After Kyoto I passed through the fine historic town of Nara. Another cultural gem, Nara was an ancient capital city and the heart of Buddhism when it arrived in Japan around AD 500. So there are lots of Buddhists and deities there. They also claim to have the largest wooden structure in the world in Todai-ji temple, which is also home to the largest Buddha statue in Japan. Here is the Todai-ji temple:
There are many tame deer walking around. You can feed them and pet them, although they haven’t bathed in awhile. This one got a little too close to my camera.
Here is a five story pagoda at the Kofuku-ji temple:
Some Buddhist stones. Not sure what they represent. Anyone know?
Some black music for ya in a Nara back street.
After Nara I hopped a bus to Hiroshima and lo and behold, my spare hub was waiting for me at the post office. I immediately took it to a bike mechanic and two hours later my wheel was as good as new (I hope).
So I had a couple days to relax in Hiroshima. First thing I did was visit the atomic bomb site, which is now a park and museum. They left one building standing exactly as it was after the bomb went off. This domed building was about 150 yards from the hypo-center.
The atomic bomb, called “Little Boy”, detonated at 580 m above the ground. At its core the temperature reached 1 million deg. C. on the ground near the hypo-center the air heated up to 4000 deg C within a second. In three seconds 80,000 people were incinerated and 70,000 buildings evaporated. Most of the people within 2 km of the hypo-center just vanished. Their bodies were never found. The museum is fascinating but grim.
Here is a before and after model of the area around the dome. The target for the bombers was the T-shaped bridge in the lower right.
before : 
after :
A photo of the dome again in Oct. 1945.
A watched stopped at 8:15 am, August 6, 1945.
The area around the bomb site is now a park filled with monuments and the atomic flame. They will extinguish the flame when the last nuclear weapon is destroyed.
A tree in the park 