Hiroshima: Miyajima Island, Itsukushima Shrine, Peace Park Memorial, Okonomiyaki

Day Six

BREAKFAST

Convenience store bread from the one a minute's walk from the hotel. Not the one outside the station, which is two minutes' walk from the hotel. That would be absurd. Who would waste the time.

Kare-pan (curry bread), potato fries (salty, soggy, and rather unexceptional), melon pan (bread with a sugar cookie topping), and a korokke pan (potato croquette bun - surprisingly good, but very dense on the carbohydrates).

SHINKANSEN TO HIROSHIMA

It was just our luck that we arrived in Kyoto station prepared to take the bullet train to Hiroshima that every shinkansen in service had been inexplicably delayed. As Sis#1 and I struggled to ask for a means of reaching Hiroshima we waded through masses of confused citizens. Delay in Japan is rare - even by a few minutes, so having whole lines halted for hours must be nearly unthinkable. The queues for ticket exchange were enormous, and the station attendants were rushing to answer questions left and right. The crowds were a mix of rushing people and stunned bystanders - and to think we had been giggling of the three-minute train delay in Inari station the day before. Surely, someone was fired that day.

Inari Station Day 5: the text on the electric banner reads "delay 3min". Shocking.

MIYAJIMA ISLAND

We got to Hiroshima regardless, first taking a train before changing to a bullet train in an adjacent city. From Hiroshima station we travelled to Miyajimaguchi station and taking the ferry to the island.

An ominous picture of the Island

Directly outside the ferry terminal, we were greeted by a surprise someone.

One of many roaming deer.

The surprise had family on the island. The island is home to a lot of deer which are free to roam the streets. It's advised that they aren't fed or touched, though that didn't stop a lot of people from excitedly taking photos. The island taught me the sound that these quiet creatures make, which is a high-pitched squeal, much like the creaking of door hinges (I'm not kidding). Unfortunately, cute as they were, with wild animals comes poop, and lots of it. We had to be careful where we trod, the droppings were everywhere.

ITSUKUSHIMA SHRINE

Walking along the waterfront eventually leads to Itsukushima Shrine. Entrance fee is ¥300.

Part of Itsukushima Shrine

Thick fog made for unfortunately bad photos.

Always paranoid, I had an irrational fear the floorboards would give way and I'd fall into the water, but they stayed strong. It was particularly more nerving when it began to drizzle with rain, making the wood on the uncovered walkways slippery, and combined with my pessimism and bad balance made me somewhat unhappy.

This bridge is steeper than it looks

Again, a lot of shopping can be done on the island, for various trinkets and whatnot.

MIYAJIMA ISLAND : FOOD

Circling around Miyajima Island made it very clear that the island was famous for several things : Momiji cakes, which are cakes cooked in pans to give it the distinct momiji-leaf shape. These have fillings, which vary from shop to shop, the obvious one being adzuki (red bean paste). Other fillings include chocolate, custard cream, raisins, green tea paste, and cheese.

The momiji cakes were also for sale for souvenirs; this one is part of a box we brought home (more to come)

Two other famed foods from the island are anago (conga eel, similar to unagi but often more expensive, and supposedly healthier), and oysters the size of my palm. A stall in the surrounding area of Itsukushima Shrine sells steamed eel buns for a dear ¥430. It was not exactly to my taste, but the others enjoyed it.

Anago or beef steamed buns

More suited to my palate was the stall that sold oyster kare-pan (curry bread). I have a strange fascination with curry bread. There's something about curry sauce in deep-fried dough that makes me want to eat more. Found in generally every convenience store and bakery, I had it every chance I could. This curry bread was no exception - at ¥320 apiece, it was not only cheaper than the steamed buns, but much more delicious (or at least I thought), more so that we bought one on the way to the shrine, and one on the way back. The stall is situated along the waterfront leading to the shrine, and as the girl attending the stand is constantly yelling of her wares, it was hard to miss, and difficult to resist.

With two oysters per bun, this was totally worth it.

LUNCH : CAFE BAMBINO

Unsurprisingly, a lot of the waterfront eateries were relatively expensive, as it's a tourist area. Most of the restaurants focus on the island's specialities of oysters and anago, bringing the prices for the average meal even higher. After a few circles around the area, we finally settled on a Cafe Bambino. I had forgotten to take photos, but luckily I found it on Google Maps.

From Google Maps: Arrow indicates Cafe Bambino.

Cafe Bambino: on the left with the green sign, right beside the exhibition of a very large rice paddle. A little further to the right is the post office, so it's difficult to miss.

The restaurant is a tiny shop seating only around ten, and a couple at the counter. The menu is also very limited, so we opted for four dishes to share (having already eaten snacks previously).

Anago bento - at ¥1,400, I was told by the chef that this was cheap, and in comparison to other restaurants in the surrounding area it was fair to agree.

An oyster set, also at around ¥1,200-1,400 (from memory)

Breaded oyster set

The last dish was a curry dish, which I failed to take a photo of. The selection included oyster, pork cutlet, or the one we had, prawn (about ¥1,000), and it was unfortunate that we missed a photo. The curry was possibly the best we had in Japan, as it was thicker, creamier, and a had an entirely new richness that made it almost meaty. Though the other three dishes were also pretty good (the oysters were huge), during the remainder of the trip the whole family continued to comment on the taste of the curry at Cafe Bambino, making it a clear but unexpected winner. If there's ever a chance to try it, this is the place to go.

