Day 12: Hiroshima

Now I am in Hiroshima and actually all I want is go home to my Kaikan room in Oita. Why? Isn't it crazy to be on travel in such a big and exciting city like Hiroshima, staying in a good hostel room, having already paid and having a Railpass to get around for free? Any other time I would never want to leave early, because I would want to get everything out of my last hours and minutes to explore the new city. But it is just too much. Tokyo alone gave me so many new impressions, that now I am sick of discovering new things! I have had enough. I do not want to go on travelling any more. I do not want to explore new places. I just want to go home, rest, and let the beautiful images and impressions from Tokyo sink in.

Hiroshima was really boring. And the weather was bad. Even the luckiest persons are unlucky sometimes! Who would have thought that on the last day of our journey we would be walking in the rain, when the weeks before the weather was constantly clear and sunny? Too bad :(

The highlight of the afternoon in Hiroshima: eating Hiroshima style okonomiyaki

It is a thin pancake topped with fried soba noodles, much vegetables (shredded cabbage and soy sprouts), egg in form of an omelett, okonomiyaki sauce and some green stuff (kelp). It looks so yummy! 

But is was a disappointment. It was not that good. The noodles were dry, the sauce was too salty, I do not like Hiroshima style. I like Osaka style much more!

Hiroshima was a big disappointment for me. It was boring. It reminded me of Nagasaki. If you are interested in places with historical significance and if you like to revel in the feeling of tragedy, then Hiroshima (and Nagasaki) is right for you. But the city itself does not offer anything exciting and it is not paticularly beautiful or charming.

Hiroshima is significant for Japanese history because the atomic bomb exploded over it during the war. The town erected many things to remember the tragedy: monument for the victims, museum, statues, a whole Peace Park,... If you are in Hiroshima you would probably feel like a victim. I think it helps to deal with one's own country's history if you have a part where you can feel like a victim. Maybe the Germans would deal differently with their Nazi past if they would have a part where they feel like victims. Ok, difficult topic, I should stop talking. Have to be careful about what I say here. It is just some thoughts I had when I walked around Hiroshima and was bored.

In the afternoon we did something much more fun. We went to Miyajima island where one of the most photographed sights in Japan is: the Miyajima Itsukushima Shrine. It is a red shrine which seems to float in the water when the tide is high. Unfortunately we had missed to check the times of the tide and so we had missed the high tide in the morning hours and now we went to see the lowest point of the tide, because then you can walk to the shrine.

Too bad the weather was so bad! When we walked around the island I thought that when the weather is beautiful this island must be really fascinating and really beautiful! It must be more exciting than Enoshima Island (Kamakura) where we saw Mount Fuji. 

 

 

 

 

Hiroshima souvenir: momiji manju (a cake in shape of a maple leaf with red bean filling) - it is one of the most famous local confections of Hiroshima.

  

There are also other fillings: custard, chocolate, chesse, but sweet bean paste is the traditional filling.

 

Another famous Hiroshima food: oysters. Oysters from Hiroshima Bay are famous for their rich taste, especially in winter. On Miyajima Island there lots lots of booths and restaurants selling
them. Here they are on a grill. But you can also eat them deep-fried, in quiche, etc.

 

At the end of the day we were lucky: the sun came out and we could watch a beautiful sunset. 

It is a good sign. It was a wonderful vacation!