Hiroshima

Hiroshima

About Hiroshima

Hiroshima is well known for its history with the atomic bomb and the Peace Memorial Park. Although it is a rather large prefecture, the main sites are in or near Hiroshima-shi, and it is an easy city to get around.
Travel Season: Spring, Autumn, Winter
Transportation: Public transport + Foot

Top 3 Foods:

1. うえの (Ueno)

I would say the anago (conger eel) I had the morning I arrived in Hiroshima was my best meal there. The reason is that I had never eaten anago as a donburi; rice bowl topped with something. Although I have unagi (eel) once in a while, I never really knew the difference and through this experience, I learned I prefer anago.

The reason why I like anago better is that it isn’t as oily as unagi. The anago on the left is called a shirayaki meaning there is no oil, salt, or anything used when grilling the item. Therefore it was served with some salt and wasabi on the side. It is great if you want to taste the anago as it is.
The donburi was even more enjoyable, with the dried sansho pepper condiment. The Miso soup and tsukemono (Japanese-style pickles) that came on the side, made it a very pleasant and luxurious breakfast.
The store opens at 10:00am but the waiting area next to it was packed at 9:30am. I was able to get in the first round, however, you will be seated with other customers. For me, this was quite interesting. You may also be seated at a counter if you are alone or a small group. I highly recommend you arrive before 9:30am if you are visiting on a weekend and not willing to wait.

2. 中ちゃん (Naka-chan)

Naka-chan is a restaurant that pops up in an anime called Wakako Zake. The anime is based in Hiroshima, and Wakako-san the main character visits a new restaurant in each episode to find the perfect match of tusmami and drink after a day of hard work.

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The foodie that I am, there was no way I was going to miss the uni-kureson (sea urchin and watercress saute) from that show. It was a Saturday night, and I had no reservation, so I called the minute they opened at 6pm, and they allowed me to have a table until 7pm.

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I loved it and managed to scoop every last drop of sauce of the plate. Because we didn’t have much time, there wasn’t much that we could order. I have had better okonomiyaki but I found that the uni-kureson was better than the uni-horen (sea urchin spinach saute) that I tried the next day. It was just a dream come true!

3. 獅魂 (Shikon)

Surprise! I only had two days in Hiroshima, so I managed to squeeze in a second dinner the same night I went to Naka-chan. We only really ended up finding the place, because we had started our night so early, and had a lot of time to wander before feeling hungry enough.

I went in with no expectation and was just looking for tasty Hiroshima sake and some decent tsumami, but ended up finding some very nostalgic items such as the soramame beans above. The sashimi was fatty and tasted great. There were many other items on the menu was interested in, and had no space.
Although I did not have anything Hiroshima exclusive, other than the sake, it is a place I would definitely stop by when in Hiroshima the next time.

1. 宮島 (Miyajima)

My favorite place to visit in Hiroshima is Miyajima aka. Yakushima. This place is famous for its torii and shrine that come in and out of the water based on the tide. If you have enough time, you can time your visit, so that you arrive at high tide and leave at low, or vice-versa.
Do not miss the shrine! You have to pay to get in, but it is beautiful, and I like to walk through it everytime I go.

Momiji-Manju is a common omiyage (souvenir) in Japan. Although I love it the way it is, the deep-fried version is a specialty I can only get, while on Miyajima.

Since I started retraveling Japan, I have started to focus on alcohol in the different prefectures. Hiroshima is famous for its lemons, and one of the sake shops in Miyajima happened to offer a Hiroshima original Gin. These kinds of small interesting shops can be found behind the main street so you might want to do a little exploring.

Have fun!

2. 平和記念公園 (Peace Memorial Park)

Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures last time I went. Although I had been before, I had just watched この世界の片隅に (In This Corner of the World) which is about the Hiroshima and the atomic bomb and wasn’t handling everything very well. However, it is really a peaceful park, and it is amazing that there is no anger there.

There is a free tour of the park given by volunteers, in which you can go in small groups. I highly recommend you visit the Peace Memorial Park even if you don’t like history… like me!

3. 呉 (Kure)

I only found out about Kure after watching この世界の片隅に (In This Corner of the World). I am not sure if it is worth going to if you are not traveling in a car, which is not necessary for Hiroshima, but the Yuugure tour in which you learn about the cargos and navy ships parked in the area was nice.

Kure also offers a nice view from on top of the mountain. It is a little bit hard to get to if you mess up the road to get on, but I enjoyed the ride as well.IMG_8543

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