Peace Park / Atomic Bomb Museum
After the fun and enjoyment of Ureshino, I headed to Nagasaki for a contrasting sobering several hour experience. I learned about the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki over 70 years ago on 9 August at 11:02 am 1945. 175,743 people lost their lives. Heiwakoen ‘Peace Park’ contains the exact hypocentre of the bomb. The remains of the Christian cathedral to the right of the hypocentre monument add a scary ‘connection’ with the past. Nagasaki was a thriving multicultural city for 347 years until that fateful day. Feeling a little embarrassed, I tried to hide my eyes welling up in emotion. Be prepared. Seeing what happened to Nagasaki was a stark reminder of what should never happen ever again. The atomic bomb museum includes original salvaged artifacts and remains, a replica of ‘Fat Boy’ the actual bomb itself and a scale relief model of Nagasaki city with a vivid LED visualization of the actual bomb blast. Do visit for yourself just as so many Japanese school children in big groups were doing the day of my visit, all of them taking copious notes.
Perhaps the most lasting poignant image of what I saw that afternoon was the clock face frozen at 11:02 am the time of the blast and a quote on the wall... “Nagasaki must be the last place exposed to a nuclear bomb.”
