Japan Tour: Hiroshima

Sunday, March 22-Monday, March 23: Pottery, History, Beautiful Island

We had lots of bus time on Sunday as we made our way from Osaka to Hiroshima, along with a very early start at 7:50am. Yawn! Mr. E snagged some breakfast items for me to eat surreptitiously on the bus! And we didn't understand why normal-sized bags couldn't come on the bus with us, so we had to pay an extra fee again for Mr. E's new Rimowa. Grr.

Our first stop was at the lovely and serene Kenrokuen garden, where I purchased an adorable Marlene-ish clay kitty from a local artisan and had a three-corgi sighting! We enjoyed strolling around the small lakes and seeing the birds, turtles, and artwork.

Next we went to Kurashiki to visit the historic Bikan area with its lovely canals. This was also our spot for lunch, and we managed to find Mikuku, a very small restaurant, with great fish for lunch. Thanks goodness for Google Translate camera since there were no English menus available!

We did finally see some cherry trees in bloom, although we obviously were a bit too early for the majority of the blossoms. 

Our hotel in Hiroshima was the best so far, and our bags had arrived before us this time, so we were able to unpack and settle in right away. I had noticed a nearby Sheraton, right next to the train station just a couple of blocks from our hotel, so we headed over there and had a lovely time at the bar with a view out over the city towards the station. As we walked, we noticed lots of bicycles and mask use in this city, which was a bit different from other places we'd been so far.

On Monday we had a reasonable departure at 8:15am to catch the ferry to Miyajima Island. We had a great breakfast buffet with beautiful views out over Hiroshima, which is a lovely city with lots of trees, flowers, and five rivers that are lined with pedestrian pathways and pretty landscaping. My favorite place so far, for sure! Miyajima Island is the site of the famous "floating" Shinto shrine, and we loved strolling around the breathtaking coastline (with all of the local deer) but didn't have nearly enough time to explore as much as we wanted to. We definitely want to come back here the next time we visit Japan!

We had enough time for a Starbucks stop on our way back to the ferry, and the staff complimented me on my hair colour because it sort of matches the Sakura trees! When we returned to Hiroshima, we went to a spot near the train station for our Otonomiyaki experience, where we got to make our own versions of this local specialty with noodles, veges, and seafood or pork enclosed in two thin airy crepes. So fun!

The afternoon was spent visiting the A-Bomb Dome and the Peace Memorial Museum and surrounding areas. So very sad and intense and moving to bear witness to the awful first atomic bombing that devastated this city. But also incredibly inspirational to see the resilience and recovery of the city, which managed to rebuild relatively quickly yet continues to honor and memorialize these horrible events as a way to urge people to seek peace and avoid anything similar in the future. 

The main exhibition in the Museum was so crowded and hot and had such devastating pictures and items that I couldn't stay in it and had to power my way through the crowds to the exit to wait for Mr. E, and we were both crying at the end.

We returned to the Sheraton for Happy Hour and dinner, and I had a delicious seared tuna salad. Mr. E won our round of Rummy 500 before we called it a night and returned to our hotel to prep for the early morning departure the next day. At least the early time provided a lovely sunrise view over the city!