A Guide to Visiting Hiroshima and Miyajima Island
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
If you've been following our adventures in Japan over the last few posts, you'd realise that the country certainly has no shortage of beautiful Tori gates and we had the pleasure of seeing a few -- including the Tori gate of Miyajima, considered the best of the lot. The small island of Miyajima takes less than an hour to get to from Hiroshima, and in addition to the Tori gates, houses the Itsukushima Shrine. If you chance upon the monuments during high tide, the gate and shrine float over the water offering the perfect photo opportunity.
Given Miyajima is a small island, it can certainly be covered as a day trip if need be. However, the small town's calm and peaceful atmosphere is best enjoyed at night once the tourists leave and you can enjoy the eclectic mix of Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines and wild deer during a more in depth overnight stay like ours, at a ryokan.
We combined out stay with a short trip to Hiroshima and here's a complete breakdown of what we got up to in the two cities:
1. See the magnificent Tori gate and shrine: We headed to Miyajima on a ferry from Hiroshima which took a short 10 minutes so we had plenty of time to explore. Despite our extensive planning to ensure our trip coincided with high tide to give us the perfect view, bad weather and showers rained on our parade and we were robbed of being able to roam the island as we had planned.
We roamed around Itsukushima shrine, walked out to the tori gate during low tide, it is huge so is well worth walking out to and then went back to our ryokan where we soaked in an onsen. During the night we decided to catch the tori gate again to get a night view in order to make up for our lost chance of high tide.
2. Explore the bustling five-story pagoda and Omotesando Street: The next day, we swapped the peaceful temple and shrine for a more lively scene, heading to the five-story pagoda and Omotesando Street which are a treasure trove of delicious food. Vegetarians can indulge on snacks like the melt-in-your-mouth steamed steamed yuba bun (pictured). If you want an accurate idea of just how soft this savoury snack is, take a look at the tiny dent pictured on mine which was the result of very gently touching the surface. You can also try momiji manju, a small maple-leaf shaped cake filled with red bean paste, which is a speciality of the island.
After spending a couple of hours of our second day in Miyajima, we made our way to Hiroshima, the city known to most for being the home of one of the world's greatest tragedies. Hiroshima was changed forever when it became the target of an atomic bomb on August 6, 1945 during the Second World War, killing 140,000 residents. Stepping into Hiroshima is incredibly humbling not only because of the damage this land had suffered but also for it's subsequent rebirth.
3. Pay a visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park: One of the most vivid reminders of this rebirth is the city's peace memorial park which is dedicated to those who lost their lives in the Hiroshima bombing. Visit the park's memorial museum which dives into the events that lead to the dropping of the bomb, and it's devastating aftermath. It's undoubtedly one of the most heart wrenching places we're ever visited.
4. Head to the Atomic Bomb Dome: This UNESCO World Heritage listed site sat just 160m from the centre of the bomb and the impact is tangible when you see what's left of the building. The metal framework has remained intact and stands today almost exactly as it did after the bomb. The wreckage is both a memorial and a symbol for peace.
5. Make a food stop at downtown Hiroshima: On the way back towards the train station, make a pit stop at downtown Hiroshima, a bustling city centre brimming with shops and restaurants. Try the Hiroshima style okonomiyaki, a fried batter and cabbage dish. We tried the famous okonomiyaki in Osaka, but the Hiroshima variation is different and famous in its own right. Unlike the more mainstream version of okonomiyaki, where the batter is mixed with the cabbage and other ingredients, each ingredient in a classic Hiroshima okonomiyaki is stacked on top of each other and covered with a layer of yakisoba noodles, egg, tasty sauces, and toppings.
And the best part is that vegetarians like us don't need to miss out! Nagataya, a restaurant near the peace memorial park offers an English menu and vegetarian options, catering to all our needs.
It's just so happened that our travels over the last few years have involved reminders of the devastation of WWII, with this visit, our visit to Dachau in Germany prior to that and Pearl Harbour on our Hawaii trip. At a time when the world is witnessing some truly horrific examples of racism, crime, terrorism and conflict -- it's perhaps more important than ever to visit these reminders and recognise that there are no winners in wars.
0 comments