Hiroshima (広島)
Having a day in Hiroshima is something that came up by chance. It has always been a city of interest to me, however at this point my desire to go to Shikoku (四国) was stronger. There were many things in Shikoku that I wanted to see and I had found a couchsurf host in Matsuyama (松山) that agreed to host for a few days from 27th of August.
This left me with one day free between going from Fukuoka and Matsuyama. The journey to Matsuyama from Fukuoka would have been a 14 hour ordeal on a bus, would have wasted a day and also spend on another night on accommodation. An overnight bus with Hiroshima as the pit-stop was ideal.
The day began with a groggy wake-up at 6am in Hiroshima. I stayed at K’s Backpackers Hostel close to JR Hiroshima station, yet the bus terminal was a good 30 mins walk from the hostel. It would feel like an hour with sleep deprivation and a heavy rucksack.
After a 7am arrival and check-in, I decided on three critical must visit locations:
1. Shukkei-en (縮景園) to appease my instinct to visit gardens
2. Okonomi-mura (お好み村) that is 3 floors of okonomiyaki stalls (synonym: heaven)
3. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial and Museum
I will focus on the first two for this post. The 3rd deserves it’s separate. Definitely.
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Shukkei-en is a 15 minute walk from K’s Backpackers. The entrance fare is 500 yen similar to many other gardens visited. Shukkei-en is certainly a delight. The main attraction is a large lake with many islets covered with meticulously shaped pinus thunbergii and moss. The strolling garden hosts a range of landscapes that mimics scenery types such as the valley, the ocean, the mountain. This reflects the name of the garden: 縮景園 or ‘shrunken scenery garden’
It is one of the gardens I have enjoyed the most so far. I spent 4 hours there sketching and sitting down contemplating. By the time I was finished it was only 12.30pm because of my early start in Hiroshima.
A very impressive strolling garden.
This is probably one of my favorite photos
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Lunchtime was appropriately at the famous okonomi-mura. Upon entering each floors I was greeted with a chorus of ‘irashae’s. The okonomiyaki stalls were close to each other I felt bad sitting at one when the next door greeted me so warmly! At the end I quickly sat at a moderately busy stall and asked for the recommendation. Behold.
Onto the Peace Memorial and Museum.
Be a good cat in japan 