Hiroshima & Miyajima 

Japanese trains are very different to Russian ones! Our first train in Japan was from Fukuoka to Hiroshima and was a Shinkansen or ‘bullet’ train. They have big seats, smell nice, are extremely clean and go very fast 🙂 

Hiroshima is of course well known as the city that was destroyed by the world’s first atomic bomb. At 8:15 on August 6th, 1945, the Enola Gay flew over Hiroshima city and dropped an atomic bomb that devasted the city. It instantly killed approximately 80,000 people and tens of thousands more died from radiation exposure. Today, Hiroshima is a city that represents peace and their Peace Memorial Park in the city centre stands as a reminder to all of the atrocities that have occurred and the importance to strive for peace in our mad world. It’s a beautiful, simple, yet somehow somber place that has hundreds of school children running about as they visit to learn about a huge event in their history. Also, we learned that they come to the park because of the many English speaking tourists and will ask if they can speak to you in English to complete the assignments they have been set for the day. We felt like celebrities. As we walked around, they shouted ‘Hi!’ to us, and one group asked us questions about ourselves as their teacher looked on and took pictures (of course!). We were then given an origami crane that they had made, which throughout Japan is a symbol of healing and peace. We listened to a group of kids singing as they were gathered around the Children’s Peace Monument, which was rather beautiful and then went to see the A-Bomb Dome. The structure of the building was one of the few that wasn’t completely destroyed, but all of the people who were inside perished. 

 
We went for a refreshing evening run in the rain around Hijiyama park and had a noodle dinner in the hostel to ready ourselves for a trip to Miyajima the next day. Officially called Itsukushima, the small island is home to the ‘floating’ torii gate, which appears to float in the water as the high tide comes in. It is an iconic Japanese image, a UNESCO world heritage site and is certainly a popular place to visit! The island also has wild deer that have become accustomed to the human visitors and wander around the streets, looking for snacks in handbags! Our lunch was Okonomiyaki, a Japanese omelette dish with cabbage, meat and vegetables. As oysters are a Miyajima specialty, I had those in my okonomiyaki. I’m still not sure I love oysters!!

We visited the beautiful Daisho-In temple, which is one of the most prestigious Shingon temples in Japan. From our leaflet at the front gate, we learned more about Buddhism, the Shingon sect and the Buddhist Deities. As the sun was setting over the trees, the autumn colours on the trees were breathtaking, and a camera simply didn’t do the sight justice.



We hopped back on our ferry to the mainland as the sun set over the sea, a sight that never gets old!  

Next up: Naoshima island

-F xx