About 65 years ago to the day, the first Atomic Bomb was detonated over Hiroshima. I was fortunate to visit Hiroshima for a training program in 2001 with some others from ASEAN countries (countries mostly occupied by the Japanese in World War I). The city hosted dinner for us together with other ASEANers who were Hiroshima residents. I remember the Hiroshima pizza (Okonomiyaki, a pan-fried Japanese dish cooked with various ingredients similar to a pancake or pizza, which means “cook what you like, the way you like”); the Japanese girl who danced the Sakura; and the Japanese lady architect who was working for the city planning office who asked me a most intriguing question: Is it true that you in the Philippines hate the Japanese? Whoa. How do you answer that?
We did not get to eat much. Not because the food wasn't great, nor wasn't enough. We just had a lot of talking to do. The Pinoys later went out to get us a real meal: McDonalds. To go. Everyone else went out also because they too had not much to eat.Hiroshima also has the Peace Memorial (Genbaku or A-Bomb Dome), which was the only structure left standing -- it was the Prefectural Industrial Promotional Hall then, later renamed Genbaku. Topmost photo.
The Genbaku is now part of a memorial complex that commemorates the bombing. The complex has a long building some distance from the Genbaku that shows artifacts of the bombing. Not a very happy place. Some of our colleagues, the women especially, did not finish viewing everything.
The before and after presentation:
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