We wake up to beautiful views of Hiroshima from our hotel room that captivate us for a while. They really make up for the smaller room and also the central location is very welcome. It is a beautiful day and we would look forward to exploring but it doesn’t feel right to say that you look forward to explore the signs of atomic devastation in a city.
But first we have to eat and we notice a small shop in front of the hotel where we go and buy some prepared food for breakfast. As usual it is good and energizes us for the day to come.
Today we have planned an easy day – just wandering through Hiroshima and visit the different museums and sites related to the atomic blast. On the way to the island where the majority of points of interest are located however we discover an unexpected site – the former Hiroshima Branch of the Bank of Japan.
It is one of the few building near the impact site that was not instantly destroyed as it was built reinforced to withstand earthquakes and now serves as both a museum for the impact the explosion had on the bank and art display area for temporary exhibitions.
It is quite impressive how freely we can move around the building – we do not meet almost anyone during our time there. And we wander almost anywhere in the building that is not closed, and almost nothing is closed.
There are a few impressive reminders of the force of the impact including vault door locks that were bent so they could not be closed again and glass shards from the windows embedded in the wood panels. It is also a monument to the resilience of people as the bank was open again only 2 days after the blast conducting business in a building without a roof.
Especially impressive is also the vault room with three huge vault doors and the safe rooms behind them. Not something that we see every day but something that we explore on our expedition before it is time to exit, we have now to go to the central area of impact where the Peace Museum sits.
