Golden Week in Hiroshima!

One of the top places I have wanted to visit in Japan was Hiroshima. The name is infamous, but I wanted to go and experience the A-bomb museum and site myself. I have been to Auschwitz before, so I know how powerful it can be to see history that close.

We travelled down by shinkansen (bullet train) for Golden Week. We had a five day weekend, so lots of time to enjoy what Hiroshima has to offer. We stayed a Japanese hostel chain called K’s house. It was awesome! Fairly low price, convenient location and the cleanest hostel I have ever stayed in by a long shot. I woke up early one morning and the owner was fixing up the hang out room by organizing the games, pillows and DVDs. He really cared about the space, which was really cool to see.

We started our travels with a day trip to Miyajima. You take a little ferry over to the island and you can see the famous Tori shrine in the water. It was pretty cool, but even better when the tide is out. Deer are domesticated here so if you fancy getting up close and personal with some wildlife then you will enjoy that too. We took the cable cars up to see some shrines and the view was striking from the top.

 Hiroshima is famous for its okonomiyaki, however not the traditional kind, This okonomiyaki has noodles as a base, and it is so good. Honestly, best okonomiyaki I have had so far, and I managed to try both the original and the Hiroshima style

On our second full day we went to the A-bomb dome site and the museum. It was a somber experience, but interesting for me because it was so international. Tourists from all over were there to understand more about the tragic events that happened. It is cool to see people from all different countries and with all different world views connect about something as significant as peace.  

The last day was a bit rainy, but I enjoyed walking along the river, drinking coffee and sitting outside Hiroshima castle. Oh and of course since I was in a big city I caught a movie, the new Spiderman. Best 
memory was taking a cab to the movie theater, a cricket was in the cab too and in the darkness really scared us when it started jumping!! Of course I screamed and this made the driver, who was about 99 years old, freak out. It was hilarious. Would I go back? Probably not, it’s too far and it wasn’t my absolute favorite place, but it is a must see if you have the time.