Hiroshima and Miyajima Island

We only spent around 24 hours in the Hiroshima area in total, having squeezed it into our three-week Spring in Japan itinerary fairly late. But I'm very glad we did!

Miyajima Island

We found a B&B close to the ferry dock to Miyajima Island, so that we could start our day as early as possible. We planned to be on the 7am ferry to beat the crowds, as we'd heard that the island gets incredibly busy, especially during the popular spring period.

We certainly weren't the first ones to arrive, but it was still relatively calm as we caught our first glimpse of one of Japan's most iconic sights: the torii gate rising up out of the water near Itsukushima Shrine. Getting there early had other advantages that day: the tide was in, meaning the torii gate could be viewed in its finest state, reflected in the water.

We made our way to Itsukushima Shrine itself, paid the small entry fee, and enjoyed wandering around its waterborne platforms in relative peace. We enjoyed seeing the stacked barrels of sake, used for religious ceremonies.

We also took advantage of the lack of crowds to snap this very satisfying wing of the shrine, painted in the traditional vibrant red symbolising sacredness and protection against evil.

From Itsukushima Shrine, we made our way up the hill in the middle of the island, stopping off at the Five Story Pagoda on the way. We met any number of deer during our walk, most of them simply interested in stealing any snacks we happened to have on our person.

Our ultimate destination was Daisho-in Temple, a renowned Buddhist temple. While we were there, festivities for Buddha's birthday were due to begin, and we found ourselves in the midst of a flurry of preparation for the celebrations. Still, there were pockets of peace to be found. Firstly, we accidentally stumbled upon a cave shrine hidden under a traditional garden. It was stunningly lit by hundreds of lanterns.

Then, halfway down the grand staircase leading up to the temple, we were very lucky to find the Buddha garden, crammed full of hundreds of little Buddha statues wearing wooly hats; each Buddha is hand carved and completely unique.

By this point, the island was busy, so our plan was to head into Hiroshima itself. Before leaving, we grabbed some momiji-manju, a buckwheat and rice cake shaped like a Japanese maple leaf, and stuffed with fillings ranging from red bean paste to chocolate. These cakes are local to the Hiroshima area. My personal favourite filling was the custard, and there's also the option to get the cakes deep-fried, which I'd recommend!

Before I begin to write about Hiroshima itself, I should probably note that I returned alone to Miyajima Island to watch the sunset that night. Although still busy, this didn't detract from the atmosphere - in fact, there was a companionable mood amongst everyone sitting along the sea's edge. I ended up causing a bit of a distraction from the sunset, however, when I made the mistake of opening up a momiji-manju in the presence of a deer. The determined deer decided it wanted a piece of my snack and wouldn't be taking no as an answer; it chased me onto a narrow ledge overhanging the water. I had to rely on the kindness of strangers to lure the deer away. I could have just given it my cake, I suppose, but I really, really didn't want to sacrifice my delicious momiji-manju!

The sunset was worth the embarassment, though!

Hiroshima

It was cherry blossom season in Hiroshima, so our first stop was Hiroshima Castle, framed satisfyingly with sakura blooms.

We didn't linger long, however, because our grumbling stomachs were urging us on to our lunch appointment with hiroshima-okonomiyaki. Okonomiyaki is a sort of omelette-pancake hybrid, featuring egg, cheese, shredded pancake, pork, seafood and spring onion, grilled on a hot plate into a gooey mass. The Hiroshima variety, however, is next-level, incorporating noodles into the mix! It was absolutely delicious, and probably the most unhealthy thing it's possible to eat in japan!

Finally, we had to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, the blasted-out shell of a once-grand building, now called the Genbaki Dome, that bore the brunt of the atomic bomb that killed thousands of people in 1945. The memorial is a fitting tribute, powerful and moving, and an absolute must-visit when in Hiroshima. It almost felt wrong to be taking photographs of it, which is why I don't have one to add here.

All in all, I'm very glad that we factored Hiroshima and Miyajima Island into our 3-week itinerary at the last minute!