1945

For this new chapter I’m going to Hiroshima for 2 days. After some happy times in Onomichi it’s time for some more dark times. Travelling isn’t just about looking at whats pretty , it’s also about understanding the past of a country. If one want to truely understand “peace” , one also need to understand “chaos”.

“love & Pease” from my guesthouse.

But before we get into the heavy history of Hiroshima let’s get a breakfast. In Hiroshima station there is this nicest smell located nearby the south exit. This smell come from a “cheesecake tart” shop.

Two flavors of choice : cheese and lemon. I bought the two just to make sure I didn’t miss anything.

The lemon cheese tart was BLISS.

It was time to go to the famous “Genbaku dome”. To go there you may take one of theses old school tramway.

They look cute isn’t it ?
Dont expect to go fast thought. Hiroshima city center isn’t really big so this transportation system will do the job.

Then you arrive in front of the “Genbaku dome” , one of the few remaining building after the Atomic bomb of 1945. Changement of ambiance right away.

The old remaining buildings of Hiroshima holds a heavy past. The survivors of the Atomic bomb holds even more in themselves.

Next to the dome the son of a survivor was sharing his story. To reach as many people as possible he created booklets recording the dark history of the city , all in many languages.

I picked up the French booklet and sat silently for 30 min. This was a heavy read but how important.

We should remember our past to improve our future. This Mito Kosei was touching. He was doing some sensibilisation talks since 15 years to reach the tourists. Also he did mentioned a few times that the actual A bomb museum was not telling everything about the truth.

Next to the dome you’ll find the “Peace memorial park”. You can really feel the strong past of that city just by being here. The epicenter of the A bomb was just next to the dome. The bomb killed more than 150 000 people. Hiroshima was the first (and hopefully the last) Atomic bomb disaster of the humankind. This is not a happy day at all. Also being alone feels more difficult because there is nobody to share your sadness with.

The “Peace memorial hall”. You could hear many stories about the survivors here. This was very heavy but again important.

The park feels like a English landscape park. The autumn colors were majestic. It’s also a nice park to just hang out.

Autumn pick colors in Hiroshima.
Each place in Japan has a different time for the autumn pick color.

After all thoses emotions I needed to change my mind a little. I have founf a nice little café shop just next to the park.

Maquiberry & blueberry hot smoothie at Sheba Café.

This café was also serving lunch. It was an international / healthy cuisine. Definitely a nice place for a lunch break. But I was not feeling like eating healthy cuisine. Hiroshima is well known for his Okonomiyaki. Theses japaneses “omelette” with noodles inside. Nothing healthy but how pleasing.

In Hiroshima there is this building called Okonomimura where you’ll find 4 floors full of Okonomiyaki only restaurants.

Itadakimasu !

It’s a nice food to eat from time to time. But it can be hard to digest. Especially if you go for the cheese one. I went for a veggie version without cheese so not too bad. This was nice but I think I prefered the Osaka version. Maybe I didn’t try the right place. I might give them another chance before I leave.

It was not the end of our eating marathon. There were this Matsuri just one street away from the Okonomimura. Matsuri is a kind of festival with religious root I believe but it felted like a street food festival.

Many food stalls are waiting for you. You’ll come across interesting things. It was fun to walk along theses streets. I enjoyed the laidback atmosphere.

Artisanal custard filled cakes. Theses ones had the shapes of famous Japanese animation characters. This was super yummy but I think my favorite Japanese treat is the Taiyaki.

Custard filled Taiyaki.
I love these guys. Traditionally you’ll eat them with anko or sweet bean paste but the custard flavor has become popular and it taste so good. The inside was warm and melty.

You could actually visit Hiroshima in a day. I realised that later. The two other famous spots are the castle and a nice garden. Let’s check the castle first.

Hiroshima castle which has been rebuilded after the bomb.
You can visit the inside but it was not very interesting to me. Moreover all the food I had today didnt make me feel so great. You are what you eat , remember that… I never remember that xD

Inside the castle you could become a samurai . Okay this was fun.

French Samurai in Hiroshima.

To finish this day I went to the nearby Shukkeien garden , a beautiful Japanese landscape garden. It was a small one but not a problem. You actually tend to take more your time in this situation. Which I did.

Very nice colors.

This day in Hiroshima was interesting but I have to say there is not a lot to do here. I was thinking that Hiroshima had more to offer. I didn’t got to met any local people so of course this have a big influence on the overall experience. The people were nice , the food scene was good but I did’nt really connect with that city. I will say it’s important to go here at least one time to get a feel of Japan’s history.

My experience in Hiroshima was short so I cann’t make generalization. I’m sure there is many hidden treasures but I didn’t got to find them. Maybe because I didnt looked for them in the first place. How you feel inside will affect the way you perceive the environment you’re in. I might move to my next destination sooner than expected. The mystical island of Miyajima.

 

It’s smells good

iinioi いいにおい