The trip from Wakayama to Hiroshima was both time and money consuming. But I have decided that I must visit Hiroshima no matter what during my stay in Japan. So I rode the Kuroshio limited express train to Shin-Osaka and transferred to Nozomi 13 shinkansen to Hiroshima. It took approximately 3 hours and 11,210 yen.

From the station, I walked to Shukkeien (lit. shrunken-scenery garden), a historic Japanese garden which contains miniatures of natural scenic views such as valleys, mountains, and forests. It also displays many features of the traditional aesthetics of Japanese gardens: ponds, bridges, and tea houses. There is a part of the garden which was planted with herbs. If I remember correctly, those were used to treat the lords back in feudal era. I got to see a Japanese couple shooting their pre-wedding photos (I assumed) wearing Japanese traditional costumes. No, I didn’t take any photos of them, no matter how much I wanted to. Japanese are known to be private therefore I have to respect their privacy, especially on their special occasion. I refreshed myself with a lemon kakigoori (shaved ice) afterwards.

Next up is Hiroshima Castle. Just a few minutes’ walk from Shukkeien, it was pretty crowded with domestic and international tourists alike. Maybe because it was summer holiday that there were some volunteers in the area. They were putting up photos of the castle’s history and explaining things to visitors who passed by. The castle and its vicinity (including Shukkeien) were destroyed by the atomic bomb dropped in 1945. They were able to reconstruct the castle according to the blue print, using concrete instead of wood. Inside the castle, we can try putting on Japanese traditional costumes for free, and take some mini origami cranes home too. I took one, of course.

Across the street is Peace Memorial Park. The main feature of the park is the infamous A-Bomb Dome. It is one of a few buildings that remain standing after the Little Boy was dropped in Hiroshima. They leave it as is, a representative of the bleak past, to remind people of how horrible war is. Next to it was where senbazuru (thousand origami cranes) are being displayed every year. Because it was 5 August, they were preparing for the 71st anniversary of atomic bombing of Hiroshima which falls on the following day. They could be seen here and there, arranged in many shapes, representing hope for a bright future, in memory of Sadako Sasaki. Again, there were some volunteers here, providing information to the visitors. Some of them were even hibakusha (survivors of the bombing). On the southern part of the park stands Peace Memorial Museum. It was opened for free (only on special occasion, I guess?) so imagine the line. And with that, I decided not to enter and just walked around the park enjoying some musical performances. 

What’s travel without food? I was dying to eat Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki at the best shop in town, Mitchan! Sadly, my poor navigation skills didn’t help. I couldn’t find the shop and when I did, I had to wait around 40 minutes to get into it. But it was certainly worth the wait (and the price, LOL). Since Hiroshima is famous for its oysters, I ordered one with seafood in it. Superb!