Haunting Memories Of Hiroshima...

Our day trip to Hiroshima drew to a close as we headed from Hiroshima station to Shin Osaka.

Crowded but absolutely spic and span, that's a distinctive feature that makes Japan and Japanese so different. They are one of the most orderly and disciplined cultures I have seen...

A Mazda sportscar on display at Hiroshima station...

All queued up in a disciplined fashion!

Young and old, all follow the unwritten rules, even when no one is looking. That speaks a lot about their positive and disciplined mentality...

Our train, the Nozomi is expected to arrive after this train leaves...

Our reserved seats are in Car 6, of the Nozomi that is expected in a few moments....

Our tickets...

And we board the train headed to Shin Osaka and onward to Tokyo...

We relaxed on the way back to Shin Osaka and I got immersed in deep thought about the events that occurred during the Second World War that led to the bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 

I recall my visit to the Changi Museum and the National Museum in Singapore that documented in detail the atrocities the region faced when they were under Japanese occupation. And the Sook Ching massacre immediately came to mind. Indeed Japanese occupation was devastating for the region. 

Japan's war machine had to be stopped. And it was, but at what cost?

Hearing of tragic stories from Hiroshima - stories of melting human flesh, vaporising human bodies and people just vanishing without a traces made me shudder and tremble. And then there was this tragic story of Sadako - a charming innocent, little girl who was lost to a fate that was determined by people who were in no way connected to her, and for no fault of hers. Did she deserve the fate that she met?

In many other ways, similar tragedies are playing out today, in different parts of the world.

But the horrors of war haven't taught people anything - I wonder why can't people live in contentment? Why can't people let others live?

Perhaps it is an innate lust for power and money that pushes men to become ogres like those who led these nations to war, and bringing an unquantifiable misery to their people...

These thoughts haunted me as walked back to our hotel in Dojimahama...

And I am sure these thoughts will disturb me for days...