This is Hiroshima a few months after the atomic bomb was dropped on it.  The building on the right which partly survived the blast has been kept in that state as a memorial and a reminder of the enormous threat posed by nuclear weapons.  It sits at the top of a park that contains a cenotaph, an eternal flame and a museum all devoted to confirming that message.

This picture shows the cenotaph in the foreground, the eternal flame in the middle distance and the genbaku dome. which is what they called the bombed remains, in the far distance.  Here's a close up of it.

It was a very dreich day when I was there which I suppose adds to the feelings of gloom invoked by the town's history but it didn't seem to be a gloomy place.  I'm sure the people who live there are as happy as the rest of us.

The city has of course been rebuilt, including the reconstruction of Hiroshima Castle which dates from 1589.  It's set in pleasant gardens and no doubt inside there are jolly things to look at but there were too many tourists for my liking so I admired it from outside.

I admired the museum in the memorial park from outside as well when I saw the queue.

Shortly after I left the castle I came across a shrine where judging by the number of taxis and other vehicles something important was going on.  I think it was probably just a wedding but perhaps a wedding of bigshots who wanted something more traditional than the Gothic Cathedral theme park.  Here's what I assume to be the happy couple being titivated for the camera.  Although not for mine, my pics, gained paparazzi style from a distance, no doubt benefited. 

One intriguing activity that I watched seemed to involve the blessing of a vehicle.  The person in this picture, who is unfortunately mostly hidden by a another person went round the vehicle waving that white feather duster into every orifice.

You can see the person, who I take to be a priestly sort of being more clearly in the next picture but unfortunately the white duster is largely masked by a black umbrella.  I suppose the real paparazzi have problems like that all the time.

I'm not quite finished with Hiroshima but I have to go out now and I'm going to Tokyo after class so it will be a day or three till I am free to continue.