My visit to Hiroshima was on a wet and gloomy day. We took a train down from Osaka and that takes roughly 2 hours before we reach the main station. From there, our first stop was Miyajima Island, which is a ferry ride away from Miyajima station. If you're travelling on JR Pass, you're lucky because this is all covered!
On the ferry to Miyajima Island, this is the view of the gate of Itsukushima Shrine, which is a popular postcard picture of Hiroshima. This gate is affected by the tides, and the Itsukushima Shinto Shrine and is one of the UNESCO world heritage sites.
One of the famous souvenirs that Miyajima boasts is the Momiji manju, which is a maple leave shaped cakes with a variety of fillings such as red bean, green tea, yam, chocolate and cheese.
The other famous souvenir is their rice scoops. You'll not fail to see many shops at Omotesando, the main shopping street, selling a variety of rice scoops. There is even the world's largest spatula, with a measurement of about 5m, on display as you walk towards Itsukushima Shinto Shrine.
Deer can be commonly sighted nearer to Itsukushima Shinto Shrine. They're generally harmless and there are signs asking visitors not to feed them.
Although it was a rainy day, there were still a lot of people who walked out towards the gate to have a better view of this world heritage site.
The Itsukushima shrine is apparently very special because Miyajima Island is long considered the holy side for the Shinto religion. It boasts both the architectural beauty and the gloriously beautiful mountain and sea view surrounding the shrine.
This place is also designated as a Japanese National Treasure in 1952. Even on a rainy day, the complex looks really beautiful on its own.
On our way out of the shrine, we tried the famous Miyajima steamed bun. This is similar to the char siew pau that you can probably find in Malaysia, Singapore or other Chinese countries. However, the texture of the bun is a lot denser and it is a lot pricier. Each bun costs about 450Y.
Another popular local delicacy is their grilled oysters. Freshly cute and with a little slice of lemon to go with it, this must be one of the juiciest oysters that I've had in ages!
After the trip to Miyajima, we make our way back to Hiroshima and visited the Peace Memorial Park. We didn't have a lot of time left since we were bound to take the shinkansen back to Osaka. So we decided to do a brisk walk around the park and take the sightseeing bus around Hiroshima before heading back.
This was taken at the Peace Memorial Museum. The whole park is about 120,000 square meters. It was apparently 4 years after the bombing that the authorities decide to not redevelop the place but to instead use it for peace awareness movements.
The picture above is the Cenotaph, which is an arched tomb to remember the victims of the bombings, be it from the blast or the radiation exposure. There is a stone below the arch which bears the names of all the victims and the saddle-shaped roof is hoped to protect the victims from rain.
This is the Flame of Peace. It has never burned out since it was first lit in 1 August 1964. It is said that the fire will keep burning until all nuclear weapon is eliminated from the face of earth.
The Children's Peace Monument is also a very popular spot, especially among the school children. It was built to remember the children victim of the atomic bombing. You'll also spot many folded paper cranes and a bronze girl holding a golden crane symbolising hope.
The A-bomb dome is designated to be another UNESCO world heritage site in 1996. This was previously the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall. The bombing resulted in the death of all the people within the building. However, the building was not completed destroyed and it now symbolises people's prayer of everlasting peace.
There have been considerable effort put in to preserve this building. The fact that this building was a remnant from an atomic bomb attack makes it all the more important to preserve, so as to remind and warn others of the repercussion of nuclear weapon.
Another monument that you can find in the park is the Memorial Tower to the Mobilized Students. This monument was erected through a movement led by the bereaved families of the other mobilized students who were killed in the bombing in response to the government's action of enshrining the name of the permitted mobilized students in Yasukuni Shrine.
It would have been an eye opening experience if I could spend more time to learn of the atomic bombing incident from the eye of the Japanese community. Alas, time doesn't permit for this trip but if I do have a chance to return, it'll be good to visit Hiroshima again.
If you do have an interest in history, this would be an excellent choice!
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