Arrived Hiroshima

Hi all,

This morning we observed the prayer ceremony at our temple lodging. The monks chanted, rang bells and burned incense. It was interesting to watch, and we each had to go to the front, bow and contribute some incense.

We then had breakfast (not as good as dinner but did the job!) and began our journey of seven different transports with short changeovers to Hiroshima. This would never work at home, but it did here. Everything ran smoothly and on time. Firstly we caught the bus to Koya Station, then the ropeway to Gokurabashi. We then boarded a train to Hashimoto where we changed platform to head to Namba in Osaka. This station was a nightmare. We had forgotten it was Saturday today, and it was mental with people everywhere. We somehow squished onto a metro for seven stops to Shin-Osaka. People were pushing and shoving and it wasn’t much fun, but thankfully most got off 3-4 stops in. Once at Shin-Osaka we bought an ice cream and iced coffee from a vending machine on the platform (delish and made in 95 seconds!) and then boarded our comfortable Shinkansen and whizzed down to Hiroshima in 1.5 hours. We saw Himeji Castle out the window en route. It was a lovely sunny (hot) day today, but you travel so fast it makes you feel a bit weird looking out the window and walking around!!

Once in Hiroshima, we went to the tourist information centre at the station and got a sightseeing bus map, as I had realised on the train this bus was covered by our rail passes. We then had a quick lunch in the food hall before jumping on the bus. We got off at the Atomic Bomb Dome stop and had a quick look around. By this time the “feels like” on my weather app said 39 degrees. So we looked at some of the plaques and continued on to our apartment. We are visiting the museum tomorrow morning regarding the A Bomb, so I’ll have a detailed post with more history then.

Our apartment is fantastic and we could check in slightly early, so we cooled down and unpacked a little before getting back on the bus and heading to Shukkeien Gardens (translation 'shrunken scenery gardens'. These gardens were first created in 1620 as a garden for the villa belonging to the feudal lord of Hiroshima at the time. They were designed to include mini landscapes from around Japan. The gardens were used as an evacuation site for locals during WWII, and had not been damaged until the atomic bomb went off. But when the bomb went off, survivors went there searching for water, only to find the trees were all burned and all the buildings gone, and many people dead nearby. The garden reopened in 1951 after restoration and over time was brought back to its former glory, but some human remains were again found in 1987 apparently. Today it is absolutely stunning, and I think likely the best garden we have seen whilst in Japan. There were lots of beautiful bridges, stone steps, turtles and fish. Despite there being lots of shady corners to shield yourself from the sun, it was still so hot at this point. So we tried to keep to the shade and rested off and on.

Afterwards, we caught a really old school looking tram a few stops to the downtown area, Hatchobori. We went to a Mexican restaurant that my aunt and uncle recommended from their trip a few weeks ago. The food and drink was fabulous. I enjoyed a non-alcoholic pina colada, pulled pork tacos and a brownie and ice cream sort of dessert.

Tonight we are resting in the room before we are up early tomorrow to head to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.

Love to all
Claire
Xoxox