When we arrived in Hiroshima, we didn’t have any expectations.
We wanted to visit the Peace Memorial Museum and Miyajima, like most tourists.
What we discovered, while exploring the city, is a vibrant and interesting food in Hiroshima
The walk inside the Peace Memorial evokes many different emotions. I felt disgust for the war, sadness for the victims and hope for a better world. The museum takes the visitor into the day of the attack through photos, objects belonging to the victims and scientific explanations of the bomb’s structure and effects. It’s a powerful experience, but we should all go through it to understand the impact and commit as human beings to fight for a peaceful future.
After the visit to the museum we decided to rest a bit and go out again to see the sunset at the Hiroshima Castle. We just wanted to take a quick peak at the castle (if you want to visit it consider that the last admission is at 5.30PM). My husband suggested that the shape of it could be beautiful in the crepuscular light and it was.
We took a stroll in the park and took photos of the castle from different angles. The reflection of the shape in the moat gives you the chance to take amazing shots and that view was the perfect way to top off our day.
Specialty food in Hiroshima
As I mentioned we discovered that the food in Hiroshima is delicious.
Something you have to try it’s a local specialty called: Okonomiyaki
It’s a Japanese style pancake with a thin layer of batter, noodles, cabbage and other ingredients based on your personal choice.
We also tried the Japanese style curry in a small alley at Kitchen Daddy and we loved it.
My personal favorite experience was at a small noodles restaurant close to our Air bnb accommodation. The name is Karabu. They serve Tsukemen noodles: cold noodles with pork topped with seaweed or cabbage and a special soy based sauce on the side. Once you take the noodles with your chopsticks you have to dip them in the sauce and that’s how it’s done.
The island of Miyajima is the other must see and the main reason why tourists visit Hiroshima.
The light rail takes you directly to the ferry terminal from Hiroshima. The best time of the day to go is late afternoon to see the sunset, and also because by that time group tours are gone. The view of the torii gate standing in the water at sunset is perfect to top off your day.
You can easily make your way back to Hiroshima later. The last ferry back is around 10PM.
Interested in food in Japan? Check out these posts:
- Supermarkets in Japan: Common Items Explained
- Travelling Vegetarian in Japan
- Okinawan Food
- Japanese Pork Chop in Downtown Osaka
