Hiroshima, Atomic Bombs, Baseball and Quiet Islands...but alas, the macaques elude me yet again

Well folks,

I have returned, safe and sound you'll all be glad to hear, from Hiroshima and the surrounding islands of the Japanese Inland Sea. I am glowing, but in a healthy way, not in a "Springfield-esque" kind of way. Where to start, where to start...Hiroshima I guess. We departed on the Shinkansen on Wed morning, bright and early. The Shinkansen is mad, it's like being in a plane about to take off for 90 minutes...the ears pop at intervals and the speed is cool. We caught the super fast train with only 2 stops before Hiroshima. Once we arrived at Hiroshima, we headed to scour a place to stay, the day was beautiful, hot but it didn't dampen our spirits in search of a bed. Having found cheap accomodation (30yoyos a night) in the Aster Plaza, we dumped our gear and out we went to see the sights of Hiroshima, camera in hand.

The first port of call was the omnipresent Starbucks for a well earned coffee and a cinnamon scone...yup, they even have scones here. After my medium Mocha Frappachino (I'm getting well posh these days) it was off to the Peace Memorial Park to see the Centopath and the A-Bomb Dome, that famous of all sights that is recognized the world over. The park itself was okay, plenty of tourists and the like but the A-Bomb Dome was pretty hard hitting on the eye, surrounded by trees, rivers and a modern thriving city. It is certainly an eerie place, a weird feeling surrounds the building but the message is there and the destruction is there to see also. Definitely worth visiting and definitely worth spending some time there by the river...it's very peaceful at the same time as being haunting




We also went to visit Hiroshima castle which was one of the better castles I've seen since coming here. The museum inside was cool giving detailed accounts of how the castle came to being and the warring samurai who ran the city over the centuries. One could try on a traditional samurai war helmet and a top that they wore for protection. Excellent.

After that we took in a baseball game to watch the local pro team the Carps play. It was a great laugh and unfortunately my camera battery died so no shots of the game. It was my first time at a baseball game in years, beers were drunk and celebrating with the locals was done. We even were on the big screen during the game so we all danced a jig much to the delight of the crowd...a good night.

The following day, and the next day for that matter, was spent on Miya-jima, an island not far off the mainland. It is a beautiful place with plenty to see and do. Beaches to chill out on, moutains to climb, birds to see and tourists to watch. The 3rd biggest tourist draw in Japan is there, the O-Torri Gate which is out in a small inlet, leading to the Itsukushima-jinja temple, which, incidently, was damaged by the recent typhoons. In fact, much of the island was hit hard by the typhoons and there was a lot of repair work going on while we were there. The Torri gate is mad, a large red wooden structure marking the entrance to the temple. We strolled around there, paddling in the sea and watching the deer fight and causing mayhem. They eat just about anything. There is a cable car to the top of Mt. Misen which we duly took as it was too hot to climb. At the top there was the promise of the elusive Japanese Macaque...and once again, they proved to be elusive!!! I'll have to wait for the winter before I can see them I think. Anyway, the view from the top, once one traversed the remaining 500m to the top, was stunning. A panoramic vista of the bay and islands...truly magnificant. Of course, spoiling the view was the sight of an American sub powering through the channel, making it's way to the base that is situated in Hiroshima. There are a lot of marines in the city and some of them are barely able to shave let alone handle a rifle. The locals tolerate them but when I asked a local bar owner what he thought of their presence, he said they cause trouble when they are out drinking but they are fine when they are not. It's an added economic bonus to them so I guess they won't complain too much.


The rest of the time was spent walking around Hiroshima. It's a magnificent city and it certainly knocks Osaka out the water. Hiroshima is by far more sophisticated, funky, vibrant, gentler and more content in itself I think. We found the people not as garish, lound or obnixous as the Osakans. In fact, the people from the two cities don't like each other at all, a bit like Cork/Dublin rivalry. The bars there were excellent and the city just had something that Osaka lacks...I could definitely live in Hiroshima, I'd move there in the morning in fact. The trams were cool and the bridges were stunning. The streets are broader and the city is CLEANER! A beautiful city with so much to offer, I'd highly recommend a visit should you decide to visit this amazing country. I felt part of the city, comfortable even, for the first time I have felt part of Japan since arriving here. I will definitely go back there. Having met some cool people who were genuine and sound. A guy called Bom owns the bar Koba which was pretty damn cool, and he has jammed with the crowd from Stomp who have played in Hiroshima earlier this year. A nice fella and his bar was superb, great design and atmosphere. It's certainly a happening city...

I could go on and on about Hiroshima but it'll probably bore you so here I shall stop. I thoroughly enjoyed my time away from work, Osaka and the drudgery of everyday life in Osaka. I feel rested and it was nice to sleep in a bed...my second time since I arrived here in April!!! Oh, such bliss...the back behaved itself, moderately, over the few days. The scans will be needed though.

Until next time, I bid you all adieu.

ps: this week I have mostly been eating oysters