Hiroshima, City of Peace

  Hiroshima, Japan
Thursday, June 28, 2007

Message of Peace, Hiroshima

DH had the morning off, so we all went to the Peace Memorial Park. It was quite a somber and sobbering experience. Amazing to see the destruction and devastation caused by that bomb. Mr. X and Mr. T had not been there either, and they were struck by it as well.

Hiroshima BEFORE the A-Bomb

Hiroshima AFTER the A-Bomb

We went to a great place for Okonomiyaki for lunch. Hiroshima is known for this dish. There are different layers: cabbage, sliced pork, termpura squid, regular squid, fried noodles, egg, green onions and a bbq sauce. The kids and I sat in front of the huge stainless steel grill where it's cooked and watched the magic. We each had our own Okonimiyaki, but could easily have shared. My favorite part was the fried noodles: yumm! You can order other combinations/layers as well, but we all got the same thing. Tokyo and Osaka are also known for Okonomiyaki, but each have their own, different versions. I would like to try those some day too.

Final Touches--Okonomiyaki

DH had a talk in Hiroshima, so he and Mr. X and Mr. U went to the talk. Mr. T, the kids and I got on the train to go to Shrine Island. The train ride was about an hour. Our tickets included the train ride and entrance to the island. Once we arrived, we took a ferry over to the island. I was very excited to see the big, red Torii gate. The tide was out, so it was not in the water. The deer were everywhere, and one came up and nibbled on DD's shorts. The kids loved seeing the deer walking and laying around.

Red Pagoda

We headed over to one of the temples and went inside. It was open to the outdoors, and quite pretty. Apparently, John Lennon and Yoko Ono had a concert there at one time. It was in this little "gully" near this temple that the kids discovered the abundant crabs. They couldn't get enough of watching the crabs; forget looking at the gorgeous island or temples for them!

Looking through the Shrine

We then went over to what I assume is the main area. Lots of walkways that are over water when the tide is up (and lots of little crabs for the kids to watch). There is also a famous stage here.

Guardian

It was time for a snack so we went to a place with shaved ice. All but DS got green tea with azuki and milk. DS got lemon flavor. Wow, it was great. Ever so much better than American shaved ice. Definitely cooling and refreshing too. We sat by the window and watched deer walk by. It was a nice break. I had wanted to use the restroom there, but found they only had Japanese style toilets (the kind on the floor), so I said, no thanks. From there we headed back to the ferry dock, so we could get back to the hotel, get checked out, and head back to Tokyo. It was going to be a long night.

We got Lunch Box food for dinner to have on the train at the Hiroshima train station. For DS that consisted of a cool sushi box where each sushi was individually wrapped like little presents. He loved it. DD and I had mixed sandwiches...which are like tea sandwiches. They were delicious.

Finally boarded the train, and we were on our way back to Tokyo.

(continued on next travelogue)

Torii Gate Again