Just one day is too short time to spend if you are visiting both two UNESCO
World Heritage Sites, Hiroshima Peace Memorial and Itsukushima Shrine. So, we
would definitely recommend you to stay in Hiroshima for at least two days!
Day1: Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and its surroundings
Day2: Itsukushima Shrine and beautiful nature in Miyajima Island
Day2: Itsukushima Shrine and beautiful nature in Miyajima Island
Day 1
Many people start walking around from the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima,
but we think that it would be easier for you to understand the history of
the Atomic Bomb Dome and places you are standing at if you go around in
the order listed below.
- Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum is located in the Peace Memorial
Park.
If you come to Hiroshima to learn about its history, we highly recommend
you to visit here.
- Gates of Peace
You may need a little rest to calm your mind after walking through the
Peace memorial museum.
This facility is also located in the Peace Memorial Park. You can read and
hear the testimony of the A-bombing survivors here.
- Cenotaph for the Victims of the Atomic Bomb
Let's walk around the park further, to learn what the place you are
standing at was like before 1945.
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【UNESCO World Heritage】Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku(Atomic
Bomb) Dome)
Completed in April, 1915, the Hiroshima Prefectural Commerce
Exhibition Hall was an architectural masterpiece of brick and
partially-reinforced steel designed by Czech architect Jan Letzel,
adorned with a magnificent oval-shaped copper dome. Renowned for its
European design, the Exhibition Hall quickly became a Hiroshima
landmark used for displaying and selling local goods, art exhibitions,
expositions, and more.
At 8:15 am on August 6, 1945, a single atomic bomb instantly rendered
the buildings in downtown Hiroshima to rubble and ash. The Hiroshima
Prefectural Industrial Hall, a mere 160 meters from the hypocenter,
was severely impacted by both the initial blast and heat rays,
concentrated, high-powered rays of thermal energy, which melted the
copper covering the dome and set the entire roof ablaze.
After the end of WWII, the dome, now merely a skeleton of bare steel
framework, came to be called the Atomic Bomb Dome, a name born of the
citizens of Hiroshima. Residents appealed for the preservation of the
Dome as a raw example of the sheer destructive power and horror of
nuclear weapons, and in 1967, their voices were heard and preservation
of the Dome began.
Quoted from Hiroshima Peace Tourism
Fold paper cranes (origami cranes) and see the beautiful view of Hiroshima
while being blown by the pleasant breeze.
- For moving around Hiroshima City
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| Meipuru-pu |
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Hiroden Streetcar |
- For lunch
Okonomiyaki
It is impossible to leave Hiroshima without eating Okonomiyaki!
You
may know Osaka Okonomiyaki, but this one is completely different.
There
are many small Okonomiyaki restaurants in the downtown area.
Some of them have options for vegetarians.
Day 2
There are various hotels in Hiroshima city, ranging from affordable
hotels to resort hotels. In addition, you can reach Miyajima from each
hotel in about 40 minutes to 1 hour.
From the hotels near Hiroshima Station or in the central area of the
city, you can use JR, Hiroden, and World Heritage Sea Routes. (Refer
to: Transport guide between Peace Memorial Park and Miyajima)
If you are staying at Grand Prince Hotel Hiroshima, you can get on a
high-speed boat bound for Miyajima right there.
- Machiya Street
Now, let us introduce a street where the old townscape remains.
The width of the house facing the street is very narrow, but it has
some depth to it and is vertically long.
* It is difficult to get into a private house, but the Miyajima
History and Folklore Museum, which is located in front of Itsukushima
Shrine, is a museum that uses an old wealthy merchant's house; you can
learn the structure of a typical old house there. (It is not on the
Machiya street.)
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Machiya Street |
Many of you may have seen the pictures of the Otorii of Itsukushima
Shrine as a representative scenery of Japan.
When the tide is high, you can see the beautiful shrine that floats on
the sea, and when the tide is low, you can walk close to the Otorii
and get overwhelmed by its size.
Each time you visit will you find yourself being impressed each way.
*The Otorii is currently under restoration work, which will last for
several years. (As of December, 2020)
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Courtesy of Hiroshima Prefecture |
- Momijidani Park
It is a famous spot, photos of which are often introduced during the
autumn leaf viewing season, but the greenery season is also very
beautiful.
If you walk through a gentle upward slope, you will reach the ropeway
station.
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Courtesy of Hiroshima Prefecture |
- Mt. Misen
From the top of the wooden observatory deck, you can enjoy a 360-degree
view of the Seto Inland Sea.
The ropeway makes it much easier for you to hike up to the top of Mt.
Misen. (Without ropeway, it takes about 1.5 hours to hike)
Since there are some steep slopes and stairs to the top, if you are
worried about your physical strength, you can enjoy the scenery from
the observation deck at the final station of the ropeway, "Shishiiwa
Station".
- Omote-sando Shopping Street
"Sando" is an approach to visit a shrine or temple, and "Omote" is a
word stands for the front.
Along Omote-sando in Miyajima, which is about 350 meters, there are
many souvenir shops and restaurants.
Out of many wonderful souvenirs, the local sweets "Momiji Manju" is
especially recommended.
It is a Manju (cake bun) shaped like Momiji (maple leaves) as often
seen in the mountains, and it contains sweet bean paste inside.
As you walk through the approach, you can see how the Momiji Manju are
automatically made by machines.
Some stores serve you with fresh baked Momiji Manju in-store.
Also, there are Momiji Manju with cheese, cream and chocolate instead
of sweet bean paste.
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| Courtesy of Hiroshima Prefecture |
- For lunch
On the island, there are many restaurants to eat inside and food stalls for walk around tasting variety of food.
In addition, some restaurants serve dishes for Muslims and Vegetarians.
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| Kimono, Tsubo-shozoku |
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