Picture: The vermilion torii (shrine gate) on Miyajima Island near Hiroshima

The rally was launched with a ceremony attended by rally participants and officials and a very young looking governor of Hiroshima. We had good food, as well as entertainment from a group of local ladies who specialize in Hawaiian dance. Some of us, including me, joined in the dance and it was great fun. The following morning there was a tour of Hiroshima. Tours, and food on board, were included in the registration fee, which made the rally the most economical way for us to visit Japan. The tour started with a ferry ride to Miyajima, one of the Japan's biggest tourist attractions and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The island is home to the famous vermilion torii, or "shrine gate" (see picture) which stands in sea water at high tide and always seemed to me to symbolize Japan. The view is absolutely breathtaking; the Japanese architecture, water and mountains create a harmonious blend of culture and nature. Even though there were droves of tourists on the day we visited, the atmosphere retained its serenity. Itsukushima-jinja, the temple behind the vermilion torii, is dedicated to the three Munakata goddesses, Ichikishima-hime, Tagitsu-hime and Tagori-hime. Japanese people worship them as gods of sea, traffic safety, and fortune and accomplishment. The complex was first constructed in 593 and remodeled in 1168 by Taira-no-Kiyomoria. The main temple of the shrine is where people offer prayers and receive blessings. When we were there, there was a wedding in the temple; evidently the shine is a popular place for wedding ceremonies. There are also several other shrines, a Noh drama stage, music rooms and halls, which are all connected by a 300-meter long wooden corridor. The journey through the corridors reminded me of walking in a circular maze of a labyrinth, meditating with prayers as we step. During high tide the shrine and temple are surrounded by seawater and would be much prettier than at low tide when the buildings are surround by mud. Even so, at low tide the beauty of the complex was still striking with its vermilion color and sophisticated Japanese traditional architecture. After a scrumptious lunch of fried oysters at Miyajima, we were ferried to the Peace Memorial Park where a lady tour guide waited for us at the pier. The Park is located at the spot devastated by the atomic bomb during World War II. Despite the fact that our guide spoke with a heavy Japanese accent we were able to understand her - with the help of numerous pictures. The park was like any ordinary park with large shade trees, green grass patches and walking paths. People were having their family picnics while children were laughing and playing. It was not an ordinary place but an area full of things that remind us of the evil of the war and destruction. If I was a medium and I could communicate with the spirits, I would stay clear of this area! I am sure there would be millions of grotesque looking ghosts lurking in every corner. There is a monument called the "Peace Flame" which is dedicated to the spirits of the A-bomb victims and is intended to console them. The flame has been continuously burning since 1964 and will remain burning until all nuclear weapons on earth are abolished and we are free from the threat of annihilation. The tour guide stopped at the A-bomb Epicenter. The building at ground zero was originally built as an exhibition hall in 1915 but the ruin has become a famous pilgrimage site to commemorate the destructive power of the nuclear weapons. After the blast and the ensuing firestorm, very few buildings were left standing. The rest of the buildings were reduced to rubble. It was a haunting image. The lady tour guide's mother was a survivor but unfortunately her sister died. She volunteers to guide people through the various memorial sites in the park. She said, "I do it for my mother. I hope tragedy like this never happens again anywhere in the world."