ONBOARD A SHINKANSEN TRAIN — I’m sitting on board a Shinkansen headed for Shin-Osaka. There’ll we change trains and head to Hiroshima.

Hiroshima was a must-see for me. The city holds a unique place in world history as it was the first city subjected to an Atomic Bomb. At 8:15 a.m. on Aug. 6, 1945, the city was leveled, only a few buildings remained standing — shells of buildings at that. Among the remaining structures is the A-Bomb Dome, the former Industrial Promotion Hall, which was located near the bomb’s hypo-center 1,900 feet above.

“An unusual tourist attraction, the somber monuments of Hiroshima can introduce an unexpected sense of listlessness and enervation in many visitors,” according to one guide book (Eyewitness Travel Guides’ book on Japan).

During World War II, Hiroshima was not subjected to the same intense bombing that other cities were (By August 1945, Tokyo, for example, was virtually destroyed by bombs). But in a single blast, 180,000-200,00 people were killed (some instantly, some later).

It’s a bit depressing in a way. Here I am in Japan to experience a new culture and one of the must-see stops on the tour of the country is a place of great destruction, apocalyptic in proportion. Now, I’m not going to get into a political debate about atomic weapons and whether one should have been used on Hiroshima (and on Nagasaki three days later) — there are certainly arguments for using such a destructive weapon. Regardless, Hiroshima is an important city, especially to students of history like myself.

The city has been rebuilt in a more modern layout. Today, the shell of the old Industrial Promotion Hall (now known as the A-Bomb Dome) is the center of Peace Memorial Park. The building is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Across the street is the Flame of Peace, a flame that will be extinguished when all nuclear weapons have been eliminated.

Hiroshima no doubt has a unique — albeit tough — legacy. I can’t say that I’m excited to see the city, but I am certainly looking forward to this experience. I know it’s one thing to read about an historical event in a text book, but it is another to see that same place first hand. Really, I’m not sure what to expect.

More to come…