Hiroshima

General information

Hiroshima was a must for us on a trip to Japan, we did not feel that we could visit the country without paying our respects to those killed in 1945. It was made particularly poignant by meeting a lovely 82 year old survivor and a group of school children working on a project while visiting the Peace Park. We also met a lady and her parents later in a bar who were from Kokuro that did not get bombed only because of the weather instead Nagasaki was hit. What also made it special were the lovely people we met in the city, amongst the most generous and kind that we met in all our trip.

The Shinkansen Bullet train brings you into Hiroshima station which is currently undergoing a major refurbishment, like all the railway stations in cities it is enormous. The south exit of the station leads to the main part of the city and this is where the streetcars or tram that serve the city go from. The north side of the station is where the Shinkansen trains arrive and the exit has airport buses and also the Hiroshima Sightseeing bus which has two routes taking in all major sites and is free to JR Pass holders. There is a modern shopping & eating area in the north part of the station. An underground passage connects both parts but is not very pleasant, go through the main station by showing your JR pass, much nicer. If you are travelling from Kyoto or Toyko on a JR Pass you will have to change trains at Shin-Osaka as only the super fast Nozomi trains which you cannot use go directly to Hiroshima.

The Streetcars are a lovely way to travel and the main eating, drinking and entertainment area is south of the main street called Aioi-dori, this can be walked in about twenty minutes from the station, useful at night as the streetcars stop running between 10.30 & 11.00 pm. On the streetcars in the city there is a flat fare of Y160, you board through the entrance doors and pay when you exit through the exit doors.

Hotels

Hotel accommodation is not as expensive as many people think if you stick to what are known as Business Hotels, designed for business people staying for a couple of nights so expect small rooms, lack of hanging space but clean with good facilities. We used a number of them including MyStays, APA and Tokyo Inn and thought they were all good value. Check out the usual booking sites such as www.booking.com or www.venere.com to see what is available although some of these chains say the rates are always best through their official web sites.

We stayed at the APA hotel on the station side of the river confusingly there is one just opposite on the other side of the river. The public areas were not great but the rooms were a decent size. Although nearer the centre is handier for entertainment this area is good for transport links.

Restaurants & Bars

We found some excellent places for food in Hiroshima, unfortunately they were all found by chance and the receipts have no names or addresses. We ate mainly in the side streets of Aioi-dori and received a warm welcome everywhere.

Little Mermaid Bakery at the south entrance to the station is great for a take-away pastry to go with our take away iced coffee from 7-11, excellent breakfast option.

We did find two incredibly friendly bars where we were treated wonderfully and met some lovely people.

Pretty Bar is run by a lovely couple called Mokata & Tommo, there is room for around a dozen people at the benches round the bar plus a couple of outside tables, all drinks are Y700 and there is no cover charge. Their ginger highball is exceptionally good and we met an amazingly eclectic and friendly crowd, Mkata teaches English and is really interesting to chat to. From Aioi-dori Avenue as you face the Peace Park turn left down Nagarekawa-dori Avenue, take the second on the right then first right again and it is just past the corner. The official address is 3-10 Horikawa, Nakaku.

If you have found Pretty Bar then you will be able to find the Samoan Bar just round the corner run by a guy, no surprise here, from Samoa. He is super friendly as are his customers, the food is good, the beer and highballs cheap and it was a great place to spend time on our visit. Come out of Pretty Bar turn left, first left again and it is just on the left – you should have passed it on the way to Pretty Bar.

Drink

Where to start, beer is relatively expensive due to the fact that the tax on beer is among the highest in the world at around 45% but is still very popular and there are well known brands such as Kirin, Sapporo and Asahi and increasingly many craft beers. Wine is becoming more popular and is cheap in supermarkets but quite expensive in most restaurants. Sake is of course the best known drink and ranges from very dry to very sweet, try and arrange a tasting to get an idea of what you enjoy. Also becoming popular is sparkling sake which is very easy to drink and relatively low alcohol. The most popular drinks in the evenings in bars are highballs, usually Suntory whisky with lots of soda and ice in a glass tankard, even nicer with a slice of lemon. Also popular are highballs made with Shochu, Japanese spirit, which is less strong than whisky, again with soda & ice but often flavourings such as plum, citrus or ginger, these are refreshing and cheap.

Culture

The major sites are all around the same area at end of Aioi-dori Avenue, The Atomic Bomb Dome, The Peace Memorial Park with it’s various monuments and The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. The park is a lovely area to walk around and contemplate the events while the museum is a must, it is currently undergoing refurbishment but is still open. Hiroshima Castle is also worth a visit even just to walk in the surrounding park area and see the moat.

The other major site during a visit is Miyajima, Shrine Island, and it’s amazing vermillion torii (shrine) gate which appears to float on the water at high tides. The island is a world heritage site and there is a lot to see on the island and some serious walking trails. There are also many places to shop and eat, try the local baked oysters and also the local beer of which there are three types, sold by the brewer in an open air space on the left as you walk along the main shopping/eating street towards the ferry. It is an easy journey on the JR San-yo Line from Hiroshima Station, and then a very short boat crossing on the JR ferry, all covered by your JR pass. A word of warning the island has many wild deer which wander the streets and can be persistent including trying to eat clothing and bags even it is rumoured JR Passes.