After grabbing a hearty yoshinoya beef bowl breakfast and lunch from 7/11 for our train ride we boarded the Thunderbird 18 train to from Kanazawa to Shin-Osaka, where we then changed for the train to Hiroshima. We visited the local tourist information in order to figure out the best way of getting to our hotel from the station where they told us about a tourist sightseeing bus we could board using our JR pass that stopped right outside the Genkebi dome, the very famous image you would know Hiroshima as, which is the ruin of a building leftover from the Hiroshima nuclear bombing. From here it was a short walk across the bridge and along the stunningly pretty river to our hostel reception and bar- Tsuruya. After checking in we walked around the corner to find the actual accommodation guest house and sort our bags out. We went for a brief walk around, past the Genekebi A bomb dome whilst it was still light before walking to the train station to book our on going shinkansen tickets for a few days time. Upstairs in the station we explored the Okonomyaki alley, full of small restaurants all serving variations on Hiroshima style Okonomyaki. This is a layered pancake dish usually made on a hot plate in from of you out of meats, egg, noodles and cabbage?? We ventured into one of the small shops to try this tradition dish (700y). It was very tasty and incredibly filling, satisfying the umami savoury taste. We attempted to get the sightseeing bus back but at this point it was too late in the evening so instead we boarded one of the street cars/trams (180 y) back to our area. After sorting washing and clothes out we headed back around the corner to the hostels bar. We had a free drink as we were staying at the hostel and chatted to Mike, an American currently living in Yokohama.
Breakfast was a mixed set from our hostel bar to set us up for the day- waffle, egg, sausage, lettuce, an orange slice and coffee (400y). After hitting all the food groups we spent the morning learning about Hiroshima’s history in relation to the atomic bomb. We walked around the peace memorial park looking at the Genkebi dome and the paper crane artwork, walking through the memorial hall displaying the names and stories of those who died in the atomic bombing and learning about the bombing in relation to the war, what happened and Hiroshima’s recovery in the peace museum (200 y). This was all very humbling, but well done and interesting. Despite it being very sad the park itself was very peaceful and beautiful. The way the city has recovered from this horrendous event is astounding though and it is a wonderful tribute to the people that lost their lives that it is a thriving vibrant city. We wandered down arcade street after this and found a simple lunch at Matsushia as it was a bit late in the day for smaller restaurants to be open (things tend to shut after about 2 until the evening). Whilst I spent a bit of time applying for jobs back home, ready to line something up to walk into Dave went and played in some of the arcades, trying out the games. In the early evening we walked around by the river near our hostel after seeing posters advertising a local festival. We found a small festival happening near a local shrine with street food stalls, beers, and local performances. We sampled some local sweet potato snacks whilst soaking in the atmosphere of the place. For dinner we headed back to the arcade alley and had some tonkotsu for dinner before spending 100 yens on the claw machine trying to get a squishy toy and then partaking in some arcade taiko drumming competing against each other. The rest of the evening was spent chilling at the guesthouse.
Our final day in Hiroshima we used to do a day trip to Miyajima, a small beautiful island off of the coast and easily accessible using a JR pass from Hiroshima. Before making our way there we started off with a breakfast at the hostel bar where we also picked up a fellow traveller for the day who asked to join us on our day trip, Sage from the US. We took the bus back to the train station (using JR pass) and from there took the train on the JR Sanyo line to Miyajima maguchi. On arrival there at the port there were lots of small shops to try local delicacies and we hid from the really heavy rain sampling local cheesecake and oysters. From there we took the JR ferry to Miyajima island (also included in the JR pass). Unfortunately it rained the majority of the time we were there and was incredibly misty. Our plan had been to walk or get the cable car up the mountain to witness the stunning views of the island and bay. However due to the weather being so bad there was no point us heading up there as we would not of been able to see anything. Instead we saw the tori gate shrine in the water on the way into the island and enjoyed walking along the front of the island admiring the friendly deer that wander on it and saw the shrine close up. We also headed up to visit another pagoda, which was also beautiful. Instead of going up the cable car we walked back along omote-sande street which is the main street with lots of shops selling souvenirs and local snacks and delicacies such as the momoji-manu? Cakes. We tried one filled with chocolate and one filled with red bean, the chocolate one was nice and I still don’t see the appeal of red bean paste but the actual sponge itself was nice. There were intricate machinery on display in some of the shops where they were churning these out which was also fun to see. After exploring as much of the island as we could in the rain we travelled back to Hiroshima very soaked through. I would love to go back to Miyajima on a clear day to understand its full beauty and to be able to wander around the forests as well as see its stunning views. On heading back to Hiroshima we explored the Mont Bell shop and then bought food and sweets, which we ate back at the hostel for dinner. The evening was spent having drinks in the hostel bar whilst sorting out notes and photos ready for travelling to Nihama early the following day. In Nihama we were going to experience a local taiko festival with a couchsurfer, which we were very excited for so got an early night.
Hiroshima was a very surprising city, it honours the history well but it is a very modern built up thriving city that has some very interesting bars/restaurants and shops. It also has beauty in its park and river as well as having easy transportation in the form of trains, street cars and buses. It surprised us greatly and it could easily be a city that you could enjoy living in.
Alex
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