The Atomic Bomb Dome
The first atomic bomb used against mankind was deployed on Monday, August 6th 1945 at 8:15 am. It detonated at an altitude of about 600 meters above Hiroshima City, Japan.
In 1945 the city was almost entirely built of wooden houses. One of the few exceptions was the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, nowadays known as the Atomic Bomb Dome. Being a brick and mortar construction, and located near ground zero, it withstood the atomic blast and became a memorial to the biggest single event mass destruction in history.
Little Boy’s aftermath
At a weight of 4.4 Tons, Little Boy had a destructive power equivalent to 15,000 tons (15 kilotons) of TNT. Prior to the bombing, there were about 340,000 people living in Hiroshima. 66,000 of which got killed instantly as a direct result of the atomic blast. Another 70,000 people died the following five years from the effects.
Nowadays there are about 1.2 million people living in Hiroshima, so yes, the city recovered…
Visit the Atomic Bomb Dome
Should you find yourself in Hiroshima, there are a quite some things that are very much worth a visit:
- The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum:
A remarkable exhibition about the atomic bomb incident and the nuclear arms race. Emotionally intense and a must see, even more important than the Atomic Bomb Dome. - Iwakuni Castle and Kintai bridge
Iwakuni is a small town about 50 km south west of Hiroshima. The japanese style wooden castle houses a nice collection of Katanas. The Kintai Bridge is a popular photo motif. - Itsukushima Shrine
An Unesco World Heritage site. It’s floating torii gate is a much wanted motif for pictures. - Kure Maritime Museum a.k.a. the Yamato Museum.
Houses some unique exhibits like a human controlled (kamikaze) torpedo and an original submarine, both from world war II. Should you be interested in arms, this one’s a must see.
