hiroshima – nellyglass studio

Miyajima Island

Today’s excursion took us on a 1-hour tram ride south of Hiroshima to Miyajima Island on what was to be the hottest day of this trip… full sun, 31 degrees, felt like 36! To accentuate that, it was also a National Japanese holiday… “Sports Day”, so many thousands of people also decided to go to Miyajima Island. The crowd and the heat at times were a bit stifling.

Here one finds another UNESCO World Heritage site, Itsukushima Jinja shrine. The most striking feature here is the “floating tori gate” which is positioned out from the shore on the mud flats. When the tide comes in, the gate is surrounded by water giving the illusion that it is floating in the water.

This island itself is considered sacred and is populated with deer, also considered sacred. They are tame and unbothered by tourists but you should not touch or feed them. High up in the hills of the island is Mount Misen, the highest point on the island at an elevation of 535 meters. We took the cable car ride up to enjoy spectacular views all around. This place is considered a holy mountain, first opened as a site for ascetic practice by Kukai (Kobo Daishi) in 806 AD (a Buddhist monk). The Reikado Hall at the summit contains a flame that has been burning for over 1,200 years, lit by Kukai himself. This flame was used to light the Flame of Peace in Hiroshima’s Peace Park. We didn’t make the 30 minute hike to see the flame because of the heat but a stoic couple from our group, Alan and Adrienne, did make the trek and got the shot of the flame. I have included their photo in the gallery.

Back down at sea level, we made our way through the throng of tourists and locals, snacked on deep fried oysters, chicken, tempura shrimp and sushi… washed down with cold beer. After a bit of souvenir shopping, we made our way back to the ferry and across the bay to take the tram ride back to Hiroshima, hot and tired but grateful for the experience.

After a couple of hours rest at the hotel, we stepped around the corner into a grocery store to pick up a colorful assortment of items for supper.

Himeji Castle and Hiroshima Peace Park

This morning we caught the bullet train from Kyoto to Hiroshima with one important stop into the city of Himeji. This is a modern city because it was almost entirely destroyed during WWII. The attraction we came here to see was spared in the bombing and is visible immediately on exiting the train station. A long beautiful boulevard adorned on both sides with sculptures leads straight to Himeji Castle, sitting high on a hill in the distance.

The castle is regarded as the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, comprising a network of 83 rooms with advanced defensive systems from the feudal period. Common known as the “White Heron Castle” because of its brilliant white exterior and supposed resemblance to a bird taking flight, it is a 7-story pagoda style structure and we climbed the narrow stairs all the way to the top. Coming down was just as tiring on the legs and they were a bit shaky as we made our way back to the train station, shopping for souvenirs along the way.

Continuing on, we arrived at Hiroshima in the early afternoon. Our hotel rooms were not quite ready so our guide, Shizuka, took us on a walk to the nearby Peace Park to see a few of the major monuments. We will return here later but the impact of the historical importance is evident all around. Only a few buildings in this city survived the nuclear blast and we saw a couple of them. One in particular tells the story of a man who survived in the basement. He was there just by chance as his 37 workmates above all perished. Very moving.

After checking in, our Canadian party walked to a nearby skyscraper and to the 17th floor rooftop bar where we enjoyed the panoramic views over Hiroshima all the way to the mountains. We sipped our cocktails to a beautiful sunset.

Supper was a group experience at a nearby teppanyaki restaurant where we were introduced to a traditional Hiroshima delight called okonomyiaki. It is a double pancake filled with whatever you like (mine had shrimp and scallops). It arrives to your table and is placed on the hot grill in the middle where you cut and hack it apart and spoon it onto your plate. Very delicious and fun for the whole group.