I have finally found the time to post some thoughts and photos on our very busy trip to Japan.  This day we boarded a Nozomi 700 bullet train for a four hour ride to Hiroshima.

Keiko and I were met at the station by Miyata, a former member of the Avaya World Cup team, who escorted us on a quick orientation tour and then selected a place for lunch.  Our selection was the local meal of choice – okonomi-yaki, two very thin Japanese crepes filled with cabbage, noodles and other ingredients prepared on a griddle as you sit at the counter.  Unique, filling and delicious. I subsequently learned there are over 900 such small restaurants in Hiroshima but that was clearly the local favorite.

After checking into our hotel we visited theHiroshima Peace Memorial and Museum. One cannot be profoundly impacted by the horror and pain inflicted by the atomic bomb on August 6, 1945. I encourage anyone who visits Japan to make the journey to Hiroshima.

The Atomic Bomb Dome, one of the few buildings that partially survived total destruction, now serves to symbolize both the horror of atomic weapons and appeal for world peace.

The Atomic Bomb Dome