A Somber and Reflective Day in Hiroshima

After we left the island of Miyajima, we took a train to the Hiroshima Station, again using our ICOCA cards for seamless travel. Our hotel for the night was the Sotetsu Fresa Inn, which was only located a few minutes’ walk from the train station. And again, although it was too early to check in, the staff were friendly and happily stored our luggage so we could head out and explore the city.

Our first destination was the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, a place that stands as both a memorial over what happened in 1945 and as a message of peace. We visited the Atomic Bomb Dome, the most iconic of all buildings in Hiroshima which stands as a haunting reminder of the uttermost devastation caused by the atomic bombing of the city.

We wandered onwards towards the rest of the park and passed the Children’s Peace Monument which was build to honour the memory of all the children who lost their lives and was inspired by one girl, the girl known for the paper cranes, Sadako Sasaki.

We also spent time at the the Flame of Peace, and the Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims. All these sites a sobering reminder of the city’s tragic past. 

We took a break for lunch and visited a local restaurant chain called Ootoya, which serves traditional Japanese set meals which we all enjoyed, and were the only non-locals there, which made the experience feel all the more authentic compared to all the other restaurants to mainly cater to visitors. 

After lunch we stopped at a local brewery, the Hiroshima Neighbourly Brewing where we sampled a few of the local products before we returned to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. 

Here we now visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum which displays personal stories, artefacts, and photos that painted a vivid picture of the impact of the atomic bombing. Some of the sections were confronting and left a lasting impression on all of us.

Afterwards, we made our way back to the hotel for a bit of rest before heading out again for dinner. That evening, we found our way to Mitchan, one of Hiroshima’s famous okonomiyaki restaurants and were lucky to be seated right at the frying counter, where we could watch the chefs as they created and layered the dish, combining cabbage, noodles, and batter into the famous Hiroshima’s savoury pancake. We ordered two versions to share between the four of us, a classic version and another topped with melted cheese, both were very tasty and satisfying.

The next morning we checked out of our hotel, made our way to the train station and boarded our Shinkansen train to take us on our 800km journey between Hiroshima and our next destination, Tokyo!