As I’ve spent a few weeks spending some time in Japan, Korea, and China, over the next few posts, I’ll be outlining my itinerary with explanations of what exactly I experienced and thought of the cultural exposure in each of these countries. You can read what I’ve posted already by clicking on the link below:
Japan
Hiroshima is a couple hour train ride from Kyoto. After seeing Kyoto’s Nijo Castle and its gardens in the morning, I returned back to the inn to retrieve my suitcase and head over to the train station. As usual, I grabbed some goodies to snack on during the ride to Hiroshima. Scenery was great and arrived safely at the hotel late afternoon. I rested and relaxed before heading over to the Peace Memorial and checking out the rest of the city.
Hiroshima’s Memorial Peace Park
Hiroshima’s Memorial Peace Park
The bonus of having the Japan Rail Pass is that it gives you free access to Hiroshima’s hop-on hop-off bus. I didn’t realize this until I got to the city and was reading up on how to get around and where all the important sites were.
I was staying at the ???? which was a five minute walk from the Peace Memorial Park. I headed over there first and noticed that city was preparing for a Flower Festival. Tents and vendors were set up right in front of the hotel and along street heading towards the park. Once at the park, it was a pleasant walk through and seeing all the flowers being delivered and set up was beautiful. The park itself was great and had a few group walk through and admiring the statues, the commemorative plaques, and everything else that was surrounding us. Once through the park, I caught sight of the A-Bomb Dome across the river.
A-Bomb Dome
I headed over the bridge to take a closer look and take pictures. It was definitely fascinating. I had returned back a couple days when the flower festival was taking place and saw that a gentleman was there with a bunch of binders with information on the site. He had said that his mother who was 4 months pregnant with him went to the site to see what was going on the day after the bomb was dropped. Although he had a sickly childhood, he looked to be healthy and his mother was still alive at the age of 92. There was a story posted about his maternal grandfather who happened to be in a different building further away and was severely affected by the bomb and passed away within a month of the bomb being dropped. It was interesting to read his story and speak to him as well.
Memorial Peace Park, Flower Festival, Hiroshima
Parade, Flower Festival, Hiroshima
All the other sites in Hiroshima I saw from the hop-on hop-off bus as the city is relatively small and all the important sites are near each other. It was great a great way to get around the city.
The next morning I made my way over to the pick-up point for ferry to Miyajima Island which was near the Abomb Dome.
Torii Gate, Miyajima Island
Shrine, Miyajima Island
Market, Miyajima Island
Miyajima Island is about 45 minutes away from Hiroshima by ferry. The main reason for going was to check out the Torii Gate as it is supposed to look like it’s floating in water when the tide is high enough. The walk along the coast of the island through the market area to the Torii Gate and the shrine was short and beautiful. The views of and at the shrine and the Torii Shrine were peaceful. There were a few walking paths but if you skipped these entirely, you can see the gate and shrine in half a day. I did do some shopping as well before I headed back to Hiroshima.
