Hiroshima

We took the ferry to Hiroshima, marking a new form of transport whilst in Japan. It was a super jet and took only 80 minutes, including a stop at Kure. The scenery was great; the Seto Inland Sea has so many small islands. It was an easy tram ride from the port to Chuden-mae station, a short walk from our hotel, the Knot.

The Knot is quite a new and funky hotel, with reception on the top floor doubling as a rooftop bar. They give you tokens for use for free drinks and snacks; a clever idea.

We were hungry as there had been limited options at Matsuyama port or on the ferry, and it was after 2pm, so we headed to the nearest Mos Burger 🍔 After satisfying our appetites, we took the streetcar to Hiroshima station and organised our final train tickets for next Saturday. We wandered back to Hondori and checked out the shopping street (yep, another covered shopping street).

In the evening, we popped up to the hotel rooftop bar for a couple of drinks before heading out for dinner. There are a lot of Australians staying at the hotel, too many, if I'm honest.

I'd found a cool looking steak restaurant online, and we went to see if we could get in for dinner. We were lucky as it's an 11 seat restaurant! We sat at the counter and could see the chef doing his magic while the barman/waiter took care of everything else. The food was amazing, I had local wagyu, and Gayle had a Hokkaido fillet. Both were incredibly tender and flavoursome. It was a great experience, and we'll try to come again for lunch before we go.

In an effort to help all of our food digest, we strolled up to Peace Park and around the Atomic Bomb dome. Whilst we visited on a previous visit, this place always has such a powerful emotional impact on us. It's now such a serene park with ghostly ruins of an old government building; but borne out of such a horrible event.Read more