“In Nagasaki, American planes did drop warning leaflets – but not till Aug. 10, a day after the city was bombed.”
– Lydia Millet
Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. The city’s name means “long cape” in Japanese. Just like Hiroshima Nagasaki was on my list because of the atomic bomb dropped there during WW2, I wanted to see what it felt like standing at ground zero.
“There are hardships and there are delights.”
– Japanese Proverb
Hiroshima Castle/Carp Castle was constructed in the 1590s, but was destroyed by the atomic bombing on August 6, 1945. It was rebuilt in 1958, a replica of the original that now serves as a museum of Hiroshima’s history before World War II.
“I told him there was one city that they must not bomb without my permission and that was Kyoto.”
– Henry L. Stimson
Hiroshima and Nagasaki were on my list because of the a-bombs being dropped. I am a bit of a history buff, and visiting these places, actually standing where monumental historical events took place is very special to me.
What an impressive sight this was! When we got to our second stop on the tour we halted briefly by the memorial for the USS Oklahoma (one of the three battleships never to recover from the PH attack), before setting our sights on one of the USAs last, great battleships. Continue reading
Now, the USS Arizona was the number 1 item on my list of things to see on Oahu. The Arizona was a battleship moored in Pearl Harbor the day of the Japanese attack, but it was made famous when a armor-piercing bomb hit the bow and ignited the munitions battery below, causing what might have been the biggest, single explosion during the attack, killing over one thousand men instantly. Continue reading
Today was an eventful day… I got up at 0530 am to get ready for my guided tour/trip. Discovering Hawaii Tours had a pretty sweet deal where you get to visit Pearl Harbor (including entry to the USS Bowfin submarine, a trip out to the USS Arizona Memorial and all the museums on the grounds), then they take you to the USS Missouri where you get a guided tour of the battleship and some time to stomp around on your own, before they take you to the Aviation Museum and Hangar 79, before you end up with a visit to the “Punchbowl” (National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific). Between there we actually made a stop at the statue of King Kamehameha and “Hawaii 5-0 headquarters”!! Psyched! I had that on my list of things to do 😀 Continue reading
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