Shinkansen

Japan has arguably the best train system in the world. Almost everywhere in the country is connected by trains. In regards to railroads, Japan is probably most well known for its bullet trains called Shinkansen. These trains can go almost 200 mph and offer an incredibly smooth ride.

Hiroshima and the Atomic Bomb (Warning-graphic photos of victims are posted)

Hiroshima was the first city in the world to have an atomic bomb dropped on it. The bomb was dropped on August 6, 1945 at precisely 8:15 am. Almost all of the buildings in the city within a two kilometer radius of the hypocenter were destroyed. However a few stood, the most well known of which is now referred to as the A-Bomb Dome or the Hiroshima Peace Memorial. This building now stands as a memorial to the people who were killed from the bombing. Unfortunately, I was not able to see the building in its entirety because there was work being done checking to make sure the building was sound.

the way the building looked prior to the bombing

the building and the scaffolding used to work on it

the A-Bomb dome how it normally looks since the bombing

The A-Bomb Dome and the surrounding area after the bombing

another angle

The dome from across the river

the mushroom cloud created from the atomic bomb

many people who were not killed instantly suffered terrible burns and died days after

the heat of the blast was so intense that it melted and fused together many objects that require thousands of degrees of heat to melt

the bomb itself was about three meters long

Japanese Yen

The money in Japan is called the Yen. The current exchange rate is 1 USD to 117 Yen. The bills come in 10000, 5000, and 1000. The coins come in 500, 100, 50, 10, and 1. The 50 Yen coin is interesting because it has a hole in the middle of it.

the man on the banknote is Hideyo Noguchi, a Japanese bacteriologist