Hiroshima – Trouspinet travels

From Hiroshima we took a short ferry ride to the small island of Miyajima. On arrival, the area near the ferry terminal was quite touristy, with restaurants, cafés, souvenir shops, lots of visitors – and many deer, who roam around freely. The more domesticated ones hang around the town, trying to beg or steal food from the tourists (no unattended snack is safe from them); the wilder ones roam through the forests of the island. I had splurged on a treat for our accommodation – a night in Iwaso, one of Japan’s top ryokans (traditional inns). We found the place easily, but at reception they very apologetically told us that they were overbooked……..and would regretfully have to upgrade up to a private cottage. It was probably the best room in the whole place, located right at the end of property, next to a small stream. We lost no time in settling in and enjoyed the view and pleasant sound of water cascading over rocks.

It was now late afternoon and we set off to explore, first following the sound of traditional Japanese music drifting through the forest. We came across a performance of traditional Japanese dance, representing two priests overcoming two demons.

It was a wonderfully colourful spectacle, but it seems there not so many ways that demons can be vanquished, and after half an hour it got a bit repetitive. Since it was nearly time for sunset, we left the dancers and hurried to see the famous torii, the gate to the Itsukushima shrine, which at high tide appears to be floating on the sea. Despite the crowd of other tourists, we found a free bench on the seashore to watch as the sky turned from blue to orange to red to purple. As it grew dark, lights came long to illuminate the torii, which shone a bright red in the night. I had to discipline myself to stop taking photos and instead sit back and simply enjoy the beauty.

After that, it was time for dinner at the ryokan. The hotel had provided traditional Japanese clothing – a yukata (a casual form of a kimono) and a haori jacket to wear on top. They were very comfortable and when we arrived at the restaurant, we were glad to see most guests had opted to wear them. Dinner itself was a feast with many courses, which we chose to accompany with sake. Returning to our room, we found that the staff had prepared it for bed time by setting up two futon beds in the middle of the room.

Well fed and watered, we settled down on our comfortable beds and listened to the sounds of the stream outside until we fell fast asleep. We awoke for another sumptuous meal – breakfast this time. There were so many small bowls of food set out on our tray that the hotel provided a sort of map to tell us which was which.
Suitably nourished, we returned to enjoy our cottage for the remaining time left to us before check-out. We left Iwaso with a heavy heart, depositing our bags at reception and setting off to explore the island. First we returned to the Itsukushima shrine. It was now low tide, and the famous torii could be approached across the wet sand of the beach.

The torii is in fact firmly anchored to the ground

Legends say that the first torii on this site was built in 593, when the shrine was established. Over the years the torii has been replaced many times, and it probably took its current form in the 16th century. The torii we see today dates from 1875.

We dragged ourselves away from the beautiful, harmonious structure of the torii to take the cable car up to near the top of Mount Misan, Miyajima’s main mountain. We then walked the short remaining distance to the summit for some great 360 degree views over the Inland Sea, forward to Shikoku and back towards Hiroshima.

We decided to walk down rather than take the cable car again, which turned out to be a lucky decision.

We chose one of the many different possible paths at random and after passing through dense forest, arrived by chance at the mighty gates of the Daisho-In complex, which turned out to be an unexpected highlight of Miyajima, with some unusual sights quite different to what we had seen already in other temples in Japan.

…and striking features inside the temple complex

It was now time to leave magical Miyajima. We picked up our bags at the hotel, and their shuttle service dropped us at the ferry terminal. Our day ended with pleasant cruises across the Inland Sea – firstly back to Hiroshima port, and then by “jetboat” on to Matsuyama on Shikoku, the fourth largest island of Japan’s archipelago. The day and a half on Miyajima had been truly memorable and one of the highlights of our trip so far. Once you get away from the crowds around the ferry terminal, the island emanates a sense of peace and harmony, of which the beautiful torii is the ultimate expression.

Onwards to Shikoku – Cruising the Inland Sea

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Sunset from the Prince Hotel (it really was this colour)

Today we said goodbye to Kanazawa, a city we had really enjoyed. We took a bus to the station and went by train to Hiroshima, a trip that took about five hours, including a stop in Osaka to buy tickets for the second leg of the journey. Our hotel was the Prince Hotel, located some way out of town centre on a peninsula near the port.

The hotel had hosted the meeting of the G7 in 2023 and seemed very proud of this fact. We visited the table where the world’s leaders had lunch (by special arrangement, the hotel can offer deep-pocketed guests the same menu as served that day).

Vote for Trouspinet and Aki! (at the table where the G7 had lunch)

By the time we had checked in, it seemed a bit late to do anything in the city so we enjoyed the hotel’s onsen, which looked out onto the Inland Sea, the stretch of water separating Honshu (Japan’s biggest island) from Shikoku (the fourth biggest). It was a great view, and as the evening drew near, we got dressed to go to the top floor bar to see the spectacular sunset shown above.

The next day we started our exploration of the city with a pleasant walk around the peninsula we were on, which gave us more views out towards the countless small and large islands of the Inland Sea.

We arrived at the port, and I checked our onward boat connections, before we caught a tram to Hiroshima’s most famous and most visited site – the Peace Park, which contains the Peace Memorial Museum. We went around the latter first. It was a harrowing experience, starting with immediate impact of the first use of an atomic bomb.

At the start of the museum – Hiroshima before and after the bombing

The first part of the exhibition focussed on a large group of school children who had been mobilised to demolish wooden buildings and who were working near the place where the bomb exploded. They suffered horrific burns, which were shown in graphic detail in photographs, and either died immediately or later, in great pain. Next there were exhibits of some of the victim’s belongings like singed clothing or charred watches, and then a description of the longer-term suffering of people that survived the initial blast but died later of various illnesses caused by radiation or burns. It was harrowing and shocking material, leaving a visitor sad and angry. Later floors of the museum were a bit easier to visit, being devoted to the development and reasons for use of the bomb, testimonies from survivors and the efforts to rebuild the city after the war.

Outside the museum was a complete contrast. There was a beautiful park, with several monuments promoting peace.

Memorial to schoolgirls killed in the Hiroshima bombing

There was also the Peace Memorial Hall, with a display of a view of the city after the bombing as seen from the hypocentre (point where the bomb exploded), and a sculpture representing a clock showing 8.15 – the time of the explosion.

A bit further away was the Atomic Bomb Dome – the ruins of a building that was the only thing left standing near the centre of the blast. The dome itself was made of copper supported by iron girders; the heat of the explosion melted the copper but left the iron standing.

After seeing the sites in and around the Peace Park, we went for a stroll around the city centre. There were few other classic tourist sights, but it had a pleasant feel, both relaxed and busy at the same time, and a remarkable location – sandwiched between mountains and the Inland Sea, with its countless small islands. As we headed to the port to catch the ferry to our next destination, we contemplated the contrasts between the utter devastation after the bombing and the thriving city that exists today, with its friendly people and peaceful vibe. Perhaps there is another important message to be taken from Hiroshima, in addition to the evils of nuclear weapons. It is one of the triumph of the human will in the face of suffering and adversity – in the form of the thriving and pleasant city the Japanese rebuilt from the ashes of Hiroshima.

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Tag: Hiroshima

Magical Miyajima

An Unexpected Lesson from Hiroshima