As was my habit, I woke just before sunrise and snuck out of the hotel room as my teenage kids continued to snooze.  I generally prefer “old-school” navigation and had done a map recon the night before.  Today I was glad to have a modern digital backup.  As I took off from our hotel at Hiroshima station, I made my way to the closest river crossing that I had selected the night before, I found it had no pedestrian path, at least none that I could see in the pre-dawn light.  I found an alternate crossing after running through some urban commercial blocks that were just showing the initial signs of daily life.  I was very happy to have the combination of my iPhone, Goggle Maps and a wifi hub (something I’ll blog about later).  After crossing the river I arrived at Hiroshima Castle and ran around the east and north sides.

All around Hiroshima, I found “then and now” markers, describing the destruction at each local from August 1945.  The castle today is a replica built in 1958.  I continued on thru the Chuo Park, past the one of the many monuments in the city that convey both Remembrance and Hope.  I discovered a lower trail, along the Ota River.

The water was calm and peaceful.  As I approached the Atomic Bomb Dome, I gained a new perspective from below the historic ruins near the epicenter of the detonation.

All along the way I discovered many more memorials that we missed late afternoon walk the day before.

I turned east on the Promenade of Peace/ Peace Boulevard, with many more monuments.

I was especially struck by the stark Hiroshima Medical Doctors Association monument and the description of their sacrifice and selfless service after the bombing.

I crossed the bridge on the Enko River and ran up the Hill into Central Park.

I enjoyed a break from the urban environment in this hilly and nicely wooded home to the Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, a funky looking Skywalk, and other attractions.

The Museum was closed for some combination of renovations and the holiday season, but there were plenty many interesting statues, both new and old, on the open grounds.  Around the museum, I discovered my favorite view overlooking the city with a marker showing the view from August 1945.

As I headed out of the park, I came upon a nice elderly lady walking a Shiba Inu…she graciously allowed me to take a photo of her dog for my daughter.

I ran past the Hiroshima Manga Library, down a steep and winding hill, past a shrine and ran back to the south side of Hiroshima Station.

For the lessons in history and the new perspectives on a remarkably resilient and vibrant small city, this was my favorite run (among three very good ones) in Japan.

Here’s the map of a NP2R Hiroshima: