Hiroshima and Miyajima, June 2014

Part 2 of our 4th anniversary/babymoon getaway weekend took us another 2 hours southwest on the Shinkansen to Hiroshima.  We spent one day in the city of Hiroshima and another day just outside of the city, on Miyajima Island.  Hiroshima has the obvious historical factor, but otherwise, it seemed pretty similar to any other Japanese city we've seen.  Miyajima, while very touristy and somewhat similar to other places we've been, was one of my favorite places we've seen in Japan.  If you're a regular Amazing Race viewer, you may recognize it as one of their stops while in Japan a few seasons ago.  It's most famous for the O-Torii, or Grand Torii Gate, of Itsukushima Shine, that is often seen floating in the water during high tide.  Here are the highlights of our trip:


While in Hiroshima, our goal was to see the Peace Memorial Park and the museum.  When we first arrived in Japan, the idea of me, an American, going to these places seemed incredibly awkward.  However, during our Intercultural Relations Class that we took as soon as we arrived, our Japanese teachers highly encouraged us and assured us that we were welcome.  I found this to be completely true and didn't feel out of place at all.  It's a historical site and everyone is welcome to observe and learn from the mistakes of our past.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial (広島平和記念碑 Hiroshima heiwa kinenhi^?), commonly called the Atomic Bomb Dome or Genbaku Dōmu (原爆ドーム^?, A-Bomb Dome), in Hiroshima, Japan, is part of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. The ruin serves as a memorial to the people who were killed in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. Over 70,000 people were killed instantly, and another 70,000 suffered fatal injuries from the radiation.

We were lucky to have great weather, so we decided to rent bikes.  The now Peace Park, where the atomic bomb was dropped, was about a 15 minute ride from our hotel.  We paid less than $10 to rent both bikes for several hours.  I wish this was an affordable option in the US!

The bridge was what the the pilots used as a target when dropping the bomb.  The Peace Park is made up of the area on both sides of the river shown here.  There were several groups of students on field trips as well as many other individual tourists.

  Before the bombings, the building was Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, which I believe was similar to our Statehouse.

One of the many memorials in the park.  You can ring the bell as a sign for peace. 

These are part of the memorial for the children who died in the bombing.  Students from all over Japan (and I think many other countries) still submit these displays that are made up of origami cranes.  They're quite beautiful to see in person. 

This memorial is right outside of the museum.  I didn't take any pictures inside the museum, but you can look it up to see some of the exhibits.  There was a ton of information about the events leading up to and following the bombing, as well as pictures of and actual artifacts from the time.  Melted clothing, lunch boxes, bikes, pieces of houses...

After a very somber day in Hiroshima, the next morning we took a short train ride to Miyajimaguchi Station, where we caught a ferry to the island.  The island has a lot to see:  shrines, torii gates, a 5 story pagoda, temples, hiking, a cable car, an aquarium, lots of food vendors, the friendliest deer you will ever meet, ocean views, shopping, hotels and more.  It's basically a tourists dream!

Apparently there was a lot of confusion for English speaking tourists.

I'm pretty sure that the deer was thinking, "300 yen???  I don't have 300 yen!!"

O-Torii, perhaps one of the most photographed torii gates in Japan.  It really is beautiful.  The guys in the boat are paid to row around the area, chanting.  It's pretty cool.  We were on the island for several hours, but not during low tide.  During low tide, you can walk out to the torii gate.

 

Just some beautiful sights around the island.

The deer were extremely friendly, but of course they were mostly motivated by food. 

Hiroshima is famous for their fresh oysters. You can get them raw, fried, grilled, steamed--pretty much any way you'd like.  Bryan and I have never been oyster fans, despite our overall love for seafood.  We both had some though and by the time you put a bunch of lemon juice and soy on them, they were pretty okay.  When in Rome...

Getting a decent picture of us and the full torii gate was actually really complicated. But we did it!

If you take a super short hike up a hill to see the 5 story pagoda, there's also this, the Toyokuni Shrine.  It's a large, open air structure with some pretty cool art inside.  We enjoyed the ocean views and the quietness.

Top:  One of the busy shopping and dining streets.   Middle: Me and my huge strawberry kakigori: shaved ice topped with strawberry juice and then sweetened condensed milk.  Best summer dessert ever! Why do we not have this in the US???  Bottom:  More oysters!

Back on the ferry, on the way home.  As you can see, it's a pretty large island and only a part of it is developed.  I hear the hiking is beautiful, but at 6 months pregnant, I wasn't up for it.

Once we got back to Hiroshima Station, we needed to get some dinner before hopping on the Shin to head home.  Hiroshima is famous for their style of okonomiyaki, which is often referred to as Japanese pancakes.  I find this description to be extremely deceiving, as they aren't anything like our pancakes, except the overall shape and that they're cooked on a griddle.   It's a mix of mostly cabbage, with egg, green onions delicious sauces, your choice of protein, some other goodies, and in Hiroshima, they add noodles to the mix. 

The "restaurant" where we ate was in an area of the station that had many other similar establishments.  They were tiny "hole in the wall" restaurants made up of the counter surrounding the grill and sometimes a couple of tables. 

So that's it!  That was our last pre-baby  getaway adventure weekend.  Crazy, huh??  Traveling will never be the same!