Before we left Osaka, we went to a place for okonomiyaki – pancakes with cabbage and different fillings. I chose scallops and Pete had bacon in his. It was amazing watching them make them on a massive griddle in the middle of the restaurant, then they got delivered in front of you to a hot plate where it kept cooking as you ate. It was very popular with the locals and I’m not surprised, it was amazing!
The following morning, we took our first bullet train (shinkansen). It was great – very roomy, not busy, smooth, extremely fast – very easy. We kept laughing as we’d recently watched the movie, Bullet Train, but we found no dead bodies in the toilets.
We arrived in Hiroshima an hour later, dropped our bags at a city hotel and headed straight for the Atomic Bomb Dome. One of the few concrete buildings left standing after the Atomic Bomb and a great reminder of the severity of the damage.
To avoid a horrendous downpour, we queued and visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. Apart from it being crazy busy, it was a stark reminder of the power of nuclear warfare. Some exhibits showing the burned bodies of children and the personal accounts of families trying to find and care for their own were really hard to see and hear, but I’m glad we went.
Next, we visited the Memorial Hall, where all the victims are remembered with each of the tiny 140,000 tiles used representing a person lost in that awful bombing.
Then onto the Peace Memorial Garden
and Children’s Peace Monument where people still make and send chains of origami cranes for peace and hope.
We also saw the Korean Atomic Bomb Victims Memorial. Many were killed as Korea was then a Japanese colony and many Koreans, and also Japanese children, were working to demolish buildings in the city to make fire breaks in fear of regular bombing, never imagining a nuclear bomb.
Lastly, we saw the Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound where the ashes of all the unidentified bodies have been placed. So many people died instantly and were unrecognisable that they cremated all the bodies straight away.
So, all in all, a very sombre day but a clear message why we need to do more to ensure nuclear arms are never used again.
The following day, the skies were once again blue and we set off for Miyajima Island. For once Pete decided to be flash and take the fast craft “sod the expense” – who is this man I ask?
We sped up the river past oyster processing plants and out into the sea. 45 minutes later we docked at Miyajima Island and walked along to a busy O-tori Gate. I’d looked up tide times so knew it would be low tide allowing people to stand at the base of the gate – we had planned to come back later when the gate would be in the sea and less tourists about.
We took a cable car (two in fact) most of the way up Mount Misen. A 30 minute walk to the summit (535m) rewarded us with amazing 360 degree views.
We then decided to walk down the Daishoin route, over an hour of mostly granite steps down. The Buddhists who built these pathways to shrines really were dedicated.
After a look at Daishoin Temple, we headed back to down to sea-level and the Itsukushima Shrine. This shrine overlooks the O-Tori gate, so it allows for some great photos.
It was also hosting a festival with singing, drums and very, very slow “dancing” 🐌.
We waited as the sun set to get a few nice photos of the gate.
Then we jumped on the short ferry – 10 minutes and only just over £1! It did mean over an hour on a tram back to Hiroshima centre as it is such a huge, sprawling city!
As it was late for dinner (yes, by 8.30pm many eateries close in Japan) we decided on a quick 7-11 meal in the hotel microwave. We can’t always be flash can we?!!l