HIROSHIMA PEACE MEMORIAL PARK

Following lunch, we returned to Hiroshima, taking a tram. Feeling very old-timey, the fare for the trams is a set ¥160 per person, again paid as one alights. The tram maps are indicated very clearly, making it a good option for travel, as it's easy to read and follow. One tram stopped directly opposite the road from the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, making it very convenient and easy to use.

A tram in Hiroshima

Crossing the bridge to the Memorial Park

I'm not one for sad things. Memorials and cenotaphs are very much included in the wide umbrella of sad things. Fortunately for me, the museum was closed for the evening by the time we arrived (and only just), sparing me from the eerie feeling of being haunted by the owners of the names we may have seen on the memorials. Museums and I don't mix, especially not history museums.

The peace memorial

The museum from afar

The building pictured below is the only surviving building of the Hiroshima bombing. The history is that the bomb was recalibrated to explode just above the city, and as this was right beneath the explosion suffered less impact than everything else. After the war, there was argument whether to keep the building standing, as it held many bad memories, but after some years it was decided that it would remain, as a memorial for those who were killed.

The building was undergoing a maintenance check that occurs once every three years, hence the scaffolding.

DINNER : OKONOMIYAKI

Hiroshima is famous for its vamped-up okonomiyaki, separated into layers as compared to the more famous Kansai-style mix of batter, vegetables, and meat. Hiroshima is also famous for a group of restaurants situated in a building called Okonomi-mura (a portmanteau of okonomiyaki, referring to the pancake, and mura, meaning "village"), about five minutes walk from the hotel. Having staked out the area, we were uncertain where to begin - the building has several storeys and rivalling restaurants in the direct surrounding area. As we'd looked into Okonomi-mura online we searched the area and found an adjoining building, Okonomi Republic, next door. As we went up the elevator, we were joined by a young lady who requested the third floor. We asked if there was a good place to eat and she lead us to Rikimaru. One of the first stalls on the left, the sign is a bright red. We were seated, along with the woman, and two others, a good indication of the popularity of the restaurant.

We ordered a cheese okonomiyaki and Rikimaru Special (or was it Rikimaru Best? We were quarrelling over which to choose), with the intention of jumping stalls after trying a few. Unlike in Kyoto, we had the chance to watch the okonomiyaki being cooked right in front of us. Beginning with a base of batter, topped with layers of cabbage, pork belly strips, bean sprouts, noodles, egg, and extra fillings (such as the cheese, rice crackers, or mochi).

Cooking in front of us: the batter is a lot thinner in a Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki, as shown by the thin pancake sitting atop the pile of fillings on the two on the left.

Unlike the Kyoto restaurant, the okonomiyaki was served sliced up without the option of extra sauce. No mayonnaise would ruin the taste of those babies, and damn, they were good.

It was as amazing as it looks

It disappeared pretty quickly

We decided for our second restaurant we would return to Okonomi-mura to try one of them out. We headed straight for the fourth floor (a random decision), and chose a stall to the left. Though I didn't catch the name of the stall, it was to the left of the elevator on the right-hand side of the hallway, the second-to-last stall before the wall. (From memory and according to the website photos it was likely to have been Yakidouraku.)

My specifics for identifying this stall is a sad one: we chose the stall as it had customers already, with the assumption it would be better. The woman serving was very happy to see five new customers, but after ordering only two pancakes between the five of us, seemed a little miffed. After it was clear we weren't ordering more, she began to talk to her other two customers in Japanese, and though my comprehension isn't up to standard I understood enough to know she was complaining of our coming to the building only to try one or two at several different stands. Her exact words weren't necessary, when the rest of my family caught on the gist of their conversation through the tone and body language alone. Though she was relatively hospitable, we were silent throughout the remainder of the meal, unlike the friendly smiles and the friendly welcome of the Rikimaru chef and young woman who led us there. The okonomiyaki may have tasted decent (the Korean twist of including kimchi and toppoki, or ddeokbokki Korean rice cakes, gave it an interesting flavour and texture), but it was the first time I truly experienced the phrase "bringing a sour taste to one's mouth". It was a mistake to eat there just because there had been other customers.

None of my family managed photos of that stall or food; the service, however unintentional, was enough to upset us into silence. We regretted not eating at the last stand near the wall, empty, but with a very friendly-looking chef, and if there's ever the opportunity, I would like to steer more customers to the empty stand: fourth floor, left of elevator with a red flag right up against the wall ("Keichan/Achan", second-to-last listed on the fourth floor stalls).


While the rest of my family enjoyed the more traditional Kansai-style okonomiyaki from the night before, I thoroughly enjoyed the Hiroshima okonomiyaki. I have an inkling that the lack of Japanese mayonnaise had a part to play, but nonetheless I enjoyed both. When in Japan, try okonomiyaki - but with the warning that it will make your clothes smell of food.


End Day 6.