The Hiroshima Experience: Part 1

Itsukushima & Okonomiyaki

A few weeks ago I went to Hiroshima with my aunt. Originally, the plan was to just go to the peace memorial park and see the effects of the atomic bomb. Upon further research, my aunt found the Itsukushima Shrine, a world heritage site. Apparently there are quite a few in Japan (I know, I’m technically from here and I should know these things)!

Anyway, one of the teachers at the school I work at is from Hiroshima and I asked him for some advice on what we should see/do/eat. We were only planning on going for the day, so timing was a bit limited. He told me to look into the times for high/low tide for the shrine (Itsukushima is the one with the “floating” gate on the postcards for Japan) – and decide which time we wanted to see it at. We opted for high tide and went first thing in the morning.

We left our place at 4am, and drove for 5 hours to Hiroshima.

We did stop along the way at this rad rest stop, though. This is the spot in Japan where the time is set for the whole country.

It’s so rad that there’s a TV outside the restroom telling you which stalls are occupied.

After some nourishment, we hit the road again.

Itsukushima is south of Hiroshima, so we bypassed the city and went straight to the ferry terminal. Oh by the way, shima = island – the shrine is on an island about 10 minutes from the mainland of Japan by ferry.

SO. MANY. TOURISTS.Definitely a place I recommend seeing if you’re in the area. So serene and gorgeous.

Hiroshima has such a different vibe from Osaka. Might have something to do with how different the population sizes are, but I think there’s more to it. I know a handful of people from Hiroshima and they’re all such kind people. There’s a peaceful quality about them that’s not the same in people from Osaka.

Oh yeah, I had bacon wrapped cheese tempura while I was there. Yes, you should be jealous, it was SO GOOD.

My coworker recommended an Okonomiyaki place in the heart of the city that was famous, so we headed there after Itsukushima to eat. It was SO DELICIOUS!

Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki has a slightly sweeter sauce than Osaka style, so I wasn’t sure I’d like it, but it was pretty epic. They had mayonnaise with some spicy stuff in it that I can’t stop thinking about.

I’ve actually been asking my coworker if there’s anything similar here in Osaka because I’ve been craving it ever since I had my last bite. It’s too bad Hiroshima isn’t closer, I’d totally hang out there if it was easier to get to!

After lunch we headed to the peace memorial park. Please see the next blog post for details about that part of the trip