It seemed most appropriate to visit the Peace Memorial Museum and walk the grounds of the Peace Memorial park after arriving in the city.
We cannot describe our emotions after reading about what happened there. It didn’t feel right to take photos of the Genbaku Dome, so we said some prayers and left with heavy hearts… right into a massive crowd cheering on the *clears throat* 30th Emperor’s Cup Inter-prefectural Men’s Ekiden of Hiroshima. The eventual winner was Yamato Hamaguchi in a time of 2:16:55, which must have been great because it was some sort of record.
Hiroshima was amazing. Folks here don’t hide from what happened, they live alongside it, in the face of it, despite it. They build, manufacture, produce and create because of it. Mazda, Uniqlo and Issey Miyake are brands that had origins in Hiroshima. They make okonomiyaki with noodles in it, making it more substantial than the more widely known Osaka version.
The city is vast, but is serviced by trams reminiscent of those in Melbourne. They were a welcome change from the subways and trains of Tokyo. They are also representative of the more relaxed pace of Hiroshima compared to the hectic capital.
This touristy island off the southern coast of Hiroshima still managed to give us a rewarding dose of nature and a feeling of having gotten away from the crowds, once we set off up mount Misen.
We got to the ropeway entrance to discover it closed for maintenance, so we decided to hike up the steepest route to the summit. There, we met a friendly young geology student from Tokyo who took our picture and cautioned us to head down quickly as the sun would be setting soon.
I loved Hiroshima. I was reluctant to visit at first, but its grungy, easygoing vibe and friendly people soon won me over. I will always want to go back, every time I visit Japan.
Time to find out what Osaka has in store for us.
– T