Hiroshima

I accidently spent around 3 weeks in Hiroshima due to contractual ball baggery and the very earth deciding that it didn’t want me in Kumamoto. With Obama about to set foot there here is my super short site seeing guide of Hiroshima.

Don’t mention the war…because everyone else will do it before you…

So Hiroshima is famous for one thing, and there is no subtlety about it what so ever. The people/ city government are not afraid to show their honest opinions for the bombing, and those opinions are that it was a very twatty thing to do. If you ever have the chance I strongly suggest a visit to the A-bomb hypocentre area, which is where all the museums, the famous a-bomb dome, and peace memorials are located. I’ve done my fair bit of grief tourism, the Anne-frank house, ground zero, war cemeteries etc. but the a-bomb done is by far the most in your face museum I have ever been to. They do not blur images, the models they have made are not subtle (burning flesh, melting facial features etc), and there are a few tactile exhibits where you can touch and feel artefacts warped and damaged by the blast.

It truly is worth a visit however don’t expect a romantic tale of a cities triumph after a tragedy, the whole museum is a giant “look what you did to us, you giant bastards”. The memorials are all very beautiful, from the children’s memorial and the ringable peace bell (and it is not a subtle quiet contemplation ringing sound) to the eternal flame that burns over the hypocentre, the whole peace park has a very calm and serine atmosphere. It’s a popular attraction for natives and foreigners, and is a good way to spend an afternoon. Be aware though that the whole place can get quite crowded around the holidays and when it’s warm.

One final note;  again, whatever your opinions surrounding the bombings is, be aware that Japan has line one line on then, and that is that it was a dick move. Do not try and convince them of any other political opinon…they will not like you. I’ve witnessed a conservation between a tour guide and a portly American man wearing a US navy cap, where he tried to convince her that the killing of 350,000 of her town’s people was proportional and appropriate…this did not go well.

Is there stuff that isn’t to do with death and destruction?

Why yes, yes there is. Hiroshima, is, as you might expect, quite a new city. So here is my top 5 things to do in Hiroshima…

1. Miyajima Island; 

      

island is beautiful, it’s where you can see the famous floating shrine. It has an amazing aquarium, lovely mountains and views, and is only a short and fairly cheap ferry ride away. If you’re feeling a little fancier for only ￥3600 you can take a leisurely boat trip from the city centre. Otherwise it’s an hour street card or half an hour’s train ride to the ferry terminal. If you like getting sexaly assaulted by deer there are also a lot of them on the island, and they are used to lots of nice foreign people giving them snacks, and because deer are racists we all look the same to them. They will come and get you...

2.     

2. Okonomiyaki; 

This is Hiroshima’s baby, it’s a type of savoury pancake which at its base is batter, cabbage and okonomiyaki sauce (no idea what makes the sauce, but it tastes like heaven’s runny brown joy). You can add absolutely anything to it: Egg, cheese, fish, you name it they probably do it. There is a tower block called Okonomiyaki-Mura or the okonomiyaki village where rival restaurateurs try and out-do each other on 6 floors filled with okonomiyaki stalls. The best part it, it’s fairly cheap!

3.       Go see a baseball game;

I have no idea what this mascot is supposed to be, my guess is the Loch Ness Monster went Eurovision...

This might sound like an odd thing especially for the British people, but Japan fucking loves baseball! More than I thought they would, and in Hiroshima, everybody, and I mean, everybody loves the terrifyingly named local team; THE CARPS! (The amount of homework I have correct where the children say they love the craps is more than I ever thought possible). But seriously, the carps are huge here, if you can get yourself over to the zoom-zoom stadium (I shit you not that’s its actual name) go for it. If not however, go to a bar, sit down with an all you can drink beer deal, and go nuts with the locals. Baseball games do last a while though, none of that 80 minute rugby crap, I’m talking hours! So feel free to eat some of the bars delicacies, such as pig kidneys and chicken cartilage (see previous blog)

4.    Go see some plants;

There are some really beautiful gardens here in Hiroshima. Shukkei-en being proably the best one. If you’re lucky enough to be here during cherry blossom season then all the better, but any time from Spring-autumn and the parks will still be beautiful. And if you have hay fever…tough I’m afraid, if you’re going to be beaten up by plant sex there’s nothing I can do to help you.

5. The castle, 

whilst in Hiroshima the castle is worth a visit, it’s worth pointing out that there are better castles in Japan, much better. The original one was, of course, completely obliterated by events in section 1 of this blog but it’s been lovely rebuilt on its original foundations and filled with all sorted of cultural goodies*. For the sake of a ￥200 to get in, it’s a good way to kill a rainy day and there is a spectacular view of Hiroshima from the very top of the castle.

*Translations in Japan can be somewhat of a hit and miss experience, and no-where more is this true than in museums. Often they only bother to have the stuff that they think foreign people will be interested in translated, and where translations are available they are often very abridged versions of what is written in Japanese. But there are often old retired people who give tours for free and a few of them speak good English if you’d like one of those.

So there you go, if you find yourself in Hiroshima, go do those things, or other things, I don’t mind, you are all your own people and your actions here are inconsequential to me. I currently live about a hour away from Hiroshima, so the climate is the same, but all the fun stuff now costs me a lot more money to get too….yaaaaay the country side.