Because Hiroshima has a large port, it is a large industrial center in Japan. This means that cars, steel, boats and machines are made here and shipped all over the world. You may have heard of Hiroshima because during World War II in 1945, the U.S. dropped the world's first atomic bomb on this city. Over 100,000 people died due to the bomb, and those who survived are still facing negative health effects from the bomb. However, in 1949, Hiroshima was declared a "City of Peace" and now has many efforts to encourage peace around the world.
To get to Hiroshima, I took an overnight bus from Kyoto, Japan. Hiroshima is 225 miles from Kyoto, so the bus took 7.5 hours each way (550 miles total). It was by far the most comfortable bus I have ever been on. The seats reclined almost all the way, there was a pillow sewn into the seat, and there was a face-cover to shield us from street lights. I slept almost the whole night on that bus.
When I went to Hiroshima, I had completed three months of my ten-month journey. Therefore, I was 30% done with my trip. Because I still have a few months in Japan, I hope to make other trips like the Hiroshima trip. For example, I hope to go to Hokkaido, the northern-most island, for the Snow Festival in February, and Okinawa, the southern-most island, in the spring.
