Hiroshima Sights

In Okayama we caught the street car to the station where we caught the Shinkansen Hikari to Hiroshima. On the way we spotted the Hello Kitty Shinkansen. We arrived at Hiroshima and caught the street car to our hotel where we dropped our luggage. It is located close to the Hiroshima Peace Park so we set out to explore the memorial park. There are multiple reminders and memorials of the terrible day in 1945 when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. There were many school groups visiting the park and we witnessed a moving scene where one group paid respects and sang at The Children's Peace Monument. After the Peace Park we visited the reconstructed Hiroshima Castle which was originally built in the 1590s, but was destroyed by the atomic bombing. It is surrounded by an impressive moat and large grounds and inside there is an interesting museum and great views of the city. We left the castle and walked to Shukkeien Garden. What a beautiful garden...Shukkeien literally means shrink-scenery so it has many miniaturised landscapes. The centre is a pond with inlets surrounded by mountains, valleys, bridges, arbours, bamboo, tea houses all connected by a path. As a senior (65 and over) Malcolm once again was admitted for free! As we weren't sure of the correct street car to take we walked back to the hotel via the Peace Park and checked in. It has an amazing view over the river and once settled we went to a local Japanese fast food restaurant for chicken and rice bowls.Read more