Japan 2018 - Part 8

Going To Hiroshima

Tuesday - September 11th 2018

After breakfast at Starbucks we left Universal Studios Japan and took the train to Osaka Main Station. There we caught the Shinkansen towards Hiroshima. The train ride was rather short and soon we arrived in Hiroshima. We stayed at the JR Hotel Granvia, which was located right next to the train station, but unfortunately our room wasn't ready yet. So we left the luggage at the reception and headed into the city. On the way to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum we stopped at a vegan restaurant called Art Cafe Elk for lunch.

Shinkansen Bullet Train

Hotel Lobby

Hiroshima

Hiroshima

Hiroshima

Lunch

Lunch

Dessert

In the afternoon we visited the Memorial Tower for the Mobilized Students and of course the Hiroshima Peace Memorial. Especially the peace memorial was very touching, because the atomic bomb exploded above that building during World War II. The whole city was destroyed except for that building, a department store. Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and reminds us that something like that should not happen again. 

Memorial Tower

Memorial Tower

Atomic Bomb Dome

Hiroshima

Atomic Bomb Dome

Then we took a walk to Hiroshima Castle, which was rebuilt after the war. The castle looked very similar to the one in Osaka, that's why we didn't go inside. Instead we headed to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, also known as the Atomic Bomb Museum, which was very interesting and shouldn't be missed when visiting Hiroshima. Afterwards we just walked around the city, checked out some shops until we returned to the hotel. Our luggage had already been taken to our room, from where we had a nice view over Hiroshima Station. Once we unpacked our luggage we went to the 7/11 store in the station and got some onigiris, chips and beer for a hotel picnic.

Hiroshima Castle

Hiroshima Castle

Hiroshima Castle

Hiroshima Castle

Atomic Bomb Dome

Hiroshima Peace Memorial

Hiroshima

Hiroshima

Our Room

View from our Room

Hotel Picnic

Japan 2018 - Part 9

Miyajima

Wednesday - September 12th 2018

For today we planned to visit the Island of Miyajima. First we had to take the train to Miyajimaguchi and from there the ferry to the island. Both the train and the ferry were included in the Japan Rail Pass. After breakfast at Starbucks we were on the way and in the late morning we arrived at the island, which is famous for the Itsukushima Shrine and the free roaming deer.

Miyajima

Ferry to Miyajima

Free roaming Deer

Once we left the ferry the first deer were already waiting for us and to our surprise they didn't care about the tourists at all. Some started begging for food, but most of them didn't really take notice of the visitors. Since it looked like the weather was going to change we decided to head to the shrine to finish the tour before it started to rain. Luckily most of the guests were still with the deer and so we had the shrine nearly to our own. At the end of the walk through it was raining heavily and so we stopped at the next coffee house for a beer until the rain stopped.

Miyajima

Itsukushima Shrine

Itsukushima Shrine

Itsukushima Shrine

Itsukushima Shrine

Itsukushima Shrine

Itsukushima Shrine

Miyajima

Miyajima

Miyajima

Miyajima

Miyajima

Soon the sky cleared again and we continued our little walking tour along temples and shrines back to the village. There we bought some souvenirs for our families back home until it was time for lunch at a traditional Japanese restaurant. We both ordered the Japanese curry, which was okay, and for dessert we stopped at an ice cream parlor that sold shaved ice. Since the rain kept coming and going we decided to return to Hiroshima.

Miyajima

Miyajima

Miyajima

Miyajima

Miyajima

Japanese Curry

Shaved Ice with Mango Juice

Miyajima

Back in Hiroshima we got a couple of drinks at the hotel bar on the top floor, from where we had a wonderful view over the city and the train station. We really enjoyed sitting at the window and watching the trains passing by. From above we could finally see how long the Shinkasen actually was. Unfortunately we couldn't sit there for the whole evening, because we were getting hungry, and so we went to an Indian restaurant near the hotel for dinner. It was a little bit strange to eat Indian food without basmati rice, but apparently it is not allowed to import rice to Japan. Nonetheless the food was really delicious. The rest of the evening we spent checking out the shops at the train station.

Hotel Bar

View from the Hotel Bar

Hiroshima

Dinner at an Indian Restaurant