Hiroshima & Miyajima
Okonomi-mura
We left Osaka on the JR train around 10 AM to arrive in Hiroshima around noon - just in time for lunch. At Victor's recommendation, we went to Okonomi-mura, a multi-level building packed with stalls all serving Hiroshima-style okonomyaki. Okonomyaki is kind of like a crepe loaded with all sorts of ingredients, notably cabbage and pork belly. What makes it Hiroshima-style is the addition of noodles. We picked a stall at random, where an older couple asked our prefence of noodles, and whether we'd like to add oysters to the okonomyiaki, then expertly made the dish in front of us. This was one of the best meals of the trip.
Memorial Peace Park
There's a lot to do in Hiroshima and it's all fairly close together and mostly free, which makes it easy to see everything via a self-guided walking tour. After lunch, we went to the Memorial Peace Park. The park is dedicated to the victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, and to preventing something similar from ever happening again. The park was beautifully peaceful - a wonderful tribute. A lot of art in the park is focused on 8:15 AM - the time of the blast. The park also contains the Children's Peace Monument, dedicated Sadako Sasaki and the thousands of other children who were killed by the bombing and its aftereffects. The monument (and other parts of Hiroshima) is covered in art relating to origami cranes. There is a Japanese legend that if someone creates 1,000 origami cranes, they're granted one wish. Sasaki's wish was for a world with no nuclear weapons.
National Peace Memorial Hall
The Memorial Peace Park also houses the National Peace Memorial Hall, dedicated to the victims of the atomic bombing. The memorial hall was deeply moving. I was surprised by how they present the bombings with no blame, and only with the call to not allow it to happen again. They focus not only on the victims who were killed by the explosion, but also those who were affected by it in other ways, such as developing cancer due to the radiation. The memorial hall is a round building. Once you enter, you make your way down a spiral hallway, which provides history of the bombing and the aftermath every few feet. Eventually, you arrive in the center of the building. The room contains a statue of a clock in the middle, forever stopped at 8:15 AM, the time of the blast. The walls show photos of the destruction and lists all of the neighborhoods destroyed by the bomb. Afterwards, you enter a room where the wall shows rotating photos and names of all the victims. The building also has a library where you can search for family members, or add a family member to the wall.
The Atomic Bomb Dome
After touring the Peace Park, we passed by the Atomic Bomb Dome. The dome used to be an exhibition hall, and was directly under the blast, which allowed it to retain its shape. The bomb instantly killed everyone inside. This site, more than anything else, made the blast seem as recent and real as it was. Seeing the surviving structure made it easy to imagine the people who had been inside at the time, unaware of the tragedy that was about to occur.
Hiroshima Castle & Shukkeien Gardens
We continued along our route past Hiroshima Castle to Shukkeien Gardens. Hiroshima Castle was built in 1589, but, like the rest of the city, destroyed by the atomic bomb in 1945. The replica, which now stands in its place, was built in 1958. It now serves as a museum on the history of Hiroshima and of Hiroshima Castle. We didn't go inside, but instead continued on to the Shukkeien Gardens. The gardens were picturesque and extremely peaceful. It was a perfect way to end an emotionally heavy tour.
Miyajima
From Hiroshima, it's a half-hour trip to an island called Miyajima, known for its oysters, roaming deer, and Itsukushina floating shrine. We took the JR train to a JR ferry to Miyajima. The sun was setting and the island was beautiful. But that also meant that the shops and the floating city were closing, so we didn't get to see a lot. Instead, we wandered with the deer, who were too comfortable around humans for me to be comfortable around them.
Itsukushina Floating Shrine
Well...it seems like it would have been a beautiful view.
When we arrived, we kept trying to find the
floating shrine based on our map and what we were seeing.The shrine isn't really floating - it just appears
that way at high tide, so we thought maybe it was low tide and we were looking in the wrong direction.
When we realized it was covered in scaffolding, all we could do was laugh.
Miyajima Brewery
Miyajima Brewery was the only place open by the time we finished walking around, and how lucky for us! We were treated to a beautiful view of the water while enjoying drinks. We also ordered the famed oysters. They were way too big. Even grilled and roasted, I could only eat two before the texture got to me.