The next morning I set off early because I had a long journey ahead of me: with the Shinkansen via Osaka to Hiroshima. I naturally wanted to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and the associated museum there, and hopefully also get a chance to explore the nightlife.
Southbound on the Shinkansen
By now I was almost a pro at travelling by express train. For this trip, I had been smart enough to make the reservation from Ueno. Therefore I only had a short walk with light luggage. It turned out to be a bit tricky to determine the best connection: I had to change in Osaka, but Google Maps insisted on only showing me connections with the Nozomi, the fastest train option on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen. Which is, sadly, not covered by the JR Pass. So I had to piece together the connection manually.
Apart from that, the trip was rather unspectacular. I had booked a window seat on the right and managed to catch some nice views of Mount Fuji. However, it is quite a challenge to take good pictures when you’re sitting on a train that is whizzing through the landscape at around 300 km/h. So there were none… One of the provisions I had taken with me for the trip was the small “cat cake” from Sendai. It’s a shame you can’t take something like that home as a souvenir. The cake was super cute but tasted rather bland. The coffee and the bento box were much more satisfying!
Stopover in Osaka
I had about an hour’s layover in Osaka, enough time for a quick snack at Starbucks. Then I was on my way. In the station, I noticed a large advertising board for a German city, but I couldn’t figure out which one. Dear followers, maybe you’ll recognize it. Otherwise, it was business as usual: line up on the platform, get on quickly, relax.
Hiroshima, mon amour
Das Wetter in Hiroshima war prächtig und fast schon zu warm für mein Outfit. Ähnlich wie in Sendai gibt es auch in Hiroshima einen Sightseeing-Bus, den Meipuru-pu. Dort gilt sogar der JR-Pass, und da mein kleines Ryokan vom Friedenspark nur 200 m entfernt war, war das auch die günstigste Möglichkeit, dorthin zu kommen.
The weather in Hiroshima was gorgeous, almost too warm for my outfit. Similar to Sendai, Hiroshima also has a sightseeing bus, the Meipuru-pu. The best part: the JR Pass is valid for that bus, and since my little ryokan was only 200 m walking distance from the Peace Memorial Park, this was a great option to get there.
Das Ikawa Ryokan war nett, auch wenn das Zimmer sehr klein war. Allerdings roch es dort recht penetrant nach Kohl oder so etwas. Für mich als sehr sensorisch sensible Person war das recht unangenehm – aber die herzliche Bewirtung, der sehr günstige Preis und die geschickte Lage kompensierten das ganz gut. Ich checkte schnell ein und dann ging es über die Brücke zum
The Ikawa Ryokan was nice, even though the room was tiny. On the downside, it smelled quite strongly of cabbage or something like that. Being a very sensory-sensitive person, that was quite unpleasant – but the warm hospitality, the very reasonable price, and the perfect location compensated for that quite well. I checked in quickly and then went over the bridge to the
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
There really isn’t that much to say about it. I can only recommend that everyone see it for themselves and take in the impressions. Famous spots like the Peace Memorial, the Cenotaph, or the Children’s Peace Memorial are absolutely worth seeing. You should bring enough time, the whole place is not something where you should run around like a confused rabbit.
In my opinion, the museum is the highlight: even if you already know the facts, their presentation leaves an immediate and very unsettling impression. The exhibition focuses on individual fates, and that makes a lot of it hard to watch. I was emotionally very shaken after the visit. That’s why I recommend against visiting it with children or as an unaccompanied young person (the museum does recommend an accompanying adult). Especially given our current state of the world, where war is apparently once again perceived as a legitimate means of politics, the impression is rather depressing.
The discussion of the “question of guilt” is carried out from a Japanese perspective – this can and should be discussed. But this museum is certainly not the right place for relativization or balancing.
I would recommend coming early in the day. I was there quite late (around 3 pm) and it was extremely crowded. Museums in Japan tend to be emptier in the morning.
Nightlife
The evening mood was slowly setting in. I rushed back to the hostel from the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, quickly changed into a different outfit, and then headed out into the nightlife. But first, dinner was on the agenda:
Okonomi-yaki in Okonomi-Mura
Okonomi-yaki is the region’s specialty. I would describe it as kebab-noodle-pancake-pizza. There are Okonomi restaurants on every street corner in Hiroshima. But you can get the most “immersive” experience in Okonomi-Mura. This “Okonomi Village” has many restaurants on several floors, all exclusively serving this dish. All of them are small, even tiny shops. Basically a large steel counter on which the food is fried plus a few chairs.
I had a hard time deciding on the best place and ended up at Hirochan, more by chance, because a seat had just become available. That said, I don’t think you’ll end up disappointed in any of the restaurants. The Okonomi-yaki is prepared directly at your table on a large steel plate and then cut up with small scrapers. It was superb and plentiful. I almost couldn’t finish it. You should absolutely try this if you’re interested in Hiroshima’s regional cuisine.
On the prowl
After that, I was in the mood for the nightlife. I really wanted to see what the LGBT community was up to. But that quickly turned out to be uninteresting. The only open bar was Step 1 International, and it was dead there. The warning on the entrance door was unfounded in any case 😉
I traipsed through the streets trying to find the other places on the list while avoiding the dozens of host and hostess bars. Luckily, as a foreigner, you are not in the target group anyway and are usually left in peace. I stopped by Step 1 again later, but it was even more deserted.
Hanging out in the world’s smallest (and cutest!) bar
Finally, I ended up in Suizokan, a tiny bar behind an inconspicuous door. Yessssss, I just took one of the top results from Tripadvisor 😉 And it was REALLY nice. Two older, distinguished gentlemen flanked me and thanks to Google Translate it wasn’t just “lost in translation”. I learned a lot about Kyūshū, where I wanted to go the next day (sorry, unfortunately, I didn’t make it to Kure to see the wreck of the Yamato, and the sand bath in Oita is closed. Gomenasai!).
The landlady handed me a picture/illustration book that I could have used to communicate, and everyone was just so friendly. The atmosphere was charming and the whiskey was good, although very expensive. But it was worth the money. I had a good and funny conversation, even if it was a bit halting. My Japanese was definitely not up to par with the demands. As soon as they tried to explain something to me, I had to resort to my phone. But every time I said something, everyone was enthusiastic.
Unfortunately, the bar closed at midnight, as is usual in Japan (which I didn’t know at that time, though). Even though the evening turned out completely different than planned, I was happy as a clam, relaxed, warm, and a bit tipsy as well. I was also really tired by now and looking forward to my comfy mattress. I strolled back to the ryokan because I didn’t want to be too late – the next day I had to get up again at half past six!