Two of our most wonderful tour members requested a shopping opportunity from the guide, which he granted for 30 min. It gave everyone an opportunity to use up their yen. Then when we got back to the ferry they requested a town stop for the Atomic bomb dome. Our guide granted this request but warned us it would be short. We were happy for the opportunity. Princess had sent a bus for us as we would not have had time to reverse our train/tram ride path. On the bus the guide continued our wonderful tour, explaining Japanese characters and how to read them. He gave us partially folded paper cranes which he explained how to finish. And he described the history of the bombing. He indicated that some of the citizens wanted to tear down all the buildings that reminded them of the bombing but some felt it was important to preserve one conveying the horror of nuclear weapons and appealing for world peace. This one is the Atomic Bomb Dome (pic 1).
Back at the ship we had a ceremony from Hiroshima city officials welcoming the Tahitian Princess to the port as it was the first time this ship has been here (pic. 2).
As I was having diner the captain announced a Japanese submarine was sailing right by. I and a number of others jumped up and ran to the windows to see it. It was really close. I spoke to the bridge personnel later and apparently they did not know it was there until they saw it. They did not have any radio contact with it and new it was Japanese because of a flag. They said their equipment does not see it because it is painted with special paint that absorbs the radar waves.
From the brochures I picked up there appears to be a number of wonderful things to do in the area. I know I have many things to look forward to if I am fortunate enough to come back.
No comments:
Post a Comment