City of Peace

I am in love with the City of Hiroshima.

You gotta love a city that has dedicated itself to peace--the city center is Peace Park, the main attraction is the Peace Museum, the main street is Peace Boulevard, etc. All around there are symbols of peace--flowers, paper cranes, statues of weeping mothers grasping their children, etc. Since the city was completely destroyed 64 years ago, it was rebuilt according to a plan, and the cornerstone of the plan was to make Hiroshima a City of Peace.

But there are also reminders of the past--especially the before/after photographs. There is also a weeping willow--this willow is really weeping. It survived the blast--barely. Now it is in two parts: the old part that is dying, and which the city is desperately trying to keep alive, and the new part which is budding and thriving.