April 6 - Hiroshima, Japan

 We didn't dock until 10:00 am and our tour wasn't until 1:15, so we had a leisurely morning.  There was no lecture scheduled, which was a bit of a disappointment.  Rather, they scheduled the speaker's talk about the differences between North and South Korea for 6:00 pm, a not very convenient time.

Anyway, we went to check into our tour (Highlights of Hiroshima) and discovered that the earlier bus still had room, so we were able to leave 30 minutes earlier.  The first stop was at the Shukkeien Garden, which was really beautiful.  Everywhere you looked were beautiful flowers or trees.  And, again the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, so it was gorgeous.

This tree had 3 colors of blossoms.

Our next stop was to the Peace Memorial and Museum.

Hiroshima Castle (with the bus tint)

Love these carefully manicured trees.

A municipal building that was about 1500 feet from the blast center.  Everyone working there was killed.  They preserved the building as a memorial and reminder.

Dedicated to the children who died.

Some of the thousands of paper cranes sent from all over Japan for the children's memorial

The municipal building before and after August 6, 1945

The water bottles aren't litter.  They represent offerings of water to the victims.

The flame (tiny in the middle) will not be extinguished until nuclear weapons are destroyed.  The water pond represents the drinking water that survivors were unable to give to victims who cried out for water while they were dying.

The museum was very crowded which made it impossible to see everything.  But what we could see was very moving.  Pictures weren't really possible due to the crowds.

There are lots of bicycles all over Japan, and especially here in Hiroshima because of the flat terrain. I haven't seen a single bike lock yet.

Dinner with Tom, me, Michael, Leona, Steve and Jan

When we got back to the ship, we went with Jan/Tom to Steve/Leona's cabin to taste the sake sampler that Leona bought at the brewery along with some cheese and crackers brought by the butler.  Then it was off to dinner at Compass Rose with the whole gang of 11 of us at the large Captain's table in the center of the restaurant.  Six of us had ordered foie gras for tonight and it was delicious. It used to be on the always-available side of the menu, but now it's only available if you order it the day before.  It was another fun evening with lots of laughs.

I also meant to mention our guide the other day who also seemed very concerned about keeping track of his group.  He had an ingenious way of keeping count.  He had us all raise our hands, then he went around high-fiving (and counting) each of us, who then put our hands down,  He could immediately tell who he had counted without having to do it over and over again.