The final one

Day 8: 24th June

Yes, we have finally made it to the final Japan blog!

We had finally arrived to one of the places that I was looking forward to the most whilst in Japan: Hiroshima.  Whilst in school I always found this particular topic very interesting to study, and coincidentally, so many thoughts were going through my head as we were nearing the city a, to what it would be like.  However, even though everything was calm (Naturally. I don't know why I thought it would be any different) it added to the eeriness of the place.  I guess it just reinforced what it was like the day the atomic bomb was dropped.  Everyone going about their daily business, not knowing what was going to happen.  Sounds really obvious, but it's a feeling you can't describe until you're there in person. 

Again, we were booked on a tour to make the most out of the short time we had in Hiroshima, with the tour starting with a boat ride to the Island of Miyasima.  Miyasima is famous for having the floating red Torii gate in the water, which can be seen from virtually anywhere along a strip of the island.  In all honesty, as we were approaching the island I thought the boat was going to capsize due to the rush of people fleeing to the one side of the boat to get a good picture of the gate.  Yes, it was a good photo opportunity, but there were so many others on the island too that this is definitely a tip for if you are visiting the island.  Wait until you get to the island where you can get a much better picture of the gate! Plus it's less crowded.  

Our first attempt at having a picture with the gate 

A picture of the gate from the island

Unfortunately, on the day we went it was slightly overcast and the gate was embedded in the mud rather than surrounded by water.  However, it was still a beautiful site.  We were very lucky to witness a traditional Japanese wedding whilst on the island that was taking place within the temple.  I am planning on putting the footage to this in my 'Japan Video' in the near future, which you can find on my Youtube channel, Beckora.  It was such a unique site and I feel very privileged that we were able to witness such a special event.

It was then time for the second part of the tour, where we would see the memorial sites of the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb.  After a short bus ride to the main city centre, the first stop was a walk around the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Museum, including seeing the Atomic Bomb Dome.  You know that feeling I described earlier? Of everything feeling very ominous? This is where I felt the most vulnerable.  Looking up at the sky and seeing exactly where the atomic bomb was dropped gave me a feeling that I can't even describe.  Safe to say, most people in our group felt the same whilst in this area.

I feel as though a description is not needed for the museum as you can picture what it was like.  Countless number of artifacts filled with personal items that belonged to people killed in the blast, the most harrowing being a bicycle that belonged to a child.  As you moved further through the museum, there was a projection of a map of Hiroshima on the floor.  All remained calm on the map until an image of a bomb was dropped and showed how quickly the devastation occured.  Within seconds, the luscious colours of Hiroshima was soon reverted to a grey and white warzone.  Remarkable for all of the wrong reasons.

Day 9: 25th June 

 The next morning, it was time to leave Hiroshima, board the bullet train for the final time and head over to Osaka.  For the first time on the trip we did not have a tour booked.  Well, I may have lied slightly.  We actually had a food tour booked in the evening, which meant we had the rest of the day to our leisure.  Although it was a very interesting city to walk around in, the food tour was definitely the highlight of the whole trip for me.  It was a private food tour for the 3 of us, and one of the locals showed us all of the hidden gems of the city where you could find fantastic street food.  Initially, we had only paid for 2 hours, but she ended up showing us around for an additional 2 hours! This meant a lot of yummy food (all was included in the price) and plenty of walking.  

The first place she took us to was a small restaurant located in an area that had been converted from an old amusement park into a shopping area.  VERY cool to say the least! Inside the restaurant was a minibus.  Yep, a minibus, which we were seated into and given lots of deep fried food.  From normal foods such as chicken and onion, to a more abstract deep fried lotus root (definitely the tastiest! Was almost like a potato), the food was very filling and delicious.  I can't remember the specific name of the food we were given, but we were told that it was a form of comfort food in Japan.  

The next best thing we ate on the food tour was the sushi.  Surprisingly we couldn't find much sushi in Japan whilst walking around on our own (apart from in the fish market mentioned in a previous blog) but our tour guide took us to an amazing little bar where they specialized in the famous food.  My personal favourite is nigiri, of which they brought plenty out! We opted for salmon and tuna nigiri, with our tour guide choosing some more abstract sushi for us to try.  This included sushi containing scallops and even cooked eel.  I personally did not care for the cooked eel, but if you're not a fan of fish but still want to try sushi I highly recommend it as it had a meaty texture.  

Remember that restaurant from a previous blog that was the 'sex restaurant', with the omelette that made me cry? Well guess what was next on our food tour.  Luckily, our tour guide took us to a restaurant where all of the locals went, and the omelette was prepared in front of us and contained noodles and other much more edible ingredients than the previous place! Although I would not order it again, it was still very good.  I guess my previous experience put me off!

One of our final stops was a bar famous for it's saki.  We were given 3 shots of saki each of varying strengths and flavours, well, the weakest one was enough to make me tipsy.  It was so strong! I could only manage one but our tour guide managed to drink the remainder of mine and my dads.   How she wasn't drunk afterwards, I'll never know! Unfortunately, this was the end of our food tour as we had to head home ready for our flight home the next morning!

Day 10: 26th June

The day had arrived.  Our trip home! We had a 12 hour flight to Paris, then a 45 minute flight to London.  That night, we were then staying in London overnight ready for our 8 hour flight to Florida the next morning.  Safe to say, when we arrived in Florida I had no idea what timezone I was in! But the jetlag was worth it for an unforgettable experience.  It is only writing these blogs to I realize what an absolutely incredible trip it was, and how much we managed to fit in! It is an experience that I won't forget for a long time, and is definitely up there with one of my favourite places I have had the pleasure of visiting.  

Beckora x