Anyways someone actually complained about my lack of activity on here. You know who you are. So without further ado, here is a post.
On a recent holiday, I had the pleasure of going on my first visit to Hiroshima. It met all the criteria. It is a close place that has some pretty deep history and I have yet to visit it. I also feel it is necessary to mention that I am exceedingly terrible with cardinal directions and that Hiroshima is not south. Which I kept insisting it was until someone whipped out a map.
So! Hiroshima 広島!
Well I think one of the most important things about Hiroshima is definitely their food culture. Being right on the edge of the mainland, its seafood is amazing. One thing I certainly have to recommend, are its oysters. Right now is the season where oysters are in and there are places that are pretty much embellished temporary lean-tos that serve food called kakigoya, 牡蠣小屋 pretty much mean small oyster shed...how accurate. The only have electricity to run their vending machines and the lights and possibly a fridge or two and then as far as cooking goes, you are on your own. You get a lump of hot coals and a grate to go on top and you throw on some oysters or abalone, squid or fish, or what have you, and have yourself a nice fun meal. There are even sauces like ponzu and soy sauce to drips over the bubbling oozing messes. The oysters there were priced at a kilogram for 1000 yen. By the way, that is a ton for really cheap, especially considering Japan prices.
But there are lots of other places to eat some good oysters if outdoor sheds just aren't your thing. Of course those places will likely be heated and cost more though.
Other things they are known for is what they like to call okonomiyaki, however since I live in Kansai and have lived in Osaka, I think we will just have to agree to disagree on what okonomiyaki really is. Actually it has been a bit of a debate for a while between Osaka and Hiroshima about the two versions of okonomiyaki, each claiming that theirs is the original one. The main difference is that The Hiroshima one does away with the flour base and substitutes noodles instead. Everything else is the same, cabbage, some meat topping squid or pork will do well, okonomiyaki sauce and mayo. I feel like Hiroshima okonomiyaki (a name they are not too fond of as it implies that they are not the original version), is more of a bastard mix of okonomiyaki and yakisoba. Weird to say the least. But if you gotta try it, you gotta try it. I went to one of the famous kitchens for it and waited an hour for seating. The place was called Mitchan みっちゃん.
Another thing that should be on you list to try is some ramen. Every place is always known for their nuances in ramen specialty. I only found this one to be so-so, but perhaps it was because we tried a variation of ramen called tsukemen where the noodles are separate and you dip them in the sauce as you eat, or maybe because the oysters were just so good, they ruined the rest of the meals since there is no hope that they could compare!
Another thing that should be on you list to try is some ramen. Every place is always known for their nuances in ramen specialty. I only found this one to be so-so, but perhaps it was because we tried a variation of ramen called tsukemen where the noodles are separate and you dip them in the sauce as you eat, or maybe because the oysters were just so good, they ruined the rest of the meals since there is no hope that they could compare!
Other things important in Hiroshima are of course the bombing memorials. The first thing to see on everyone's list is the atomic bomb dome. Which is of course not where it landed, as it never landed, not is it beneath the hypocenter. It is actually several hundred meters from the hypocenter, but it is the best recognized structure of the bombing in Hiroshima. In fact, it may be one of the only ones. After the bombing, Hiroshima spent much time, effort, and money into rebuilding and tearing down the dreadful reminders until sometime in the 60's where only the one remained and it was petitioned and soon became a national landmark and has since been preserved.
About the dome, you can find people lecturing about all sorts of topics, be it peace, the radiation, survival stories, guide talks, but you can also find the hypocenter and the T Bridge. The T bridge was originally blown away by the bomb, but it was rebuilt and the peace park now rests in the middle of the river at the apex of the T. The park has numerous structures, much like the Nagasaki park, including twisted clock, a large bell, which we rang together, where a few Japanese people had a bit of a photo shoot about because OhMyGosh a Japanese and an American ringing the bell together So Symbolic! and what I think is most important is a memorial to Sadako. For those of you who do not know Sadako is the girl in the 1000 paper cranes story. I had to read it in school I remember. It is about a girl living in Hiroshima some time after the bomb, but she developed leukemia in elementary school (5th grade I believe). She was hospitalized and spent the next year in the hospital. From someone or somewhere, she heard a story about how if you folded 1000 paper cranes, your wish would come true. In her remaining days, she folded over 1000 but still died. To this day, many people and schools will fold paper cranes and send them to this memorial in memory of her and for the hope of peace.
Next on the list is to head over to the museum. If you really want to bother with the entrance and the first floor, that is your choice, but the more moving stuff is located upstairs, including all of the physical recovered items from the bombing. The clothes, the bento box, the disturbing photos are all there. But I must say, what really go to me was the Last Words exhibit. It was an extremely small case located in the bookstore between the second building where there were a few remains and their last words. There was one specific one where a boy was just found by his father and asked his father for an ice pop. His father stuck a 5000 yen note in his hand promising to buy him all the pops he wanted. The boy had passed on before his father was done. Yeah. That was is. That was where I had to go find a corner to dry my eyes in. The rest of the museum was pretty much the same. More sadness. Personally, I liked the Nagasaki one more, it was a nicer structure, with a less impersonal feel to it. I am not really sure how to describe it.
Afterwards was a trip to Hiroshima castle. A sad little thing who has a fantastic outer shell and a sad rebuild on the inside. It seems like they hardly even tried. Of course the original one was merely debris after the bombing, so they rebuilt it, but on the inside, their walls might as well be a cheerful and intelligent as drywall. And then of course everything is either pictures or text with a few relics of the past, but really there are much better castles to see. At the top, there is a nice night view which is about all it was good for for me.And a last little thing for you to do this time of year in Hiroshima, is to check out their illuminations. That's right it is November and they have those lights up in full force already
