Almost 70 years after the U.S. military dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima,
effectively ending World War II, the site of the devastation remains one of the most popular tourist attractions in the country.
And it appears to be getting more popular.
According to a recent report in The Japan Times, visits to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum by foreign tourists hit a record high of 200,086 in 2013.
Local officials confirm that the memorial site is attracting an increasing number of tourists to study the burnt wreckage, painful witness testimonies and human shadows left permanently visible after the atomic bomb explosion’s incandescent destruction.
I – Word Understanding
burnt wreckage – parts (of building) destroyed by fire or explosion
incandescent destruction – extreme destruction from fire/heat
II – Have Your Say
1. Other Top tourist destinations in Japan:
*Golden Pavillion
*Mt. Fuji
*Tokyo Imperial Palace
*Tokyo Tower
*Todaiji Temple
*Jigokudani Monkey Park
2. Nine countries together possess more than 16,000 nuclear weapons. The United States and Russia maintain roughly 1,800 of their nuclear weapons on high-alert status.
