It took all my willpower to drag myself out of bed on my first Saturday in Hiroshima. Jet-lagged and unsure what to do first, I decided a stroll along one of Hiroshima's many wide boulevards was in order. It was sweltering, but that didn't deter me!
I was surprised by how many trees there were.
Unlike most Japanese cities, Hiroshima doesn't have an underground system. All of the rivers would have made it too expensive, so they built tram lines instead. They imported trams from across Japan and Europe. There are even two trams still running that survived the atomic bombing.
Hiroshima is built on a delta, so it has many bridges and rivers running through it.
I walked to Fukuya, a large department store above Hiroshima Station, and bought lunch: sushi, peach juice and a ￥199 (£1.40) apple. Yes, £1.40...
Fruit is very expensive in Japan (probably because there's so little space to grow it?). It's common to find a melon costing £40 (and above) in a supermarket. But everything is exactly the same size. There's something kind of eerie about walking past row upon row of identical strawberries...
Delicious sushi bento
They double bagged it...with air...
This is what a £1.40 apple looks like. It was huge, and very sweet. I've noticed Japanese people like sweet things a lot.
Just before I left, I took a few pictures of the signs they had on a wall of the food court.
So do I...
We sure are...
Oh, you shouldn't have...
They seem to like putting random English captions and phrases (that make no sense or are just strange) in adverts and on packaging.
The next day, I went with Ueuchi-san to the Hiroshima Peace Park. He met me outside my accommodation, but he seemed to find my summer clothes quite amusing. It was so hot on Friday and Saturday, I was sure Sunday would be the same.
I was very wrong.
A sand storm from China came rolling in on that day. The temperature dropped by about 10 degrees, so I was freezing later on.
We went to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum; it was a harrowing experience. People's suffering was described in such horrible detail, there were models of people with their flesh melting off their bones. I actually had to turn my audio guide off at one point because it was just too much for me.
I would recommend going here to anyone who visits Hiroshima. Just make sure you do something afterwards to help you get back to normal. Ueuchi-san insisted on taking pictures on me in front of various memorials afterwards. I just managed a semblance of a smile.
This is the Atomic Dome. It was the closest building to the epicentre to not be completley destroyed by the bomb. It now acts as a stark reminder as to what once happened here.
We went to an Okonomiyaki restaurant afterwards (Ueuchi-san assures me it's the best one in Hiroshima) to sample the local specialty.
Okonomiyaki is a sort of savoury pancake which contains many ingredients (including cabbage and noodles), which differ depending on the region. Hiroshima style includes cabbage and noodles, which are layered on top of each other (as opposed to mix together, which is done in Osaka).
The end result is a delicious, almost creamy, tangle of noodles and thin strips of pork. Tangy okonomiyaki sauce, mayonnaise and green nori (seaweed) powder are generously heaped on top.
We then went to a large shopping centre and a supermarket, where Ueuchi-san tried to explain what all the weird things were (anyone up for chikuwa?).
I bought a bento for dinner and went home to try and heat it up in my microwave. I wasn't sure which button to press:
I went for number 4, but I kept ready to turn it off, just in case it exploded...
Later on in the week, I was to learn of the awesome, destructive powers unleashed by microwaving the humble egg...
...stay tuned...
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