn’t hold in.
First you walk past a huge vista of what Hiroshima looked like pre-bomb. Then you see it post bomb and get to see the devastation. There is also this huge map in a dome you look down on and you watch an animation of the explosion and how far it goes. You then walk through the exhibits. Photos of burnt people, paintings, photos of people who died and their clothes or personal belongings displayed. It is very personal and emotionally draining.
Although the bombings of Tokyo or Germany or many other places for that matter killed more people, I think the thought that a single bomb caused this devastation is so horrific. At the end are quotes from famous people who have visited projected up on the wall. It would be great to see some of the leaders of today’s war mongering countries take a stroll through these exhibits.
For me it kind of felt like the end of my history lesson after following the war through the Pacific as we visited the various islands.
The surrounding park lands are really beautiful. There are different memorials you walk past, and various symbolic structures, such as a clock that chimes at 0815 each morning, the exact time of the bombing.
The bomb exploded at an altitude of 600m, about 160m away from the Industrial Promotion Hall, that was built in 1915. The remaining structure is a poignant symbol that dominates the view from most places you stand in the parkland. In 1996 it was added the the UNESCO World Heritage List as a reminder to the world of the horrors of the atomic bomb and a symbol of global peace.
The sun was in the wrong place to capture it clearly, but I saw this giant bumble bee buzzing around the wisteria. He was huge.
Hiroshima castle was destroyed in the bombing.
Its main compound was being used as headquarters for the military. How they have rebuilt it is really well done. Rather than rebuild the whole thing, you can walk through the gates and compound (no charge).
This part has been rebuilt and you can walk through the levels to the top (there is a charge), but we just chose to take a look and keep walking.
We walked up to the main railway to buy my Shinkansen ticket to go to the airport the following day, then found somewhere to have dinner before catching the tram back to the marina.
Run to Paradise 