September 10, 2025
When you hear HIROSHIMA, you don't generally think Baseball!!
But that is exactly what we did! We decided to join the local home town excitement, on Saturday night 8/23, and 50 of us from the Ship all went to see the HIROSHIMA CARPS take on the CHUNICHI DRAGONS. Sadly the Carps lost by 2 but we had a great time observing all their local traditions. We bought the general admission tickets for $15 USD in the local 7 Eleven stores. They were unassigned but great seats! Lots of yummy food choices and tons to watch and observe!
On Sunday, I did more somber tour of HIROSHIMA Atomic Bomb Site. First, I went to 7:30 am Mass - just me and about 12 other locals and a 90 + year old priest, in the Crypt. Probably because the basement space was cooler and more intimate, just took some detective work on my end to find access to the space. After Mass, one of locals walked me to restrooms and another insisted on giving me a ride, in her air-condition car, to the Bomb Site Peace Park, so we could chat. She had done a brief visit to Philly, as a school child, and she did a loop around the park, a couple of times, so we could chat more! So Sweet and generous.
At the Park, there was hardly anything left from the blast, except the remains of the
Commercial Exhibition Hall which is now a
UNESCO preserved site known as the
A - Bomb Dome with it's distinctive green roof. There is a Museum and a bell and clock tower. From here, I took a 50 minute motor boat ride out to
Miyajima Island.
