A stay in a Hiroshima hotel will undoubtably have a couple paper cranes at bedside to greet you, and in the morning a breakfast buffet with a strange array of Japanese and Western food. I don't recommend the eggs. Nor do I recommend the hotels. Genbaku Dome. The Genbaku Dome (aka the Atomic Bomb Memorial Dome) is located a mere 160 meters from the hypocenter of the bomb, and it is one of the few buildings that partly withstood the blast. It has been kept unchanged ever since the blast, as a symbol and reminder of the horrors of the atomic bomb and the importance of never using such a weapon again. It is in a manga called Hadashi no Gen (Barefoot Gen) - manga about a boy who survives the blast and experiences the horrors before, during, and after the bomb. The anime Hotaru no Haka (Grave of the Fireflies) is a beautiful movie also related to this. Nausciaa.net. Hotaru no Haka is not about the atomic bomb, but about two boy and his younger sister in another Japanese city around the same time. Their city were hit by firebombs.

Close to the dome is a statue in honour of those who perished, and the statue is decorated all around with mountains of origami paper cranes. Across the river, is a statue of a named Sadako holding a giant paper crane, and below it is a mountain chain of paper cranes. You cannot imagine the amount of paper cranes unless you have seen it with your own eyes. The story about the Sadako statue is heartbreaking, and it is published in several books in most countries, so you might have heard of it. Sadako survived the blast, but later got ill and spent a long time in the hospital. She started folded paper cranes, with the hope that if she folded a thousand cranes her wish to get well would be granted. She folded over a thousand cranes, but she died shortly thereafter. After they erected her statue, people started coming with folded cranes on strings. The folding of cranes is made for many reasons; to pay respect to the victims of the bomb, in hope of getting a wish granted, or as a wish for peace.

Next, is the Cenotaph for the Atomic Bomb Victims. It is a construction with an arch through which you can see a burning flame, and through the flames you can see the Genbaku Dome in the distant. The fire that you can see is called the Flame of Peace and will burn until the day nuclear weapons are abolished on planet Earth.The Peace Memorial Museum is 50 yen...that's less than 50 cents! Outside the entrance, I've had school kids come up to me to ask questions in English about my favorite food, where I was from, did I like Hiroshima... you might have a similar experience if you go there, too. Anyway, the Peace Memorial Museum is both overwhelmingly interesting and horrifying. I think it is a very important place to remember the history of the event, but the first time I went there, I was physically sick to my stomach. If you'd like to see the museum without buying a $900 plane ticket, go to Hiroshima's Peace Site. They have a virtual tour and lots of information.

Also...

This is a field of Lotus flowers in Hiroshima. There are many places in Japan to see them, including Nara, the first capaital of Japan. The lotus flower is often seen near temples or in sculpture within the temple, as it is a symbol of Buddah. He was supposedly born from a lotus blossom (or a rich king in India, take your pick.)