I knew today was going to be extra emotional for me, and the minute Raj our guide started talking about “Sadako” a young girl who died ten years after the atomic bomb was launched, I could feel the tears welling.

I had spent many a Hiroshima Day (6th August) reading Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes to students during my time as a librarian and primary school teacher. No matter how many times I read that story, my voice would crack and I would struggle to finish it. Even now, you just have to wonder why a bomb needed to be dropped on thousands of innocent people. What is wrong with humans?

The memorial to Sadako was beautiful. Thousands of tiny paper cranes surrounded the statue (and are replenished each year by school children. I didn’t take pictures of the disaster scenes. No need to. But some of the quotes are well worth considering.

We also crossed to Miyama Island and viewed the huge Tori gate there. It was low tide and very hot. Shaved ice is our best friend!