In this World War II related video let's explore the historic city of HIROSHIMA, JAPAN. Let's go to the ground zero and the hypocenter of the A-BOMB and see the Atomic Bomb Shockwave explosion in the vicinnity of the A-BOMB DOME aka the Genbaku Dome or the Hiroshima Peace Memorial. You will see the ruins, the history, and the most powerful footage that you have ever seen.
00:00- INTRO to HIROSHIMA.
00:36- Shinkansen Kiosk - 2 tickets go for a total price of Y38,880 or ~$370 for a round trip from the Tokyo area to Hiroshima and back. We picked the fastest Shinkansen Bullet Train in Japan called Nozomi with the reserved seats option.
00:56- Nozomi departs from here at 19:17 and we need the specific Platform #12 since we will be getting on the Car #12. It is already dark outside so it will be difficult to see anything outside the window.
02:17- The “NEXT DAY."
02:53- After a fairly long total trip of over 5 hours we got to the “Hotel Intergate Hiroshima” located in the Naka Ward. The views of the Hiroshima city from the breakfast area are spectacular and you can see how developed it is.
03:24- Hiroshima which was founded in 1598 as a little castle town is located on the Honshu Island and today it is the capital of the Hiroshima Prefecture. Originally, the whole area was also a fishing village. As of the year 2020, there are about 1.2 million people that live here. Back in the year of 1889, the city was a centralized military hub during the Imperial Era.
03:52- Hotel Intergate's breakfast/dining area.
04:28- It is only about 15 minutes to walk 1 kilometer or about .7 miles to the Atomic Bomb Dome through the city.
05:21- The Banshoen Stone Monument and the stone that is in the very front is known as the “Lord’s Chair.” Banshoen are the Japanese style gardens and these type of stones have been used in these gardens.
05:56- A new “Hiroshima Orizuru Tower” was opened in 2016 and named after the origami paper crane symbolizing peace.
06:10- The HIROSHIMA PEACE MEMORIAL aka the GENBAKU DOME or the ATOMIC BOMB DOME. On Monday of August 6 of 1945 at 8:15 am, the city of Hiroshima became the first city to be ever wiped out by a nuclear weapon. At 8:15 am, the “Little Boy” atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima by the USAAF’s B-29 Bomber during the Second World War. It is incredible to think how Japan and the United States were enemies at the time. The “Little Boy” which was designed by the Los Alamos Laboratory exploded with an astounding 15 kilotons of energy wiping the city instantaneously and putting the country on its knees. The “Little Boy” was filled with the Uranium-235 which is an isotope of Uranium and makes approximately 0.7% of the natural Uranium. The ruins you see here today were preserved as a memorial to over 140,000 Japanese people who lost their lives on August 6 of 1945. The locals who witnessed and lived through the initial stages of the blast often describe a black rain pouring over the city - referring to the actual nuclear fallout.
07:56- The A-bomb Memorial you see here was near the A-bomb’s hypocenter and was not completely obliterated due to its steel construction. With a lot of controversy from the locals wanting to remove this construction and some wanting to preserve it, the Hiroshima City Council made a decision in 1966 to preserve the Genbaku Dome. Today, this memorial is a symbol of peace and is a major landmark in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. It is a reminder that history is not always pleasant and sometimes could be destructive. And like Thomas Jefferson said - “I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.”
09:06- The Motoyasu River. During the Atomic bomb explosion many people came here for water to later die in this river. In memory of this, every year on August 6th you will see many lanterns being floated in the river in the memory of those who died here.
09:30- Lady singing "No More Nuclear Weapons."
12:40- A-BOMB Ruins.
16:25- Why was the A-Bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945? Harry Truman who was the 33rd US president at the time wanted to bring the war against Japan to a speedy end. It was said that invading Japan would result in the significant American casualties. Truman wanted minimal American casualties to end the war and as the result, the use of the Atomic Bomb was decided. Of course the history goes deeper than all of this but in a nutshell this is what happened. Also, It’s incredible how not only Hiroshima but Japan as a whole was able to rebuild itself to where it is today. Whether the history is good or bad, it is said that “people without the knowledge of their past history, origin, and culture is like a tree without the roots.”
19:54- PREVIEW** Next we will go more into the Horoshima Peace Memorial Park.
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